How to Turn Simple Stories Into Addictive Short Podcasts

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Good morning podcasting Morning
Chat.

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Today is Thursday, December
18th, 2025.

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And today, a live podcast
evaluation of short form

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storytelling as we review the
Share Delights podcast and

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explore how pacing, intros and
audio choices shape a podcast.

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So if you're listening live on
Clubhouse, hit the share button

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on the left hand side of the
screen and share it.

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However, Clubhouse lets you.
And if you're catching us via

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podcast chatter, YouTube,
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episode with a fellow podcaster.
And now give us about 30

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seconds.
We'll get things rolling.

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Thanks for being here.
Good morning again, podcasting,

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morning chat.
Thanks so much for being here.

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I am your host Mark Ronick and
currently on stage with me.

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We have Ralph Estep, producer
Ashley Feller, Sid Meadows, Phil

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Better, BC Babbles, Nick Nalback
and Dr. Faye is with us this

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morning.
Full house for sure.

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And yes, it's our evaluation
episode today.

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Looking forward to digging into
this one.

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I was telling the team as we
were starting, one of the things

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I'm excited about is, well,
first of all, all of these

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different evaluations we've
done, there's always been

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something a little different.
Which makes sense, right, 'cause

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these are all very different
podcasts.

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But we seem to bring something a
little different each week to

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these evaluations.
And I think that I've done that

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for us this week.
I've done a little producing and

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editing of my own to help
illustrate my points that I want

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to make, so more to come on
that.

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I want to also remind you that
before we dig into everything

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about the Empowered Podcasting
on Demand video that's now

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available, and as I've been
saying all week, you, our

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podcasting morning chat
community, are the first to

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know.
I haven't even made this public

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to the entire Empowered
Podcasting Conference community

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yet, but yeah, we've officially
released the full Empowered

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Podcasting Conference 2 Video
Library.

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Every workshop and presentation
from the conference is now

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available on demand.
These are practical, real world

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podcasting sessions from
podcasters that actually do the

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work.
You can watch what you need,

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when you need it and come back
anytime.

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So if you're serious about
starting or growing your podcast

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with intention and community at
the center, this is definitely

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something for you.
You'll find the EPC video

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library.
You can actually, I think you

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can find it at
empoweredpodcasting.com now as

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well.
I'm not sure if we've officially

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linked that.
So check the show notes here on

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today's episode and that'll take
you to the exact link.

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And it is there is a price tag
on it.

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It's just $47 on sale currently
from 99.

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And we're doing this in part to
collect some money as a thank

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you to Janaid Ahmed, who was so
kind and came there with the

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full professional gear and we
had multiple cameras there,

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audio running.
It was really a fantastic event.

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And he captured it all for us
and did it all out of the

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kindness of his heart.
So we want to repay him

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literally with a little bit of
money.

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Dr. Did you want to say
something?

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How many classes are there?
There's probably a total of

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around 28 I think there.
That includes maybe one or two,

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you know, intros like me
introducing the event, etcetera.

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But overall, yeah, you're
probably getting at least 25

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different half hour courses.
So I think that this could be

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really valuable for anybody,
including somebody who's maybe

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thinking about starting a
podcast in 2026.

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That is awesome.
That sounds great.

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Thank you, Dr. for your
question.

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And yeah, I guess I'll do that.
To officially start, I guess

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we'll need a little, maybe some
a Stinger or bumper specifically

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for this weekly series of
podcast evaluations.

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Today, as I said, we're going to
break down shared delights or so

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sorry, shared.
Yeah, shared delights, your true

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stories and my funniest
memories.

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This is a short form reset style
storytelling podcast.

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I say reset style.
We'll explain a little more in

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the description of the show.
The goal of the show is

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escapism, warmth, delight.
It's not necessarily life

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lessons, right?
You're not coming in here

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necessarily to learn.
You're coming in here to escape.

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We're evaluating technically 2
episodes because these are all

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around 5 minutes long.
And I know for me, some of the

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stuff that I told you I want to
share with you later, some of

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the production work that I did
that I'm mainly focused on one

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episode.
So we'll talk about that.

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Here is the original series
description.

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Welcome to the Shared Delights
community Rica.

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Your podcast host inspires
listeners to find the delight in

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their own past by sharing funny
and heartwarming memories,

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showing that our most absurd and
embarrassing moments are often

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our most cherished.
Followed shared delights Your

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true stories and my funniest
memories on Spotify and your bi

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weekly dose of for your bi
weekly dose of joy, personal and

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curated true stories with
occasional educational pieces

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inspired by real events.
We'll get into that specifically

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that description and see if it
works for our panel or if there

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are any suggestions for you.
First I want to ask everybody

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how do we feel as far as is
this?

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Did you listen to these episodes
and say, yeah, this is a

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momentary escape and is that a
valid goal on its own?

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Is that OK?
You know, we 'cause we talk a

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lot about niching down and
getting very specific, and this

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doesn't necessarily do that,
right?

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I mean, it doesn't each down in
the sense that it does have seem

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to have a clear focus, but the
each episode is completely

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different one to the next.
It's not promising A

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transformation like many
podcasts maybe do.

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So it does this work.
I'm going to go to BC 1st and

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then I'll check in with several
other people who want to chime

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in.
Go ahead BC.

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Yeah, I think it's so far from
the two episodes that we have so

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far, it's done a great job of
providing what it promises.

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It's a nice little jump away
from the heaviness of day-to-day

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life.
I think it did a great job of

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providing context of and I think
what really helps with that

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provision of that promise is
that there's a nice kind of

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whimsical delivery that I
mentioned I think in my notes

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from the narrator.
And there's a nice, I think

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music bed that's happening as
well, if I recall correctly.

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So overall, the package is nice.
It's chill.

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Again, there's no aim to have a
really huge life lesson.

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So therefore there's no like
mental homework to take out of

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it.
So it's really just a nice

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departure, reset, come back.
OK, I got a bit more energy for

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whatever the heck else is going
to happen today.

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Thank you.
BC and Nick says in the chat

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whimsical was a word that was
coming to mind for him as well.

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Thanks BC and Sid, I'm going to
come to you and I'm going to ask

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you specifically what you think
is a is a momentary escape a

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valid goal on its own?
Does it work for a podcast in

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your opinion?
Good morning, everybody.

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Yeah, absolutely does, Mark.
You don't always need to be

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educated.
You don't always need to learn

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something.
You don't always need to be

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coached.
You always, you don't always

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need a transformation.
Sometimes you just need to

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simply relax and be entertained
and enjoy the moment that you're

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in.
And so the podcast doesn't

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always have to be about learning
and education and

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transformation.
And I thoroughly enjoyed the

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stories.
I mean, they're funny and the

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way she delivers them kind of
brings you in and you laugh with

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her.
She's laughing a couple of times

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in them.
And so yes, you can just have a

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show that just entertains.
And I think that's what her show

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is, is she's entertaining.
Thank you, Sid.

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I'll share some of my initial
thoughts in a moment.

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Let me check in with Ralph
first.

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Go ahead, Ralph.
Good morning.

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Oh good morning, can I be the
curmudgeon?

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You may.
The idea of that I liked, but

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man, I struggled with this.
And I don't mean this in a

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disparaging way, but the accent
and the background music was so

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distracting to me that I had a
hard time focusing on what she

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said.
And that's not meant as a

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slight.
Her energy was awesome, she

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seemed like a delightful person,
but I had such a hard time

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trying to really understand what
she was saying.

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And then couple of that with the
background whimsical music

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behind it, I just got lost.
OK, that's fair.

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And sometimes, obviously not
every show is for every person.

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I will say that I think there
are solutions and this is part

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of the production I did that
I'll share with you a little bit

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later, But I think there are
ways that she can help with that

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for people who may be having a
harder time understanding her.

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She is Hungarian, English is not
her first language.

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She shared that with us and it's
actually, I believe that what

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she shared specifically is it's
also a very new language for

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her.
So I was actually really

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impressed with her delivery
considering that.

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But yet it is something to think
about, right?

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If you do have a thicker accent
and you are making a podcast for

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an audience that speaks another
language, it's something you

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have to think about.
And yeah, like Ralph said, this

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is not to discourage disparage.
I want to find a solution for

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her.
And I think I have at least one

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for her that we can get to in a
few.

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I'm actually really glad you
brought that out up, Ralph,

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because I think it's important
for us to establish early on

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here that English was not her
first language.

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And I will say I I think that
she has also, like you were

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saying, great energy, great
storyteller.

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I like the details that she
provides during the her

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storytelling.
It really helps and we'll get to

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it, but it really helps paint
the picture.

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And she's got that warm voice.
She's really got a voice, an

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inviting voice.
But Sid, I saw you wanted to

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comment when Ralph was sharing
what?

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What are your thoughts?
I listened to two episodes.

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I agree, Ralph, you're not being
a curmudgeon by by any means.

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So I love that word too.
But I listened to episodes.

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In the first episode, I did not
notice the background music at

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all.
The second episode, I did notice

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the background music and I
thought there might be an

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opportunity for her to phase
down the music, the loudness of

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the music, whatever the
appropriate technical term is

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for that.
When she starts telling the

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story after her intro, she could
soften the music a little bit so

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it's still playing.
I did a show that had music in

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the background and I loved it.
But there's an opportunity

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there, I think, for her to
soften the music just a little

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bit.
And I knew that English wasn't

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her first language.
I didn't realize she was new to

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it.
So somebody that has just

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learned English, Thanks.
She's doing a really good job

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with it.
So that's actually impressive

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that she's just learned English.
And before we go further, and

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I'm going to go to you, Dr.
Well, all right, here's what

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I'll do.
I'll go to you, Dr. And then I

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want to just share a little bit
more overall about the podcast

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itself and some things that we
should be looking for today.

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But yeah, Dr. go ahead.
You and I talked backstage

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basically the other day, and I
was telling you that I was also

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having a difficult time because
of the language and

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understanding.
But the fact that, number one,

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it's new to her.
It's not her first language and

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it's new to her.
And I would have put this in the

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in the chat, but I don't know
how to spell this.

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So I admire her chutzpah.
I don't know how to spell it.

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So I had to say it in doing
this, but I got to say it was a

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little bit distracting.
OK, we're going to get into that

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shortly.
And by the way, a good morning

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to Matt Bliss who has joined us
as well.

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But before we go further, I want
to share why I think today's

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evaluation's worth paying
attention to, especially for

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anyone thinking about short form
storytelling.

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So we've shared these are 5 to 6
minute episodes that are

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designed to be a quick reset
light, warm and easy to listen

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to as we go.
Notice how much of the listening

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experience is driven by the
storytelling and her tone.

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I want to get into pacing.
I think that is a keyword for

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today, especially again, for
somebody that has a an accent

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00:13:48,880 --> 00:13:53,920
that might be hard for the
audience to understand and also

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want to share how it's set, how
we shape the way those stories

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land for a listener.
We'll also look at cover art.

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And I want to be brief with that
because I think we spend too

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much time on cover art
sometimes.

