WEBVTT 00:00:02.960 --> 00:00:05.960 In the last episode, which I didn't officially 00:00:05.960 --> 00:00:09.039 announce, but it is season seven of this podcast, 00:00:09.439 --> 00:00:14.599 I talked about how in 2026, your podcast should 00:00:14.599 --> 00:00:20.179 be a focused solo show that allows you to solve 00:00:20.179 --> 00:00:24.699 a problem, which coupled with being authentic 00:00:24.699 --> 00:00:27.359 and actually being able to and wanting to solve 00:00:27.359 --> 00:00:30.199 that problem is a pretty potent combination to 00:00:30.199 --> 00:00:34.310 help your podcast grow. In that same vein, my 00:00:34.310 --> 00:00:39.130 focus for the streamlined podcaster is around 00:00:39.130 --> 00:00:43.590 the systems and automations to help solo podcasters 00:00:43.590 --> 00:00:48.810 create space so that they can create good content. 00:00:49.429 --> 00:00:52.170 And one thing I often hear when I say, oh, you 00:00:52.170 --> 00:00:54.609 should do a solo show from my coaching clients 00:00:54.609 --> 00:00:59.409 is what am I going to talk about? Talking by 00:00:59.409 --> 00:01:01.530 myself is weird. It's uncomfortable. I don't 00:01:01.530 --> 00:01:05.049 like it. So today, I'm going to give you three 00:01:05.049 --> 00:01:09.810 tips for creating a great solo show. Hey, everybody. 00:01:09.890 --> 00:01:13.010 My name's Joe Casabona. I am a podcast systems 00:01:13.010 --> 00:01:21.069 coach and the evangelist at rss .com. So I have 00:01:21.069 --> 00:01:24.150 been doing solo episodes almost as long as I've 00:01:24.150 --> 00:01:27.909 been podcasting. I think I'm a pretty good talker. 00:01:28.489 --> 00:01:30.290 used to teach in the classroom, and that was 00:01:30.290 --> 00:01:33.390 almost like talking to yourself or by yourself. 00:01:34.010 --> 00:01:39.609 And I teach online courses. My podcast, Streamlined 00:01:39.609 --> 00:01:42.290 Solopreneur, started off as an interview show, 00:01:42.489 --> 00:01:48.670 but has slowly become more and more of a solo 00:01:48.670 --> 00:01:52.730 show. So it was, I would say, like 90 -10 interviews. 00:01:53.269 --> 00:01:56.030 A couple years ago, I wanted to make it 50 -50. 00:01:56.519 --> 00:02:00.120 Last year, it was probably like 70 -30 in favor 00:02:00.120 --> 00:02:03.879 of solo shows. And this year, it's probably going 00:02:03.879 --> 00:02:07.780 to move to 80 -20. Now, from a process standpoint, 00:02:08.219 --> 00:02:14.219 a solo show is a lot easier than an interview 00:02:14.219 --> 00:02:17.620 podcast. Because with interview podcasts, you 00:02:17.620 --> 00:02:20.979 have to coordinate with guests, do research. 00:02:21.039 --> 00:02:24.469 Don't just let AI do the research. actually do 00:02:24.469 --> 00:02:26.590 the research and tell the story that you're trying 00:02:26.590 --> 00:02:30.150 to tell with the guest. Then you have to, again, 00:02:30.210 --> 00:02:32.930 figure out a time, do a tech check with them, 00:02:33.069 --> 00:02:35.090 make sure everything looks and sounds good, make 00:02:35.090 --> 00:02:36.870 sure they're wearing headphones, make sure your 00:02:36.870 --> 00:02:38.650 guests wear headphones. Always wear headphones 00:02:38.650 --> 00:02:42.689 when you podcast. And then you have to edit. 00:02:43.090 --> 00:02:45.530 And one of my clients recently told me that they 00:02:45.530 --> 00:02:50.729 had a guest who went off book a lot and talked 00:02:50.729 --> 00:02:54.680 a long time. So then you have to make a decision. 00:02:54.860 --> 00:02:57.259 Are you going to let them ramble and take over 00:02:57.259 --> 00:03:01.060 the show and risk losing your listeners in the 00:03:01.060 --> 00:03:05.439 abyss of non sequiturs? Or are you going to spend 00:03:05.439 --> 00:03:07.120 a bunch of time editing? And I think you should 00:03:07.120 --> 00:03:09.439 spend a bunch of time editing. And this brings 00:03:09.439 --> 00:03:12.439 me to my first tip for creating a good solo show 00:03:12.439 --> 00:03:15.379 while also improving your process and making 00:03:15.379 --> 00:03:22.319 it faster. And that is how you record. So I don't. 00:03:22.520 --> 00:03:24.259 release video for this. I don't think it would 00:03:24.259 --> 00:03:28.199 be particularly helpful. And I record directly 00:03:28.199 --> 00:03:33.479 into Logic Pro. I use a couple of plugins. One 00:03:33.479 --> 00:03:39.860 is VEA from iZotope. It does some equalization 00:03:39.860 --> 00:03:43.819 and boosting. And then I use two from iZotope 00:03:43.819 --> 00:03:47.780 RX10, which is breath control and mouth de -clicking. 