PODCAST

University of Kentucky Department of Anthropology, “Choose Your Own Adventure”

This podcast’s purpose and audience are not identical to the one in this scenario, but listening to it will give you a better understanding of podcasting conventions and practices, including things like the use of background music and narration. Good podcasts are not simply casual recordings, but carefully constructed and edited texts. As you listen to the podcast, note how the narrator enunciates words carefully, pauses between phrases, and frequently applies stress to key words. This speech pattern is not natural for most people — it sounds natural because we’ve been trained, over thousands of hours listening to people speak in broadcast media, in the news, in commercials, or in other contexts where vocal communication is valued. You may have to practice this type of speech to make it work, possibly recording yourself and then listening back to the recording to see whether you’re overdoing it.

One useful technique is to practice in a small group. Listen to the podcast and talk about what the podcast speakers are doing with their speech patterns. Listen to one another try them out until you all get comfortable (or at least a little comfortable).

Listen to the podcast. (University of Kentucky, College of Arts & Sciences/Patrick O’Dowd)

Download the transcript.