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00:14:07,440 --> 00:14:12,120
The descriptions, the intro, all
of it, right?

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00:14:12,520 --> 00:14:16,160
I want to figure out how clearly
those, the different elements

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00:14:16,160 --> 00:14:18,680
point to the experience that the
show delivers.

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00:14:18,680 --> 00:14:22,080
So by the end of the evaluation,
you're going to hear a few ideas

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00:14:22,080 --> 00:14:26,240
that translate beyond this
podcast and into your own work,

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00:14:26,680 --> 00:14:29,440
especially if you're aiming to
create something that feels

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00:14:30,360 --> 00:14:35,440
intentional, focused, memorable.
I read you her description and I

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00:14:35,440 --> 00:14:39,280
did want to share that.
I'm cool with the short

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00:14:39,280 --> 00:14:43,360
description of a podcast series.
I actually think if they're too

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00:14:43,360 --> 00:14:45,200
long, you're going to lose
readers.

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00:14:45,200 --> 00:14:47,640
I think the advantage of doing
longer ones is if you're

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00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:51,520
strategic, you can get more
keywords in there to help

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00:14:51,560 --> 00:14:54,080
potentially with search
optimization.

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I think that if we're really
catering to our audience, I

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think short and sweet is
appropriate, especially for a

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short and sweet podcast.
I did think that you can tighten

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00:15:05,960 --> 00:15:07,680
this up.
I think that we want to lead

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00:15:07,680 --> 00:15:10,880
with who this podcast is for and
what they're going to get out of

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00:15:10,880 --> 00:15:15,680
it, what they can expect, and
I'm going to play the intro for

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00:15:15,680 --> 00:15:19,080
you so that this way you can get
a good taste of how these

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00:15:19,080 --> 00:15:23,680
episodes work.
This is from her episode Wedding

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00:15:23,760 --> 00:15:26,560
Crasher.
Have you ever been so desperate

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00:15:26,560 --> 00:15:30,000
for cigarettes that you crashed
the complete stranger's wedding?

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00:15:30,480 --> 00:15:34,400
What happens when a university
student in a wrinkle suit

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00:15:34,560 --> 00:15:38,200
decides he belongs as someone
else's reception?

264
00:15:38,440 --> 00:15:42,320
This is the story of how one
man's nicotine craving turned

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00:15:42,320 --> 00:15:45,160
into and all you can drink
champagne heist.

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00:15:45,280 --> 00:15:49,320
Welcome new listeners to Shared
Daylights Community and welcome

267
00:15:49,320 --> 00:15:53,080
back amazing podcast followers
you are listening to Shared

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00:15:53,200 --> 00:15:56,680
delight, your true stories and
my funniest memories.

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I'm your host Rica.
In this episode you will hear a

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00:16:01,080 --> 00:16:06,400
legendary story of audacity, bad
decisions and excellent timing.

271
00:16:06,880 --> 00:16:11,520
Attila, a loyal podcast
follower, was once a university

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00:16:11,520 --> 00:16:15,800
student who turned a simple
cigarette run into a full blown

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00:16:15,800 --> 00:16:20,120
bedding infiltration.
You will hear how he smooths

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00:16:20,120 --> 00:16:24,960
dogged his way past suspicious
guests that voluntarily handed

275
00:16:24,960 --> 00:16:27,760
the dance, partnered by the
grandfather of the bride and

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00:16:27,760 --> 00:16:31,440
left with pockets full of stolen
cookies.

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00:16:32,360 --> 00:16:35,720
This is a master class in
confidence, terrible judgement

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00:16:35,720 --> 00:16:37,840
and somehow making it home
alive.

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00:16:38,080 --> 00:16:41,960
Let's get into it.
I just want to play for you.

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00:16:42,040 --> 00:16:45,960
I just did one small tweak and
it's toward the end of her

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00:16:45,960 --> 00:16:48,240
intro.
I will say, I think the intro,

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00:16:48,240 --> 00:16:51,920
even though relatively speaking
it's short, when we talk about a

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00:16:51,920 --> 00:16:55,760
5 minute or so episode, it
actually feels a little long to

284
00:16:55,760 --> 00:16:59,080
me.
I think that one area that we

285
00:16:59,080 --> 00:17:03,480
could find to improve upon this
or shorten it a little bit, I

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00:17:03,480 --> 00:17:05,359
think she actually gave too many
details.

287
00:17:05,359 --> 00:17:09,200
I think it was almost, almost a
spoiler alert situation because

288
00:17:09,200 --> 00:17:13,920
she gave the main points of the
plot away at the very beginning.

289
00:17:14,160 --> 00:17:17,359
So I would actually leave that
stuff out and maybe tease the

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00:17:17,359 --> 00:17:21,440
big, the big plot point, if you
will, or whatever you might

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00:17:21,440 --> 00:17:23,920
consider as the storyteller the
big plot point.

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00:17:23,920 --> 00:17:27,599
Maybe tease that a little bit.
But what I was going to suggest

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00:17:27,599 --> 00:17:31,840
is, I think now keep in mind
that we've talked about that

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00:17:31,840 --> 00:17:33,800
there is music playing in the
background.

295
00:17:34,680 --> 00:17:38,160
Keep in mind that I made a
couple of little adjustments,

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00:17:38,160 --> 00:17:41,440
some pacing adjustments that
would have sounded better if I

297
00:17:41,440 --> 00:17:43,600
stripped the music.
And later in some of the clips,

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00:17:43,600 --> 00:17:47,000
I actually do strip the music.
But you're going to hear a

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00:17:47,000 --> 00:17:48,840
couple of little breaks in the
music here.

300
00:17:48,840 --> 00:17:51,400
But the real thing I want you to
listen to is.

301
00:17:51,400 --> 00:17:54,840
But what happens when you just
add some sort of transition

302
00:17:54,840 --> 00:17:59,200
effect between when you wrap up
your intro and get into the

303
00:17:59,200 --> 00:18:01,400
storytelling?
This is a master class in

304
00:18:01,400 --> 00:18:05,400
confidence, terrible judgement,
and somehow making it home

305
00:18:05,400 --> 00:18:07,320
alive.
Let's get into it.

306
00:18:08,640 --> 00:18:11,120
Picture this.
University of Mischkoetz,

307
00:18:11,320 --> 00:18:15,880
Hungary is the weekend.
It makes such a difference when

308
00:18:15,880 --> 00:18:19,560
you add a little sound effect.
Now, maybe that's not the best

309
00:18:19,560 --> 00:18:22,040
one, right?
I just used the whoosh that I

310
00:18:22,040 --> 00:18:25,120
use here just to explain my
point.

311
00:18:25,120 --> 00:18:28,840
But I think that adding just a
little something or even since

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00:18:28,840 --> 00:18:31,280
she has music playing in the
background, which by the way,

313
00:18:31,280 --> 00:18:34,200
I'm a fan of, what of that?
It didn't distract me at all,

314
00:18:34,840 --> 00:18:39,000
but just leaving a couple of
seconds, literally 2 to 3

315
00:18:39,000 --> 00:18:43,040
seconds of that music playing
before you get right into the

316
00:18:43,040 --> 00:18:45,400
story.
That was one of my big

317
00:18:45,400 --> 00:18:47,880
suggestions.
I think it's important to speak

318
00:18:47,880 --> 00:18:50,760
directly to your audience.
Who are they?

319
00:18:50,800 --> 00:18:53,800
Tell them that right out of the
gate who this is for and what

320
00:18:53,800 --> 00:18:57,400
they can expect.
And then you can mention who you

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00:18:57,400 --> 00:19:01,440
are and maybe some additional
details about the show, how

322
00:19:01,440 --> 00:19:03,040
often they can hear it,
etcetera.

323
00:19:03,520 --> 00:19:07,280
So I wrote, if you love true
stories that are funny, awkward,

324
00:19:07,280 --> 00:19:10,400
and unexpectedly heart warming,
this show is for you.

325
00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:14,360
From a college student who
crashed a wedding just to score

326
00:19:14,360 --> 00:19:18,560
a cigarette to someone sprinting
naked through the streets, Cher

327
00:19:18,560 --> 00:19:22,720
Delight serves up unforgettable
moments that reflect the lighter

328
00:19:22,720 --> 00:19:26,360
side of being human.
Hosted by Rica.

329
00:19:26,360 --> 00:19:29,520
And since she used her first
name only in her original

330
00:19:29,520 --> 00:19:33,680
description, I followed that.
Each biweekly episode shares

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00:19:33,680 --> 00:19:37,680
personal tales and listener
submitted stories that remind us

332
00:19:37,680 --> 00:19:42,440
how our most ridiculous memories
often become our most cherished.

333
00:19:42,800 --> 00:19:46,760
You'll laugh, cringe, and maybe
even see your own story in a new

334
00:19:46,760 --> 00:19:49,360
light.
Follow Shared Delights, Your

335
00:19:49,360 --> 00:19:53,120
True Stories, and My Funniest
Memories on Spotify for your

336
00:19:53,120 --> 00:19:58,360
dose of humor and humanity.
That's my my series description.

337
00:19:58,360 --> 00:20:00,800
I think it just hits a little
bit harder for me.

338
00:20:01,080 --> 00:20:05,120
It attracts me more to the show.
I think you did a great job,

339
00:20:05,120 --> 00:20:07,120
Mark, and I'm loving on you
today, buddy.

340
00:20:07,120 --> 00:20:09,360
You're going to make out fine.
You did great.

341
00:20:10,440 --> 00:20:12,760
Thank you.
I think does that encouragement

342
00:20:12,760 --> 00:20:14,280
for me.
Feeling a little scattered and

343
00:20:14,280 --> 00:20:15,760
all over the place this morning,
Ralph.

344
00:20:16,160 --> 00:20:17,920
Exactly.
No, seriously, in all

345
00:20:17,920 --> 00:20:21,440
seriousness, I think what you
just did there just took it up a

346
00:20:21,440 --> 00:20:23,880
notch and I think it's
fantastic.

347
00:20:24,480 --> 00:20:27,360
Thank you, Sir.
I appreciate the feedback and I

348
00:20:27,360 --> 00:20:30,080
hope that's helpful to her too.
And you, you can take that word

349
00:20:30,080 --> 00:20:33,600
for word if you want, Rica and
you can adjust it however you

350
00:20:33,600 --> 00:20:36,800
see fit.
I think it just that it just

351
00:20:36,800 --> 00:20:39,680
does you a little bit of more
justice to your show, a little

352
00:20:39,680 --> 00:20:44,840
more justice the branding of
this show and then we'll get

353
00:20:44,840 --> 00:20:46,320
into some of the meat of the
show.

354
00:20:46,320 --> 00:20:49,120
But the branding of the show I
think is important to get into

355
00:20:49,120 --> 00:20:52,400
as well.
How do we feel about the title?

356
00:20:52,400 --> 00:20:56,240
Shared Delights specifically?
And of course then that tagline

357
00:20:56,240 --> 00:20:59,160
that follows Your true stories
and My funniest memories.

358
00:20:59,160 --> 00:21:02,120
Does this convey what the show
is about?