00:03:48.020 --> 00:03:52.530 I hate mouth sounds. And so I use these plugins 00:03:52.530 --> 00:03:58.389 to take away the heavy breathing, not all breathing, 00:03:58.509 --> 00:04:00.370 because that sounds weird and unnatural, like 00:04:00.370 --> 00:04:03.509 the heavier breaths I take and any of the mouth 00:04:03.509 --> 00:04:07.229 clicking that can be really distracting. And 00:04:07.229 --> 00:04:10.669 so by the time I'm done recording this, it will 00:04:10.669 --> 00:04:12.770 already be mastered because I'm recording it 00:04:12.770 --> 00:04:16.889 directly into Logic Pro. As far as editing for 00:04:16.889 --> 00:04:20.709 content. Again, I have a general idea of what 00:04:20.709 --> 00:04:23.209 I want to say. And when I go on a tangent, I 00:04:23.209 --> 00:04:25.790 usually stop recording, delete that tangent, 00:04:25.870 --> 00:04:32.949 and then do the take again. In episode 701, the 00:04:32.949 --> 00:04:37.230 last episode, I mentioned right at the beginning 00:04:37.230 --> 00:04:40.389 of that episode that this was take two of the 00:04:40.389 --> 00:04:45.389 episode. And so when you do a solo episode, keeping 00:04:45.389 --> 00:04:48.519 some of that stuff in mind is... is going to 00:04:48.519 --> 00:04:51.220 really improve the post -production process. 00:04:52.060 --> 00:04:54.199 And I can link to some of those resources. I 00:04:54.199 --> 00:04:57.740 think iZotope RX, it's like $200, but it is a 00:04:57.740 --> 00:05:01.660 very helpful set of plugins, and it means I don't 00:05:01.660 --> 00:05:05.759 have to send my solo episodes to my editor. Now, 00:05:05.779 --> 00:05:07.980 I'm likely going to do a separate episode on 00:05:07.980 --> 00:05:10.300 if you should have video and what that means, 00:05:10.500 --> 00:05:12.759 but that does complicate the process a little 00:05:12.759 --> 00:05:17.319 bit. You know, you need to record in video, edit, 00:05:18.000 --> 00:05:21.319 And I would still master it in Logic Pro to get 00:05:21.319 --> 00:05:24.379 that consistent sounding episode right across 00:05:24.379 --> 00:05:27.240 episodes. But talking about editing, it's kind 00:05:27.240 --> 00:05:28.839 of like putting the cart before the horse, right? 00:05:28.920 --> 00:05:32.060 So tip one was editing. Tip two is actually around 00:05:32.060 --> 00:05:35.259 content. And so how do you come up with good 00:05:35.259 --> 00:05:38.740 content for a solo episode that's not just you 00:05:38.740 --> 00:05:42.379 rambling? Well, I like to write down the problem 00:05:42.379 --> 00:05:44.759 I'm trying to solve with this solo episode and 00:05:44.759 --> 00:05:48.519 then write three bullet points. three tips I'm 00:05:48.519 --> 00:05:51.959 doing, three things I want to cover in, again, 00:05:52.019 --> 00:05:54.519 I try to do three minutes or less. I want these 00:05:54.519 --> 00:05:59.899 episodes to be about 10 minutes. So write down 00:05:59.899 --> 00:06:02.100 the three things you want to cover to help solve 00:06:02.100 --> 00:06:07.480 that problem. And that will help you stay on 00:06:07.480 --> 00:06:13.459 track and give you a general idea of how you're 00:06:13.459 --> 00:06:17.209 going to tackle this episode. It'll also give 00:06:17.209 --> 00:06:19.810 you some structure so that you're not just going, 00:06:19.910 --> 00:06:22.949 oh, what do I talk about next? I started with 00:06:22.949 --> 00:06:27.050 editing because that is a big process point, 00:06:27.170 --> 00:06:30.110 but knowing what to talk about is also super 00:06:30.110 --> 00:06:34.350 important. So tip one was how I edit. Tip two 00:06:34.350 --> 00:06:37.050 is write down the problem you're trying to solve 00:06:37.050 --> 00:06:39.629 for this episode and write down three bullet 00:06:39.629 --> 00:06:43.259 