359
00:21:02,600 --> 00:21:06,400
Normally I would have some
alternative title to offer, but

360
00:21:06,400 --> 00:21:09,520
in this case I don't.
All I know is that I think

361
00:21:09,520 --> 00:21:12,960
there's an opportunity here to
get ECO.

362
00:21:12,960 --> 00:21:16,440
I call it ECO eye-catching
optimization.

363
00:21:16,920 --> 00:21:21,720
I don't think the title gives it
justice to what it actually is.

364
00:21:22,280 --> 00:21:24,680
I think that that's fair.
I mean, certainly the tagline

365
00:21:24,680 --> 00:21:27,960
helps tie it together.
It helps, and I even think that

366
00:21:27,960 --> 00:21:30,120
that could be polished up a
little bit as well.

367
00:21:30,200 --> 00:21:34,000
OK Cher delights.
I will say my suspicion is is

368
00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:38,280
the that whole title was
probably done AI generated she

369
00:21:38,280 --> 00:21:42,640
probably again totally It's just
a suspicion of mine.

370
00:21:42,920 --> 00:21:46,360
I feel like it's probably
something that she ran through a

371
00:21:46,360 --> 00:21:49,640
ChatGPT for ideas.
It's not a bad title.

372
00:21:50,360 --> 00:21:54,520
It's not bad and also maybe she
ran it through like a

373
00:21:54,680 --> 00:22:01,000
translation kind of application
as well to give words to what

374
00:22:01,000 --> 00:22:03,800
she felt inside, you know what I
mean?

375
00:22:03,800 --> 00:22:06,480
Maybe she had as a translator
app?

376
00:22:07,360 --> 00:22:09,000
That's fair.
Let's go to Nick since we

377
00:22:09,000 --> 00:22:10,440
haven't heard from him yet this
morning.

378
00:22:10,440 --> 00:22:11,960
We'll we'll start there.
Go ahead, Nick.

379
00:22:11,960 --> 00:22:14,000
Good morning.
Hey, good morning, everybody.

380
00:22:14,120 --> 00:22:18,240
I'm going to go against what the
I was saying and I kind of like

381
00:22:18,400 --> 00:22:22,720
the title.
And the reason being is when I

382
00:22:22,720 --> 00:22:25,680
was getting into it, like
started listening to it, I

383
00:22:25,680 --> 00:22:27,800
wasn't sure.
Like the first thought in my

384
00:22:27,800 --> 00:22:29,400
mind was like, are these first
stories?

385
00:22:29,400 --> 00:22:31,960
Are these just stories that
she's making up?

386
00:22:31,960 --> 00:22:33,240
Are these other people's
stories?

387
00:22:33,240 --> 00:22:37,480
Like, so the title very much
clarifies that for me that oh,

388
00:22:37,480 --> 00:22:39,320
we got stories from listeners
and all that.

389
00:22:39,680 --> 00:22:43,000
But I'm going to go back to
something that I mentioned a few

390
00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:47,240
weeks ago in one of the evals
and that where I feel the title

391
00:22:47,240 --> 00:22:50,840
isn't being done enough justice
is when you look at the cover

392
00:22:50,840 --> 00:22:54,880
art matching it.
Because to me, the cover art

393
00:22:54,880 --> 00:22:59,200
feels very like
autobiographical, like almost

394
00:22:59,200 --> 00:23:03,160
too professional, like cover or
like headshot author type of

395
00:23:03,160 --> 00:23:05,920
thing.
And I feel like if the cover art

396
00:23:05,920 --> 00:23:09,240
was a little bit more like in
that whimsical nature that the

397
00:23:09,240 --> 00:23:13,920
podcast episodes are and it
captures that, the title would

398
00:23:13,920 --> 00:23:19,280
fit a lot better with that.
And Matt Bliss, he has once

399
00:23:19,280 --> 00:23:23,960
again come through and created
another version of the art that

400
00:23:23,960 --> 00:23:27,680
I guess we'll say an improved
upon version.

401
00:23:28,320 --> 00:23:31,800
And he's just for it to paint
the picture for our listening

402
00:23:31,800 --> 00:23:35,600
audience.
The original cover art, it's a

403
00:23:35,600 --> 00:23:40,920
big shot of Rica.
She is the primary focus of the

404
00:23:40,920 --> 00:23:45,560
cover art and the words shared
delight appears just below her

405
00:23:45,560 --> 00:23:49,200
in what do you call it, like a
with a with a block background.

406
00:23:49,760 --> 00:23:54,240
It does feel, I'll say the
original does feel a little DIY

407
00:23:54,240 --> 00:23:55,880
to me.
And looking at Matthew's

408
00:23:55,880 --> 00:23:58,800
version, he's blown up the
letters a little bit.

409
00:23:59,000 --> 00:24:01,840
They're all white.
So it's just it really pops out.

410
00:24:01,840 --> 00:24:07,200
And he added 2 little things to
it in in the cover art, the

411
00:24:07,200 --> 00:24:10,600
words funny memories and the
words true stories.

412
00:24:11,240 --> 00:24:16,480
And I think that between the
improved upon look of the art

413
00:24:16,480 --> 00:24:20,720
and adding just that.
Nick, would you agree that this

414
00:24:20,720 --> 00:24:23,160
kind of speaks to what you were
talking about?

415
00:24:23,960 --> 00:24:26,880
I honestly did not see the
revised version of it yet.

416
00:24:26,880 --> 00:24:28,160
I'll have to go take a peek at
that.

417
00:24:28,680 --> 00:24:30,560
OK, no problem.
I think it does.

418
00:24:30,560 --> 00:24:32,200
I think it does.
Matt, did you want to speak to

419
00:24:32,200 --> 00:24:35,120
it at all briefly?
I think it described it well

420
00:24:35,120 --> 00:24:36,680
enough, Mark.
Really it was.

421
00:24:37,080 --> 00:24:43,320
If I'm describing my rapid cover
art revision process, Step 1 is

422
00:24:43,320 --> 00:24:46,840
just to try and refine some of
those elements that are that are

423
00:24:46,840 --> 00:24:50,480
already present, but gives it a
bit more context.

424
00:24:50,680 --> 00:24:54,280
I don't want to make this a
thing, but that acronym that Dr.

425
00:24:54,280 --> 00:24:58,400
likes to use, whatever it was
eye-catching optimization or

426
00:24:58,400 --> 00:25:01,960
whatever, I think this this one
just does it a little bit better

427
00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:04,840
and it includes aspects of the
title that we know could

428
00:25:04,840 --> 00:25:06,440
probably be refined a little
bit.

429
00:25:06,840 --> 00:25:08,680
Yeah, I'll keep going with it.
Cool.

430
00:25:08,720 --> 00:25:12,600
Thank you, Matt.
And we will put the link to the

431
00:25:12,640 --> 00:25:15,160
what Matt did here in the show
notes for you.

432
00:25:15,160 --> 00:25:16,840
And Sid, did you want to share
anything?

433
00:25:17,280 --> 00:25:20,560
Podcasters, we all struggle with
the same thing with our shows,

434
00:25:20,560 --> 00:25:25,520
and that's discoverability and
shared delight is not, in my

435
00:25:25,520 --> 00:25:29,240
opinion, words that people are
going to type in the search bar

436
00:25:29,240 --> 00:25:33,000
to find a podcast.
She's got to look at some

437
00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:36,240
keywords that will attract her
people when they're searching.

438
00:25:36,240 --> 00:25:39,800
What words are they searching?
I like the use of stories I put

439
00:25:39,800 --> 00:25:44,240
in there just as an just as an
idea was stories to brighten

440
00:25:44,240 --> 00:25:46,480
your day because that's part of
her promises.

441
00:25:47,000 --> 00:25:48,440
She's going to lift you up.
She's going to brighten your

442
00:25:48,440 --> 00:25:50,000
day.
She's telling stories.

443
00:25:50,000 --> 00:25:52,400
People will search for words
like stories.

444
00:25:52,400 --> 00:25:55,640
So when you're looking at a
title, she should try to think

445
00:25:55,640 --> 00:25:58,840
about keywords that will help
her show get discovered because

446
00:25:58,840 --> 00:26:00,960
it is something that we all
struggle with on a regular

447
00:26:00,960 --> 00:26:03,360
basis.
I like that, Yeah.

448
00:26:03,360 --> 00:26:05,920
And it feels a little too wordy.
I was going to say, yeah, maybe

449
00:26:05,920 --> 00:26:09,080
even adding the word short to
stories, right, Short stories to

450
00:26:09,080 --> 00:26:11,960
brighten your day.
But it does feel a little a

451
00:26:11,960 --> 00:26:16,000
little wordy to me.
I really like that direction.

452
00:26:16,000 --> 00:26:21,360
Sid I It's a little more literal
and would draw me to it much

453
00:26:21,360 --> 00:26:25,280
quicker than a title like Cher
Delights, just because I

454
00:26:25,280 --> 00:26:27,120
wouldn't know.
And I think somebody put in the

455
00:26:27,120 --> 00:26:31,120
chat, it almost feels like it's
maybe something bakery related

456
00:26:31,880 --> 00:26:35,200
when you think Shared Delights.
So yeah, I could see that.

457
00:26:35,200 --> 00:26:36,880
Yeah, and I agree with the Sid
there.

458
00:26:36,880 --> 00:26:38,760
I was actually thinking about
the word chronicles.

459
00:26:38,760 --> 00:26:41,640
I love the word chronicles, so
if she were to rename it to

460
00:26:41,640 --> 00:26:44,400
something to something to the
effect of like the women's

461
00:26:44,400 --> 00:26:46,520
chronicles or the feel good
chronicles, I think that could

462
00:26:46,520 --> 00:26:51,000
be a lot more of an exciting
potential title for the show for

463
00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:53,320
the artwork.
I just feel like it was just too

464
00:26:53,320 --> 00:26:55,200
dark.
You know, I think I mentioned in

465
00:26:55,200 --> 00:27:00,240
my my feedback for the show that
the pacing, the delivery, the

466
00:27:00,360 --> 00:27:02,800
the music bed to me and this
will tell you a little bit about

467
00:27:02,800 --> 00:27:05,960
me and what I grew up on is the
kind of the Shelley Duvall

468
00:27:06,440 --> 00:27:08,480
bedtime stories, if anyone knows
what I'm talking about.

469
00:27:08,480 --> 00:27:11,680
Shelley Duvall was of course the
mom in the Shining, but she also

470
00:27:11,680 --> 00:27:15,080
did a little series in the early
90s called Bedtime Stories.

471
00:27:15,080 --> 00:27:19,880
And this kind of brought me the
same whimsy that series did.

472
00:27:19,880 --> 00:27:23,920
So I was almost thinking that
it'd be cool to kind of carry

473
00:27:23,920 --> 00:27:26,880
that feeling.
It's almost almost was like a

474
00:27:26,880 --> 00:27:28,400
stage.
She's almost like welcoming,

475
00:27:28,400 --> 00:27:30,880
almost like a little play.
I would have even like consider

476
00:27:30,880 --> 00:27:34,520
putting almost like stage
curtains behind her with some

477
00:27:34,520 --> 00:27:38,160
kind of almost not avant-garde.
When when tries to like like a

478
00:27:38,920 --> 00:27:40,880
movie theater, I'm going to
blank.

479
00:27:40,880 --> 00:27:43,640
It doesn't matter.
But but just to like bring that

480
00:27:43,640 --> 00:27:46,960
kind of like stagey.
I'm going to just keep reusing

481
00:27:46,960 --> 00:27:48,800
the word whimsical.
That's the only thing I got this

482
00:27:48,800 --> 00:27:51,360
morning.
But but to bring that to the

483
00:27:51,640 --> 00:27:54,000
that same feeling to the artwork
as because I just felt like it

484
00:27:54,000 --> 00:27:56,280
was way too dark to be honest.
I'm with you.

485
00:27:56,280 --> 00:28:00,520
I could see maybe it's like her
on a stage sitting on a stool

486
00:28:00,520 --> 00:28:04,760
holding a book open.
An opened book, Yeah, With a

487
00:28:04,800 --> 00:28:06,840
spotlight on her or something
like that.

488
00:28:07,760 --> 00:28:11,840
I think short stories should be
front and center in there

489
00:28:11,840 --> 00:28:15,600
instead of shared delights.
I don't think that a picture of

490
00:28:15,600 --> 00:28:19,080
her is adding to the whole
thing.

491
00:28:19,800 --> 00:28:23,440
And let's asterisk that and say
Dr. isn't usually a fan of

492
00:28:23,920 --> 00:28:27,360
pictures people the the the
post's picture.

493
00:28:27,960 --> 00:28:30,680
Yeah, because it doesn't mean
anything to anyone.

494
00:28:30,760 --> 00:28:34,920
You know what I mean, a picture
of myself on my cover art.

495
00:28:35,160 --> 00:28:39,600
It means nothing to anyone.
And I totally agree with BC

496
00:28:39,600 --> 00:28:42,560
about it being too dark in my
head.

497
00:28:42,840 --> 00:28:45,920
I imagine especially since he
brought up the Shelley Duvall

498
00:28:45,920 --> 00:28:49,520
thing.
I imagine a fairly light

499
00:28:49,520 --> 00:28:53,480
colored, maybe white, maybe a
nice yellow or something like

500
00:28:53,480 --> 00:28:55,920
that.
But a big illustration of an

501
00:28:55,920 --> 00:29:00,240
open book, maybe with a page
starting to turn or something

502
00:29:00,240 --> 00:29:06,600
like that, and the word short
stories for the I don't know, I

503
00:29:07,080 --> 00:29:11,960
don't know, but short stories
should be somewhere in that

504
00:29:12,200 --> 00:29:13,480
title.
Yeah.

505
00:29:13,640 --> 00:29:16,960
And again, just because I think
it's important to share

506
00:29:16,960 --> 00:29:20,480
everyone's opinions, I will
share that I'm a I'm not on the

507
00:29:20,480 --> 00:29:24,120
same side of the fence as Dr. As
far as including a picture, I

508
00:29:24,120 --> 00:29:27,320
think that adding the host
picture in there in, in some

509
00:29:27,320 --> 00:29:30,880
cases, not every case, but in a
lot of cases, I think that it's,

510
00:29:30,880 --> 00:29:33,840
it's more inviting to me.
It's showing me this is the

511
00:29:33,840 --> 00:29:37,120
person I'm going to be spending
the next however many minutes in

512
00:29:37,120 --> 00:29:38,880
this case, the next 5 minutes
with.

513
00:29:39,120 --> 00:29:42,240
It's cool for me to be able to
have a visual of that person.

514
00:29:42,240 --> 00:29:44,600
And that's really the only place
I'm going to see that if I'm

515
00:29:44,920 --> 00:29:48,560
just staying within the podcast
app and and have fallen and

516
00:29:48,560 --> 00:29:51,920
found this person.
So that's just, again, that's my

517
00:29:51,920 --> 00:29:55,760
opinion and I think it can work.
Your description of a different

518
00:29:56,400 --> 00:29:59,320
cover piece of cover art, I
think that works just as well

519
00:29:59,320 --> 00:30:01,840
too.
So it's it can be just a

520
00:30:01,840 --> 00:30:05,160
personal preference, I think.
Ralph, did you want to add

521
00:30:05,160 --> 00:30:06,920
something?
As we're sitting here talking, I

522
00:30:06,920 --> 00:30:10,160
just had a thought.
Maybe the name of the show needs

523
00:30:10,160 --> 00:30:13,360
to be the experience that you
have once you listen to it,

524
00:30:13,640 --> 00:30:17,840
something like whimsical
experiences or the what is the,

525
00:30:17,840 --> 00:30:21,240
what is the take away?
Because then I think her picture

526
00:30:21,240 --> 00:30:23,560
makes sense too, because you're
building a relationship with

527
00:30:23,560 --> 00:30:25,120
her.
Let's be honest, most of the

528
00:30:25,120 --> 00:30:27,280
time what we're doing is we're
building a relationship with the

529
00:30:27,280 --> 00:30:28,800
host.
And that's why, Mark, I tend to

530
00:30:28,800 --> 00:30:30,680
agree with you.
That's why I like a picture on

531
00:30:30,680 --> 00:30:32,920
the cover, because I'm trying to
build that relationship.

532
00:30:33,400 --> 00:30:36,800
But I'm thinking, why don't we
go to what you're going to feel

533
00:30:36,920 --> 00:30:39,680
or what she wants you to feel as
you're listening to the episode

534
00:30:39,840 --> 00:30:42,600
and make that the show name or
the show title.

535
00:30:42,600 --> 00:30:44,240
I think that draws you in a
little bit more.

536
00:30:44,600 --> 00:30:47,160
I don't know if there's
copyright infringement with this

537
00:30:47,160 --> 00:30:49,920
idea, but what if the title was
something like Short Stories for

538
00:30:49,920 --> 00:30:52,920
the Soul?
I feel like that really conveys

539
00:30:52,920 --> 00:30:55,760
it all right, because it's
something that kind of soothes

540
00:30:55,760 --> 00:30:57,640
the soul.
Exactly.

541
00:30:57,640 --> 00:30:59,840
That's the take away from when
you listen to it.

542
00:31:00,080 --> 00:31:01,440
That's the take away the
experience.

543
00:31:01,440 --> 00:31:04,200
I just feel like if we named our
shows a little bit more about

544
00:31:04,280 --> 00:31:07,960
what the experiences for the
listener, I think that it's more

545
00:31:07,960 --> 00:31:09,520
enticing.
Oh yeah, I want an escape.

546
00:31:09,520 --> 00:31:12,040
Oh yeah, I want some, some soup
for the soul.

547
00:31:12,040 --> 00:31:14,400
I want whatever that is.
I just think that's a much more

548
00:31:14,400 --> 00:31:16,480
enticing.
Yeah.

549
00:31:16,480 --> 00:31:21,360
And I will say, by the way, no
offense to BC, but I think I

550
00:31:21,360 --> 00:31:23,680
don't love the idea of using the
word chronicles.

551
00:31:23,680 --> 00:31:26,920
Again, only because of search
engine optimization.

552
00:31:26,920 --> 00:31:30,160
I don't think people are
searching for chronicles that'll

553
00:31:30,160 --> 00:31:33,480
make me feel good, right?
They'll probably search for

554
00:31:33,480 --> 00:31:37,280
stories or short stories that'll
make me feel better.

555
00:31:37,600 --> 00:31:40,520
So that's just one thing to
consider when you're coming up

556
00:31:40,520 --> 00:31:43,920
with a show title.
Hey, Mark, that goes along with

557
00:31:43,920 --> 00:31:45,560
what I said.
I think you're going to search

558
00:31:45,560 --> 00:31:48,520
for what you're looking for.
I'm looking for an escape.

559
00:31:48,760 --> 00:31:51,920
I'm looking for a release.
I'm looking for what is that?

560
00:31:52,720 --> 00:31:56,760
Yeah, fair enough.
Let's talk a little bit about

561
00:31:56,760 --> 00:31:59,920
the episodes themselves.
And I think, yeah, we've

562
00:31:59,920 --> 00:32:04,240
certainly shared that we all
have agreed that Rica's is a

563
00:32:04,240 --> 00:32:08,960
natural storyteller.
Her warmth and joy and emotional

564
00:32:08,960 --> 00:32:13,280
engagement come through clearly.
I see Sid had to leave I guess,

565
00:32:13,280 --> 00:32:16,000
but Sid was pointing out and I
agree with him.

566
00:32:16,000 --> 00:32:18,960
I liked it when she would start
to laugh as she was telling the

567
00:32:18,960 --> 00:32:23,040
story, a giggle or there is I
think one point in the Wedding

568
00:32:23,040 --> 00:32:28,160
Crasher episode she she really
chuckles and I like that.

569
00:32:28,160 --> 00:32:32,520
It helped draw me closer to her
as she's telling that story, and

570
00:32:32,680 --> 00:32:36,520
we've also established her
confidence in a second language

571
00:32:36,520 --> 00:32:40,480
is really impressive.
With all that, I'll play a piece

572
00:32:40,480 --> 00:32:44,160
for you, a short piece, like a
minute long as a part of the

573
00:32:44,160 --> 00:32:48,600
Wedding Crasher story.
And this is where I think we can

574
00:32:48,600 --> 00:32:52,600
also talk a little bit about why
pacing is so important,

575
00:32:53,080 --> 00:32:57,320
especially in my opinion, if you
have a thicker accent, pacing.

576
00:32:57,320 --> 00:33:01,240
And because if we are too quick
when we're speaking, whether we

577
00:33:01,240 --> 00:33:05,880
have an accent or not, words can
get swallowed, words can get

578
00:33:05,880 --> 00:33:11,000
lost, which just makes it even
more dramatic when it's a little

579
00:33:11,000 --> 00:33:15,320
harder for somebody else who's
trying to understand what you

580
00:33:15,320 --> 00:33:18,440
have to say.
All right, here is the original

581
00:33:18,440 --> 00:33:22,680
clip from Wedding Crasher.
But now he has got a new

582
00:33:22,680 --> 00:33:24,440
problem.
He's hungry.

583
00:33:24,680 --> 00:33:27,920
Attila scans the room.
The food is on the other side of

584
00:33:27,920 --> 00:33:31,080
the dance floor.
He has to cross enemy territory,

585
00:33:31,200 --> 00:33:34,880
so he goes for it.
Halfway through the crowd, he

586
00:33:34,880 --> 00:33:38,480
runs into the grandfather again,
who is dancing with someone.

587
00:33:38,800 --> 00:33:43,200
The grandpa, in the burst of
enthusiasm, literally hands his

588
00:33:43,200 --> 00:33:47,040
dance partner to Attila.
So now Attila is dancing with

589
00:33:47,040 --> 00:33:50,200
this woman who immediately
starts gossiping about the

590
00:33:50,200 --> 00:33:53,960
grandfather.
So Attuna just nods, smiles,

591
00:33:54,000 --> 00:33:56,680
maybe, throws in totally here
and there.