points for solving that problem. One way this 00:06:43.259 --> 00:06:46.839 could be really helpful or one way to help this, 00:06:46.899 --> 00:06:50.339 I should say, is if you have segments. I used 00:06:50.339 --> 00:06:55.879 to do a format where I had one big problem, one 00:06:55.879 --> 00:06:59.879 small fix, and then feedback from a previous 00:06:59.879 --> 00:07:03.759 episode. When if you look at like season four 00:07:03.759 --> 00:07:06.579 or five of this episode of this podcast, rather, 00:07:06.660 --> 00:07:13.339 I would do like three stories. from the podcasting 00:07:13.339 --> 00:07:18.240 world right so you can have segments and then 00:07:18.240 --> 00:07:21.560 that will always give you a loose outline of 00:07:21.560 --> 00:07:23.500 what you're going to cover in the show it makes 00:07:23.500 --> 00:07:27.139 it a little bit easier I think that having segments 00:07:27.139 --> 00:07:30.079 does fit a longer form right you can maybe do 00:07:30.079 --> 00:07:32.120 10 minutes on each segment if you want or five 00:07:32.120 --> 00:07:34.879 minutes on each segment but that's a really good 00:07:34.879 --> 00:07:37.019 way to always have like a loose outline and keep 00:07:37.019 --> 00:07:42.269 you on track Now, the third tip is a little bit 00:07:42.269 --> 00:07:46.110 woo woo, I would say, but I think it is helpful 00:07:46.110 --> 00:07:49.769 because you want to feel like you're talking 00:07:49.769 --> 00:07:52.449 to someone and just like looking straight at 00:07:52.449 --> 00:07:55.990 your camera or at Logic Pro or at your outline 00:07:55.990 --> 00:07:58.250 maybe doesn't feel like you're always talking 00:07:58.250 --> 00:08:03.769 to somebody. And so two ways that I have found 00:08:03.769 --> 00:08:05.689 are helpful for this, if you are uncomfortable 00:08:05.689 --> 00:08:11.139 just talking into the ether is. Picture someone 00:08:11.139 --> 00:08:13.800 in your mind. Picture a single person that you're 00:08:13.800 --> 00:08:17.540 talking to. This is like your ideal audience 00:08:17.540 --> 00:08:20.399 member. Maybe it's somebody you know. Maybe it's 00:08:20.399 --> 00:08:22.480 a coaching client. Maybe it's a friend who encouraged 00:08:22.480 --> 00:08:24.959 you to start this show. Just keep them in your 00:08:24.959 --> 00:08:27.680 mind and act like you're talking directly to 00:08:27.680 --> 00:08:32.899 them. Or something, maybe this is like narcissistic 00:08:32.899 --> 00:08:36.059 of me, but something else I have found is having 00:08:36.059 --> 00:08:39.840 my camera up. So I use Ecamm Live. And so my 00:08:39.840 --> 00:08:41.960 camera is kind of always on and I'll have it 00:08:41.960 --> 00:08:45.620 in front of me and I see myself talking. And 00:08:45.620 --> 00:08:50.299 for some reason that helps me. But I think for 00:08:50.299 --> 00:08:56.960 most people who aren't vain, maybe, is picture 00:08:56.960 --> 00:09:00.139 that one person you're talking to and like keep 00:09:00.139 --> 00:09:03.379 them in your mind because this will, it'll make 00:09:03.379 --> 00:09:05.320 it feel more like you're having a phone call. 00:09:05.870 --> 00:09:08.250 Instead of just kind of talking to nobody in 00:09:08.250 --> 00:09:12.470 an empty room. So those are the three tips for 00:09:12.470 --> 00:09:15.789 having a good solo show, right? The first is 00:09:15.789 --> 00:09:18.649 all about your process, how you're going to edit 00:09:18.649 --> 00:09:23.610 or the best way to edit. The second is around 00:09:23.610 --> 00:09:26.269 content, having good content and keeping you 00:09:26.269 --> 00:09:29.629 on track. And the third is a little mental trick 00:09:29.629 --> 00:09:33.269 to help you feel more comfortable and speak more 00:09:33.269 --> 00:09:35.649 naturally. when you're doing those solo shows. 00:09:36.090 --> 00:09:38.110 That's it for this episode of the Streamlined 00:09:38.110 --> 00:09:40.990 Podcaster. I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know 00:09:40.990 --> 00:09:43.629 what you think over at streamlinedfeedback .com. 00:09:43.730 --> 00:09:46.629 And until next time, I hope you find some space 00:09:46.629 --> 00:09:47.710 in your week.