592
00:33:57,000 --> 00:34:00,880
When the song ends, he thanks
her and continues his mission.

593
00:34:01,200 --> 00:34:04,600
The cookies.
He finally reaches the dessert

594
00:34:04,640 --> 00:34:09,080
table and start to eat, grabs A
handful, stuffs them in his

595
00:34:09,080 --> 00:34:14,120
pockets like he's robbing a
bakery, and decides it's time to

596
00:34:14,239 --> 00:34:18,679
make his exit.
The journey home is unclear.

597
00:34:18,880 --> 00:34:22,800
What is clear based on the grass
stains covering his pants the

598
00:34:22,800 --> 00:34:26,560
next morning, is that he fell
multiple times.

599
00:34:27,159 --> 00:34:31,199
We are talking full and crawling
through dirt, dragging himself

600
00:34:31,560 --> 00:34:33,719
to the dorm like wounded
soldier.

601
00:34:34,639 --> 00:34:37,239
OK, We're going to do pacing
first, then I want to talk if

602
00:34:37,239 --> 00:34:41,719
anybody wants to comment on
storytelling, sound design,

603
00:34:41,719 --> 00:34:44,400
although I think we'll get into
some sound design here as well.

604
00:34:44,600 --> 00:34:49,280
So what I did is took that same
clip, maybe shortened it at the

605
00:34:49,280 --> 00:34:52,000
end a little bit, but I took
that same clip.

606
00:34:52,000 --> 00:34:56,000
I stripped the music using
aphonic just so that the music

607
00:34:56,000 --> 00:34:58,480
would now become really
distracting in the sense that

608
00:34:58,480 --> 00:35:00,640
you'll hear it kind of disappear
and come back.

609
00:35:00,640 --> 00:35:03,240
So I just said let's just
eliminate it all together.

610
00:35:03,760 --> 00:35:08,440
And I added some pauses, some
space between some of the things

611
00:35:08,440 --> 00:35:11,880
she had to say.
And please keep in mind, I did

612
00:35:11,880 --> 00:35:14,600
this.
I didn't spend the same amount

613
00:35:14,600 --> 00:35:17,040
of time I might spend on this
for, say, a client.

614
00:35:18,040 --> 00:35:20,560
So I might have made some
additional adjustments.

615
00:35:20,560 --> 00:35:23,840
But I think this will give you
some idea of what I mean by when

616
00:35:23,840 --> 00:35:27,760
you add a little bit of space
that you can understand the

617
00:35:27,760 --> 00:35:30,080
person a lot better.
It gives your mind some time to

618
00:35:30,080 --> 00:35:32,640
process.
But now he has got a new

619
00:35:32,640 --> 00:35:34,840
problem.
He's hungry.

620
00:35:35,600 --> 00:35:39,160
Matila scans the room.
The food is on the other side of

621
00:35:39,160 --> 00:35:42,600
the dance floor.
He has to cross enemy territory,

622
00:35:42,840 --> 00:35:47,240
so he goes for it.
Halfway through the crowd, he

623
00:35:47,240 --> 00:35:50,840
runs into the grandfather again,
who is dancing with someone.

624
00:35:51,520 --> 00:35:56,080
The grandpa, in the burst of
enthusiasm, literally hands his

625
00:35:56,080 --> 00:35:59,920
dance part near to Atilba.
So now Atila is dancing with

626
00:35:59,920 --> 00:36:03,080
this woman who immediately
starts gossiping about the

627
00:36:03,080 --> 00:36:07,200
grandfather.
So Artuna just nods, smiles,

628
00:36:07,400 --> 00:36:10,080
maybe throws in it totally here
and there.

629
00:36:10,400 --> 00:36:14,320
When the song ends, he thanks
her and continues his mission.

630
00:36:14,960 --> 00:36:18,560
The cookies.
He finally reaches the dessert

631
00:36:18,560 --> 00:36:23,400
table and start to eat, grabs A
handful, stuffs them in his

632
00:36:23,400 --> 00:36:28,560
pockets like he's robbing a
bakery and decides it's time to

633
00:36:28,640 --> 00:36:33,440
make his exit.
The journey home is unclear.

634
00:36:35,960 --> 00:36:40,480
So what I I might have even
given it more pacing, but I, for

635
00:36:40,760 --> 00:36:44,600
sake of time and interest, I
wanted to keep it moving a

636
00:36:44,600 --> 00:36:46,720
little bit quicker.
I probably would have let it

637
00:36:46,720 --> 00:36:48,880
breathe in some places a little
bit more.

638
00:36:48,880 --> 00:36:53,400
And I have one more clip for you
that might have a little bit

639
00:36:53,400 --> 00:36:57,840
more of that pacing, a little
more of those pauses here and

640
00:36:57,840 --> 00:37:00,080
there.
But I also took the liberty to

641
00:37:00,080 --> 00:37:04,520
add sound design.
I think that this show could

642
00:37:04,520 --> 00:37:08,120
benefit the story, could benefit
that the different ones that she

643
00:37:08,120 --> 00:37:12,400
tells, if she added some sound
effects, some things that help

644
00:37:12,400 --> 00:37:16,840
move the story along even more.
I'll play it for you in a

645
00:37:16,840 --> 00:37:18,680
second.
I see BC wanted to say

646
00:37:18,680 --> 00:37:19,840
something.
Go ahead BC.

647
00:37:20,440 --> 00:37:23,120
And my one thing about the
quality was, and I don't know if

648
00:37:23,120 --> 00:37:26,400
anyone else kind of picked this
up, I felt like either there was

649
00:37:26,400 --> 00:37:30,960
some maybe like overdoing of
noise reduction or maybe that

650
00:37:30,960 --> 00:37:33,040
she was, I don't know.
There's there's something about

651
00:37:33,040 --> 00:37:35,760
like just some kind of like
accent sounds around her voice

652
00:37:35,760 --> 00:37:38,440
that made it seem like there was
maybe a bit of an overproduction

653
00:37:38,840 --> 00:37:43,320
that I noticed more than really
her delivery or her accent that

654
00:37:43,320 --> 00:37:46,400
at times I'm like, what is that
like imperfection in the

655
00:37:46,400 --> 00:37:48,840
quality?
I agree with you, I wrote that

656
00:37:48,840 --> 00:37:52,080
down as well.
It sounds to me like there was

657
00:37:52,080 --> 00:37:57,200
some AI or some over processing
done in spots.

658
00:37:57,360 --> 00:38:01,360
And let's keep in mind also that
the second clip that I played

659
00:38:01,360 --> 00:38:05,480
with a little more pacing I had,
I ran it through an AI processor

660
00:38:05,480 --> 00:38:08,040
to strip the music out.
So it might have even sounded a

661
00:38:08,040 --> 00:38:11,520
little more dramatic in that
second clip, But I'll play this

662
00:38:11,520 --> 00:38:15,080
next clip for you.
This is the same clip with a

663
00:38:15,080 --> 00:38:19,520
maybe a little bit more pacing
and some added sound effects,

664
00:38:19,520 --> 00:38:23,160
music, etcetera.
But now he has got a new

665
00:38:23,160 --> 00:38:25,320
problem.
He's hungry.

666
00:38:26,120 --> 00:38:29,720
Atila scans the room.
The food is on the other side of

667
00:38:29,720 --> 00:38:33,120
the dance floor.
He has to cross enemy territory,

668
00:38:33,360 --> 00:38:37,760
so he goes for it.
Halfway through the crowd, he

669
00:38:37,760 --> 00:38:41,360
runs into the grandfather again,
who is dancing with someone.

670
00:38:42,040 --> 00:38:46,640
The grandpa, in the burst of
enthusiasm, literally hands his

671
00:38:46,640 --> 00:38:50,440
dance part near to Atila.
So now Atila is dancing with

672
00:38:50,440 --> 00:38:53,600
this woman who immediately
starts gossiping about the

673
00:38:53,600 --> 00:39:00,160
grandfather, just nods, smiles,
maybe, throws in totally here

674
00:39:00,160 --> 00:39:03,440
and there.
When the song ends, he thanks

675
00:39:03,440 --> 00:39:06,720
her and continues his mission.
The cookies.

676
00:39:07,480 --> 00:39:12,280
He finally reaches the dessert
table and start to eat, grabs A

677
00:39:12,280 --> 00:39:16,520
handful, stabs them in his
pockets like he's robbing a

678
00:39:16,520 --> 00:39:20,920
bakery, and decides it's time to
make his exit.

679
00:39:21,920 --> 00:39:27,600
The journey home is unclear.
What is clear based on the gross

680
00:39:27,600 --> 00:39:31,560
things covering his pants?
So I'm curious and I am fine

681
00:39:31,560 --> 00:39:33,400
with it if you didn't like that,
right?

682
00:39:33,400 --> 00:39:36,480
Like feel free to chime in with
any thoughts or opinions.

683
00:39:36,480 --> 00:39:39,640
But I really felt like it added
something.

684
00:39:39,640 --> 00:39:46,080
And I will say I might have been
a little generous with the sound

685
00:39:46,080 --> 00:39:48,320
effects.
I might have added more than I

686
00:39:48,320 --> 00:39:53,680
would normally, but I did want
to try to convey or illustrate

687
00:39:53,680 --> 00:39:58,040
what I'm getting at in a very
short clip, like a minute or so

688
00:39:58,040 --> 00:40:00,480
long.
I loved it.

689
00:40:00,480 --> 00:40:04,160
It carried the story forward,
that's for sure.

690
00:40:04,160 --> 00:40:09,520
Probably I would turn them down
just a little bit in volume, but

691
00:40:09,520 --> 00:40:13,320
I think I realized one of the
things that is distracting for

692
00:40:13,320 --> 00:40:19,080
me because she's so new to the
language, her emphasis on

693
00:40:19,120 --> 00:40:24,840
syllables are misplaced.
And that's distracting to me.

694
00:40:24,840 --> 00:40:30,400
And because it's distracting, I
lose track of what she just said

695
00:40:30,960 --> 00:40:35,800
because I'm concentrating on
what she meant before, you know?

696
00:40:35,800 --> 00:40:39,480
So it's not.
So without the sound effects,

697
00:40:40,400 --> 00:40:43,160
it's not going forward for me.
I see what you're saying.

698
00:40:43,160 --> 00:40:46,480
So you're feeling, you're
feeling like the sound effects,

699
00:40:46,480 --> 00:40:49,240
the different yeah, that are
kind of going along with the

700
00:40:49,240 --> 00:40:52,960
story.
It helps take you off of the

701
00:40:52,960 --> 00:40:55,760
accent and helps you focus more
on the story itself.

702
00:40:56,360 --> 00:41:01,080
If she walks away with any of
these suggestions #1 the more

703
00:41:01,080 --> 00:41:07,240
immersive and #2 I think she
needs to study up on where those

704
00:41:07,560 --> 00:41:12,440
syllables are for because that's
what's truly distracting to me

705
00:41:12,440 --> 00:41:15,840
is, you know, the emphasis on
the different syllables.

706
00:41:15,840 --> 00:41:18,840
Her inflections yeah, I heard
that too.

707
00:41:18,840 --> 00:41:22,000
And that is very common when
somebody is speaking another

708
00:41:22,000 --> 00:41:25,800
language because the way their
native language, the inflections

709
00:41:25,800 --> 00:41:28,240
may happen in different spots,
right.

710
00:41:28,240 --> 00:41:30,400
So I think right so that.
Exactly.

711
00:41:30,480 --> 00:41:32,760
That's just.
Something I think with time that

712
00:41:32,760 --> 00:41:37,640
she'll she'll get better at.
But you know what, this is an

713
00:41:37,640 --> 00:41:42,720
audio first podcast.
If this was if we could see

714
00:41:42,720 --> 00:41:46,240
what's going on, then that
doesn't even apply.

715
00:41:46,240 --> 00:41:49,040
What I just said doesn't even
apply because we could actually

716
00:41:49,280 --> 00:41:53,320
see what's happening and that
will move us forward.

717
00:41:53,720 --> 00:41:58,240
If this is an audio first
podcast, I think that's what she

718
00:41:58,280 --> 00:42:01,920
she needs to probably pay a
little bit of attention to.

719
00:42:02,200 --> 00:42:05,200
Yeah, and kudos to her for
doing.

720
00:42:05,200 --> 00:42:06,600
This.
Anyway, right, Like.

721
00:42:06,760 --> 00:42:10,000
My God, that's what we talk
about is amazing.

722
00:42:10,000 --> 00:42:12,000
Yeah, I mean.
Amazing this.

723
00:42:12,000 --> 00:42:16,200
Is what we talk about is do it
anyway and you know, figure out

724
00:42:16,200 --> 00:42:19,520
where you can improve over time
and make the proper adjustments.

725
00:42:19,880 --> 00:42:23,480
Maybe this is because I grew up
with half of my family having

726
00:42:23,960 --> 00:42:27,600
pretty thick French accents, my
mom's side of the family that

727
00:42:27,800 --> 00:42:30,400
maybe it's not, even though it's
a different language, a

728
00:42:30,400 --> 00:42:32,920
different accent.
Maybe I'm just more accustomed

729
00:42:32,920 --> 00:42:36,480
to it and used to the fact that
maybe the inflections are being

730
00:42:36,480 --> 00:42:39,320
used in different spots than I
would typically hear them being

731
00:42:39,320 --> 00:42:41,720
used.
So maybe that's part of it too,

732
00:42:41,720 --> 00:42:44,120
is that I'm a little more
tolerant of that.

733
00:42:44,360 --> 00:42:48,160
But I think again, and you know,
let's also keep in mind, I don't

734
00:42:48,160 --> 00:42:52,760
know this 100%, but she'd, I'm
assuming this is all scripted

735
00:42:53,120 --> 00:42:56,320
and she does a fantastic job of
reading naturally.

736
00:42:57,000 --> 00:42:58,600
Really.
Well, yeah, I think she does.

737
00:42:58,600 --> 00:43:02,320
A really good job of that.
Does anyone else want to comment

738
00:43:02,320 --> 00:43:04,960
and I will.
I will also say, by the way, I

739
00:43:04,960 --> 00:43:08,440
intentionally made those
background sounds, the music,

740
00:43:08,440 --> 00:43:11,240
this foots, the footsteps, all
that stuff.

741
00:43:11,440 --> 00:43:14,960
I intentionally made those
louder for demonstration

742
00:43:14,960 --> 00:43:19,240
purposes so that we could hear
them very clearly in this

743
00:43:19,280 --> 00:43:21,200
exercise.
But yeah, I agree with you.

744
00:43:21,200 --> 00:43:25,440
Normal, normally I would say
I'd, I'd be adjusting the sound

745
00:43:25,440 --> 00:43:27,920
and to maybe a little lower in
spots, maybe a little higher in

746
00:43:27,920 --> 00:43:31,000
spots, all depending.
But yeah, that's a very key

747
00:43:31,000 --> 00:43:35,120
element to consider.
Anyone else want to comment on

748
00:43:35,360 --> 00:43:39,800
anything about the storytelling,
the host presence, the

749
00:43:39,800 --> 00:43:42,000
scripting?
Matthew, go ahead.

750
00:43:42,760 --> 00:43:47,240
I just had a quick look and it
looks like Wedding Crasher is

751
00:43:47,240 --> 00:43:52,640
123406, the 6th episode.
I think a bit of the slack can

752
00:43:52,640 --> 00:43:55,360
be cut there as well.
I don't think any podcaster

753
00:43:55,360 --> 00:44:00,000
doing it fresh has it down pat.
And I'm just saying this in

754
00:44:00,080 --> 00:44:02,920
response to Dave Campbell
mentioning in in the Clubhouse

755
00:44:02,920 --> 00:44:08,400
chat that if she could afford an
editor to do the mock stuff,

756
00:44:09,440 --> 00:44:12,880
that it might be worth doing.
My response to that would be

757
00:44:12,880 --> 00:44:16,160
that I think she would still be
in the process of discovering

758
00:44:16,160 --> 00:44:20,600
what kind of podcaster she wants
to be and what interests her

759
00:44:20,600 --> 00:44:25,240
most about creating the podcast.
Because the only reason that I

760
00:44:25,240 --> 00:44:28,640
got into the Marks stuff with
the sound design things is

761
00:44:28,640 --> 00:44:31,680
because I was curious, like, how
do I recreate this voice?

762
00:44:31,680 --> 00:44:35,720
How do I make a voice kind of
like this video game that sounds

763
00:44:35,720 --> 00:44:41,160
like a big echoey sky based
presence called Elohim in the

764
00:44:41,360 --> 00:44:44,400
the Telus principle.
If anyone knows that video game,

765
00:44:44,760 --> 00:44:46,920
you kind of play around with
stuff a little bit and some

766
00:44:46,920 --> 00:44:50,320
people not necessarily have the
chops for it, but some people

767
00:44:50,320 --> 00:44:52,200
have the interest for it and
some don't.

768
00:44:52,840 --> 00:44:56,840
And I think it will serve the
podcast to explore those things

769
00:44:56,840 --> 00:44:59,040
or they'll decide it's not
really for them.

770
00:44:59,520 --> 00:45:02,480
But I think all of this, the
stuff that we're pointing out

771
00:45:02,640 --> 00:45:06,360
being at the beginning of your
English journey as well as your

772
00:45:06,360 --> 00:45:10,160
podcast journey.
I think if we came back to visit

773
00:45:10,320 --> 00:45:13,480
what she's doing, perhaps after
this, the feedback in this

774
00:45:13,480 --> 00:45:17,160
episode, in six months, it could
be a completely different

775
00:45:17,160 --> 00:45:20,800
podcast all over again.
So just for that context, I

776
00:45:20,800 --> 00:45:23,880
think that that just came to my
mind a little bit we've been

777
00:45:23,880 --> 00:45:25,800
talking about.
I think that's a great point.

778
00:45:25,800 --> 00:45:28,680
Thank you for bringing that up.
Yeah, any podcaster, she's just,

779
00:45:28,680 --> 00:45:33,560
she's brand new to this.
So on top of the usual hiccups

780
00:45:33,560 --> 00:45:37,120
that come along the way in the
learnings that we, you know, get

781
00:45:37,120 --> 00:45:41,560
from those hiccups, she's also
got a new language she's working

782
00:45:41,560 --> 00:45:43,720
with too.
So again, considering all of

783
00:45:43,720 --> 00:45:47,560
that, big props to her.
And, and Michelle in the chat

784
00:45:47,560 --> 00:45:49,720
here says the accent doesn't
bother her.

785
00:45:49,840 --> 00:45:54,160
However, she is suggesting that
Rica slows down a bit and she

786
00:45:54,160 --> 00:45:57,240
also gives kudos to Rica.
And that's again, that goes back

787
00:45:57,240 --> 00:46:00,760
to the pacing thing, right?
You don't have to actually edit

788
00:46:00,760 --> 00:46:04,480
in the pacing.
This is a matter potentially of

789
00:46:04,480 --> 00:46:08,000
slowing things down.
And I I can't help but to wonder

790
00:46:09,000 --> 00:46:12,600
if she's intentionally rushing
through it, for lack of better

791
00:46:12,600 --> 00:46:15,680
word, because she's trying to
keep this within the 5 minutes

792
00:46:16,440 --> 00:46:18,840
you know that she's promised to
her audience.

793
00:46:19,680 --> 00:46:22,240
That could be.
I wanted to make it clear,

794
00:46:22,240 --> 00:46:25,600
especially for the newer
podcasters that are listening,

795
00:46:25,840 --> 00:46:28,800
you know these sound effects are
available.

796
00:46:28,840 --> 00:46:33,400
It's not like Mark is paying
$1000 for these sound effects.

797
00:46:33,440 --> 00:46:37,200
They these are all available on
a lot of different platforms.

798
00:46:37,640 --> 00:46:42,560
So I wanted to make sure to let
Rica know that these are all

799
00:46:42,800 --> 00:46:45,760
accessible.
She has access to all of these

800
00:46:45,760 --> 00:46:49,600
sound effects and more.
I got actually all of the sound

801
00:46:49,600 --> 00:46:53,440
effects that I played in that
clip from the YouTube free,

802
00:46:53,440 --> 00:46:57,440
royalty free license, free music
and sound library.

803
00:46:58,320 --> 00:47:01,680
And that's totally free to use.
Oh, you just got to go to it and

804
00:47:01,680 --> 00:47:04,200
pick and choose from their
library has a search bar,

805
00:47:04,200 --> 00:47:07,120
everything.
And yeah, I just what I do is I

806
00:47:07,120 --> 00:47:10,160
sit and listen to the story and
I ask myself, like, what does

807
00:47:10,160 --> 00:47:14,040
this need?
I get very literal when she says

808
00:47:14,040 --> 00:47:18,080
the part about the main
character of the story getting

809
00:47:18,080 --> 00:47:21,880
hungry.
She added that dramatic spot

810
00:47:21,880 --> 00:47:24,720
where, you know, then all of a
sudden I forget exactly the

811
00:47:24,720 --> 00:47:27,560
wording, but then all of a
sudden he realized.

812
00:47:27,840 --> 00:47:30,720
And then I added a pause.
He's hungry.

813
00:47:31,040 --> 00:47:35,120
And then then I added the
dramatic, you know, and then it

814
00:47:35,120 --> 00:47:38,040
trailing that Stinger just kind
of trailing in the background,

815
00:47:38,320 --> 00:47:41,280
you know, while he's thinking
about what do I do now?

816
00:47:41,280 --> 00:47:44,880
And then she says he's walking,
he walks over to the desert

817
00:47:44,880 --> 00:47:46,840
area.
And so, OK, let's add some

818
00:47:46,840 --> 00:47:49,560
footsteps to that.
And then he's at the dessert

819
00:47:49,560 --> 00:47:51,000
area.
OK, So what happens at the

820
00:47:51,000 --> 00:47:53,200
dessert area?
What would I hear in a dessert

821
00:47:53,200 --> 00:47:54,440
area?
I'd probably hear a lot of

822
00:47:54,440 --> 00:47:57,040
conversation going on while
people are picking and choosing

823
00:47:57,040 --> 00:48:00,640
what they want to eat, right?
So just think about sound wise,

824
00:48:01,480 --> 00:48:04,320
what might be occurring when
you're describing that part of

825
00:48:04,320 --> 00:48:07,160
the story.
And then try it out, see if it

826
00:48:07,160 --> 00:48:08,960
works.
Matt, did you want to add

827
00:48:08,960 --> 00:48:11,360
something else?
I did, but I completely

828
00:48:11,360 --> 00:48:13,560
forgotten it because I had
another idea for the cover.

829
00:48:13,560 --> 00:48:15,560
I'd say sorry.
No problem.

830
00:48:15,560 --> 00:48:18,200
If you think of it, let me know.
And I do also want to address

831
00:48:18,200 --> 00:48:21,000
something you had shared.
This was what David put in the

832
00:48:21,000 --> 00:48:27,360
chat about could Rica afford to
hire an editor to add the sound

833
00:48:27,360 --> 00:48:31,520
effects and music that I added?
And he says not sure that most

834
00:48:31,520 --> 00:48:34,800
podcasters have the editing
chops or the funds to create

835
00:48:34,800 --> 00:48:36,360
what we've addressed.
The fact that you don't

836
00:48:36,360 --> 00:48:39,400
necessarily need the funds, you
just need a little bit of time

837
00:48:39,400 --> 00:48:43,520
maybe to learn what I did.
I did that in Audacity with

838
00:48:43,520 --> 00:48:47,480
multi tracking and it's really
relatively easy, right?

839
00:48:47,480 --> 00:48:51,600
You have the your main track of
the for my case, I took her main

840
00:48:51,600 --> 00:48:55,560
track.
It was on in the the DAW in on

841
00:48:55,560 --> 00:48:57,760
the screen with the little wave
format.

842
00:48:57,760 --> 00:49:00,520
And then I would just grab
sounds and drop it in and they

843
00:49:00,520 --> 00:49:02,760
appear right under it.
And then you can just click and

844
00:49:02,760 --> 00:49:05,840
drag the sound effects to put it
in the exact place.

845
00:49:05,840 --> 00:49:08,040
It's really pretty easy.
It just takes a little bit of

846
00:49:08,040 --> 00:49:13,240
practice and know how you can
find that on any, you know, you

847
00:49:13,240 --> 00:49:16,720
can find that on YouTube easily.
I think as far as how to do what

848
00:49:16,720 --> 00:49:20,320
I just described, and maybe I'll
put something out like that too

849
00:49:20,320 --> 00:49:22,680
and show somebody how to do show
you how to do that.

850
00:49:23,040 --> 00:49:26,520
Dave says funds to hire an
editor, not necessarily funds

851
00:49:26,520 --> 00:49:27,680
for the effects.
Yeah.

852
00:49:27,680 --> 00:49:30,440
I mean, there is a cost to doing
that for sure.

853
00:49:31,280 --> 00:49:33,080
OK.
The last area I want to talk

854
00:49:33,080 --> 00:49:37,920
about is discoverability.
Since Matt brought up the fact

855
00:49:37,920 --> 00:49:42,000
that this is a new podcaster, a
new podcast, I think it's

856
00:49:42,000 --> 00:49:45,000
important to talk about what
she's doing for discoverability.

857
00:49:45,000 --> 00:49:49,920
And she has shared with me she
is only on Spotify.

858
00:49:49,920 --> 00:49:55,960
And when I say only, I mean only
like no website, no other

859
00:49:55,960 --> 00:49:59,680
platform.
She says that she's doing this

860
00:49:59,680 --> 00:50:02,160
intentionally.
The show's growth, this is a

861
00:50:02,160 --> 00:50:04,120
summary of some things she
shared with me.

862
00:50:04,280 --> 00:50:07,360
The show's growth is 100%
organic.

863
00:50:08,200 --> 00:50:11,560
She says they get she gets solid
early engagement.

864
00:50:12,480 --> 00:50:17,680
She gives me some statistics so
far, 664 total plays, 421

865
00:50:17,680 --> 00:50:22,720
streams, downloads, 30 hours of
consumption, A5 point O rating

866
00:50:22,720 --> 00:50:26,520
with 16 reviews.
I think that she's pulling some

867
00:50:26,520 --> 00:50:30,960
of this from her recent Spotify
Wrapped, which is awesome and I

868
00:50:30,960 --> 00:50:33,680
shouldn't say, but and she says
she's been getting lots of great

869
00:50:33,680 --> 00:50:37,960
listener feedback.
But I think so, you know, we

870
00:50:37,960 --> 00:50:41,120
it's like on one side of our
mouth, we talk about just start

871
00:50:41,120 --> 00:50:44,000
however you feel comfortable.
And I still stand by that,

872
00:50:44,000 --> 00:50:46,000
right?
And so maybe this is a case of

873
00:50:46,000 --> 00:50:49,600
Rico feeling comfortable just
going the easiest possible route

874
00:50:49,600 --> 00:50:52,680
to get this show out there.
And often times that is through

875
00:50:52,680 --> 00:50:56,760
Spotify because you use Spotify
for creators, which is free, it

876
00:50:56,760 --> 00:50:58,720
will automatically add it to
Spotify.

877
00:50:58,720 --> 00:51:01,800
No extra steps involved to get
it on other platforms.

878
00:51:02,520 --> 00:51:05,680
So I do respect if that's the
case, that's what she's doing.

879
00:51:06,240 --> 00:51:09,560
But I do feel like as a podcast,
if you're really taking this

880
00:51:09,560 --> 00:51:13,200
seriously, if it's a more than
just a hobby, I think you got to

881
00:51:13,200 --> 00:51:17,560
have at least a web page, maybe
not a full blown website, but I

882
00:51:17,560 --> 00:51:20,960
think it's important for you to
have a web page, a place that

883
00:51:20,960 --> 00:51:24,560
you can send people to connect
with them, give them a little

884
00:51:24,560 --> 00:51:28,480
bit more, show them where they
can listen, listen straight from

885
00:51:28,480 --> 00:51:30,080
the website.
Like I think that's really

886
00:51:30,080 --> 00:51:31,960
important.
And I know that she told me she

887
00:51:31,960 --> 00:51:35,760
has plans in 2026 to do more
like that.

888
00:51:36,520 --> 00:51:39,680
Does anyone have any thoughts?
Is it really, is she shooting

889
00:51:39,680 --> 00:51:44,640
herself in the foot here or are
we cool with with her approach

890
00:51:44,880 --> 00:51:47,160
with this new podcast?
Let's go to Ashley first since

891
00:51:47,160 --> 00:51:49,480
we haven't talked to Ashley much
yet this morning.

892
00:51:49,480 --> 00:51:51,120
And then we'll hear from Ralph
and Matthew.

893
00:51:51,120 --> 00:51:53,480
Go ahead, Ashley.
I was going to ask, do we know

894
00:51:53,480 --> 00:51:56,720
if she has pod page?
She has no website at all, so

895
00:51:56,720 --> 00:52:00,400
she's not using pod page.
I think isn't there a free tier

896
00:52:00,400 --> 00:52:03,280
of pod page if you don't have
your domain and then you can get

897
00:52:03,280 --> 00:52:05,240
your domain later that might
help her.

898
00:52:05,440 --> 00:52:08,840
Yeah, I think that is the case
and that's why for the longest

899
00:52:08,840 --> 00:52:12,120
time I didn't go with
podcastingmorningchat.com.

900
00:52:12,120 --> 00:52:14,520
I was and it still works this
way too.

901
00:52:14,520 --> 00:52:19,680
Podpage.com/PMCI do that really
to give other podcasters

902
00:52:19,680 --> 00:52:22,680
permission to do it.
That's what's it's going to take

903
00:52:22,680 --> 00:52:25,840
to get that pod page or any web
page up there.

904
00:52:25,840 --> 00:52:29,800
If you have to use a URL that's
not most ideal, I'd rather you

905
00:52:30,120 --> 00:52:34,240
have one with that doesn't,
isn't ideally, doesn't have an

906
00:52:34,240 --> 00:52:37,320
ideal URL than not having a
website at all.

907
00:52:37,720 --> 00:52:40,920
That's what I'm trying to say.
Ralph, did you want to chime in?

908
00:52:41,600 --> 00:52:42,520
Yeah.
I just want to say this.

909
00:52:42,560 --> 00:52:44,600
I think it depends on what her
goals are.

910
00:52:45,040 --> 00:52:48,240
If her goals are this is just a
hobby and she doesn't really,

911
00:52:48,400 --> 00:52:51,360
she's not thinking about any
kind of monetization strategy or

912
00:52:51,360 --> 00:52:53,600
growing it, then I don't know
that that's necessary, Mark.

913
00:52:53,600 --> 00:52:56,760
But if she's trying to build a
brand, if she's trying to take

914
00:52:56,760 --> 00:53:00,480
this to something that she can
monetize or grow with, I think

915
00:53:00,480 --> 00:53:03,400
she absolutely needs to have a
website.

916
00:53:04,320 --> 00:53:06,840
Thank you, Ralph.
And again, I do know she has

917
00:53:06,840 --> 00:53:12,280
said she's looking to expand
and, and in 2026, and I'll say

918
00:53:12,560 --> 00:53:16,120
she also does rely on a Facebook
page.

919
00:53:16,600 --> 00:53:20,920
That's where she often sends
people in addition to her

920
00:53:20,920 --> 00:53:23,400
Spotify page.
That's what she's using

921
00:53:23,400 --> 00:53:26,120
basically as a pseudo website
for the time being.

922
00:53:27,400 --> 00:53:31,600
I have some takeaways I want to
share with you before we get to

923
00:53:31,600 --> 00:53:34,880
Matthew.
So actually not before.

924
00:53:34,880 --> 00:53:37,680
I will do that after we get to
Matthew and Dr. Go ahead,

925
00:53:37,680 --> 00:53:41,080
Matthew.
Sneak in the final word mark.

926
00:53:41,080 --> 00:53:44,440
I like it.
This smacks a lot of beginning

927
00:53:44,440 --> 00:53:47,200
of podcasters journey and
looking to do things one thing

928
00:53:47,200 --> 00:53:49,160
at a time.
And I think she's not

929
00:53:49,160 --> 00:53:51,040
necessarily shooting herself in
the foot.

930
00:53:51,320 --> 00:53:54,120
She might have just picked up
the gun and it's starting to

931
00:53:54,120 --> 00:53:57,800
move towards her toes.
If again, if we give her six

932
00:53:57,800 --> 00:54:00,400
months, she's going to find out
about all these things like, oh

933
00:54:00,400 --> 00:54:02,240
man, I could go to Apple podcast
as well.

934
00:54:02,840 --> 00:54:06,520
And you know, I suspect it could
be a relationship with

935
00:54:06,520 --> 00:54:08,520
Riverside.
That means her edits get a bit

936
00:54:08,520 --> 00:54:12,120
of background music from
Creative Commons licensing

937
00:54:12,120 --> 00:54:15,040
provided by Riverside.
Because if it's distributed by

938
00:54:15,040 --> 00:54:18,240
Spotify for creators, then it's
likely she's using that.

939
00:54:18,240 --> 00:54:20,760
In which case the move to
Audacity will be another step,

940
00:54:20,800 --> 00:54:23,840
another big transitional
movement that takes a bit of

941
00:54:23,840 --> 00:54:27,280
time.
And I've got a feeling that

942
00:54:27,280 --> 00:54:30,160
she'll start to pick up on those
things that all the things that

943
00:54:30,160 --> 00:54:32,760
we've mentioned today.
So this could be the fortune

944
00:54:32,760 --> 00:54:37,080
telling for six months down the
track when she's got that stuff

945
00:54:37,080 --> 00:54:38,880
rolling properly.
Agreed.

946
00:54:38,880 --> 00:54:40,920
Thank you, Matthew.
I appreciate you saying that.

947
00:54:40,920 --> 00:54:44,200
And I'm actually going to call
an audible here because Michelle

948
00:54:44,200 --> 00:54:47,560
has joined us on stage from the
audience and I've totally, I

949
00:54:47,560 --> 00:54:50,320
brought her up and then totally
forgot to go to her.

950
00:54:50,320 --> 00:54:52,960
So please forgive me, Michelle.
And what did you want to add to

951
00:54:52,960 --> 00:54:55,320
any of this conversation?
Are you able to come off Mike?

952
00:54:55,480 --> 00:54:58,720
Let's give her one second, OK?
Michelle says.

953
00:54:58,720 --> 00:55:02,560
If Rica wants to stick to a time
limit, she needs to cut out some

954
00:55:02,760 --> 00:55:05,520
filler and rewrite some to
tighten it.

955
00:55:05,880 --> 00:55:10,000
Time is less important than a
good story that engages.

956
00:55:10,000 --> 00:55:12,360
Yeah, I'm with you there.
And I think there are other

957
00:55:12,360 --> 00:55:14,280
opportunities.
She can cut things down.

958
00:55:14,440 --> 00:55:17,840
I think her outro, which we
haven't even played, and I think

959
00:55:17,840 --> 00:55:20,160
her intro could both be
tightened up.

960
00:55:20,160 --> 00:55:22,680
I shared at the very beginning
when we played her intro.

961
00:55:22,920 --> 00:55:24,880
I think she gives too many
details away.

962
00:55:24,880 --> 00:55:28,600
She basically spoils the the
story in many ways 'cause she's

963
00:55:28,600 --> 00:55:31,720
telling us the main plot points
to expect.

964
00:55:32,360 --> 00:55:36,960
I think that will shave off a
good 30 seconds or so and I

965
00:55:36,960 --> 00:55:41,120
think there are opportunities in
the outro where she could do the

966
00:55:41,120 --> 00:55:44,000
same.
Is this an episode a week or

967
00:55:44,000 --> 00:55:45,920
every two weeks?
I think it's every two weeks.

968
00:55:46,560 --> 00:55:51,520
OK, my thought is that maybe she
can start threading these

969
00:55:51,880 --> 00:55:55,400
episodes together.
So for instance, if it was at a

970
00:55:55,400 --> 00:55:59,400
wedding, who else in that
wedding party has a story that

971
00:55:59,400 --> 00:56:02,080
can make an appearance in the
next story?

972
00:56:02,400 --> 00:56:07,080
And you know, you know what I
mean, just to maybe every

973
00:56:07,080 --> 00:56:10,720
quarter, maybe she can change
the location, maybe it's going

974
00:56:10,720 --> 00:56:14,080
to be an apartment house the
next quarter, in the next three

975
00:56:14,080 --> 00:56:17,040
months about all the different
people that live in the the

976
00:56:17,040 --> 00:56:19,360
building.
And the next quarter could be

977
00:56:19,360 --> 00:56:23,440
like a family reunion, all the
stories in the family reunion.

978
00:56:23,760 --> 00:56:27,800
So that could it's a continuing
saga.

979
00:56:27,800 --> 00:56:30,360
I don't know what you call it,
but it's like a soap opera where

980
00:56:30,360 --> 00:56:34,280
it gets people hooked on it.
I love threading the stories

981
00:56:34,280 --> 00:56:35,240
together.
Thank you.

982
00:56:35,240 --> 00:56:37,960
That's an awesome idea.
I saw several people agreeing

983
00:56:37,960 --> 00:56:40,120
with you on that.
I think, you know, it's going

984
00:56:40,120 --> 00:56:41,480
to.
It would take a little more work

985
00:56:41,480 --> 00:56:44,960
for Rica, but the payoff could
really be worth it, you know?

986
00:56:44,960 --> 00:56:49,200
So in this case of the Wedding
Crasher episode, yeah, she could

987
00:56:49,240 --> 00:56:52,800
reach out to that listener who
submitted that story and ask if

988
00:56:52,800 --> 00:56:54,880
there are other people from that
wedding.

989
00:56:54,880 --> 00:56:57,720
Although, you know, he didn't
know a lot of people from the

990
00:56:57,720 --> 00:57:00,880
wedding, but he he does.
There is a part toward the end

991
00:57:00,880 --> 00:57:05,360
of the episode where he's
sharing his story of his, of his

992
00:57:05,360 --> 00:57:09,760
wedding crashing with his
buddies that he goes to college

993
00:57:09,800 --> 00:57:11,360
with.
So maybe some of the buddies we

994
00:57:11,360 --> 00:57:14,680
could reach out to and get a
story from them.

995
00:57:14,720 --> 00:57:16,640
Yeah, I think that would be
really clever.

996
00:57:17,400 --> 00:57:21,360
But also, this is where her
creativity comes into play.

997
00:57:21,840 --> 00:57:26,200
So just because someone doesn't
have a suggestion for other

998
00:57:26,240 --> 00:57:31,240
people at the wedding, this is
where she needs to create

999
00:57:31,760 --> 00:57:35,800
something for, you know, maybe
they give her a situation and

1000
00:57:35,800 --> 00:57:38,920
she applies it to someone who is
at that wedding.

1001
00:57:38,920 --> 00:57:41,720
Do you know what I'm saying?
This is where she has to work on

1002
00:57:41,720 --> 00:57:46,600
her creative, not work on she
has to add more, add, add more

1003
00:57:46,600 --> 00:57:48,960
creativity, right?
I agree with you.

1004
00:57:48,960 --> 00:57:53,600
Thank you, DRI think that's a
great final suggestion and I'll

1005
00:57:53,840 --> 00:57:58,960
I'll land this with a couple of
well, I'll say 3 takeaways.

1006
00:57:59,920 --> 00:58:04,240
First, the heart of this show
works Rica.

1007
00:58:04,240 --> 00:58:08,360
You're a genuine strong
storyteller.

1008
00:58:08,960 --> 00:58:12,360
Your warmth, your joy and the
way that you emotionally connect

1009
00:58:12,360 --> 00:58:15,040
with these stories all come
through clearly.

1010
00:58:16,200 --> 00:58:19,400
It delivers exactly, in my
opinion, what's promised, a

1011
00:58:19,400 --> 00:58:23,880
short uplifting reset.
And that's not easy to do

1012
00:58:24,360 --> 00:58:27,080
consistently, especially when
you are relying on other

1013
00:58:27,080 --> 00:58:31,880
people's stories.
Second, the pacing and clarity

1014
00:58:31,880 --> 00:58:35,400
are your biggest levers for
growth.

1015
00:58:36,760 --> 00:58:39,680
Slowing down just a little bit.
Like I think it was Michelle who

1016
00:58:39,680 --> 00:58:44,760
suggested that, especially in
the memorable moments like I had

1017
00:58:44,760 --> 00:58:48,200
shared there when that that
moment when he realized he was

1018
00:58:48,200 --> 00:58:50,240
hungry, right?
We made that.

1019
00:58:50,240 --> 00:58:52,600
We turned that into a memorable
moment with adding that

1020
00:58:52,600 --> 00:58:53,720
suspense.
Music.

1021
00:58:54,680 --> 00:58:57,560
These are the things that'll let
the stories breathe and help

1022
00:58:57,560 --> 00:59:00,280
more listeners fully follow
along.

1023
00:59:00,960 --> 00:59:03,640
Small changes here.
Pacing, pauses.

1024
00:59:05,080 --> 00:59:09,120
How you add music under your
voice could significantly

1025
00:59:09,120 --> 00:59:12,560
improve the comprehension
without losing your voice or

1026
00:59:12,560 --> 00:59:16,320
personality.
And 3rd alignment matters.

1027
00:59:17,440 --> 00:59:21,440
There's a maybe a slight
mismatch between how, What's the

1028
00:59:21,440 --> 00:59:26,080
word delightful the show sounds
and how it presents itself

1029
00:59:26,080 --> 00:59:30,880
visually and structurally.
So the cover art to descriptions

1030
00:59:30,880 --> 00:59:35,480
to how much you reveal upfront,
tightening that alignment will

1031
00:59:35,480 --> 00:59:37,960
help new listeners understand
the experience that you're

1032
00:59:37,960 --> 00:59:40,440
offering before they ever press
play.

1033
00:59:40,880 --> 00:59:44,080
So overall, I think that this is
a strong creative foundation.

1034
00:59:45,120 --> 00:59:47,680
Maybe you want to get a little
more creative considering some

1035
00:59:47,680 --> 00:59:51,680
ideas like the sound treatment
like Dr. had suggested.

1036
00:59:52,280 --> 00:59:53,960
You don't need to reinvent the
show.

1037
00:59:54,320 --> 00:59:55,760
I don't think that's what we're
saying.

1038
00:59:56,400 --> 00:59:59,920
You just maybe want to consider
refining it in ways that let's

1039
01:00:00,480 --> 01:00:03,040
what's already working shine
even more.

1040
01:00:04,080 --> 01:00:09,120
Thank you to Rica for being our
final 2025 evaluation.

1041
01:00:09,120 --> 01:00:13,320
We'll do this again in 2026 with
more applicants.

1042
01:00:13,320 --> 01:00:16,400
We have plenty more to get
through and if you want your

1043
01:00:16,400 --> 01:00:21,320
podcast to be evaluated.
Just check the link in our show

1044
01:00:21,320 --> 01:00:25,880
notes, you can apply there.
And thanks to the whole team,

1045
01:00:25,880 --> 01:00:30,240
the whole crew for playing along
today and offering your insight,

1046
01:00:30,240 --> 01:00:34,680
your opinions to Rica.
So until tomorrow for our final

1047
01:00:34,680 --> 01:00:39,760
show of 2025, make it a great
day everybody, Take care.