Finding Your Voice in Radio, Audio & Podcast Production

[Colorado Media Newsroom]

From Radio Insight:

Dr. Rob Quicke first came to the attention of Ross on Radio readers as the founder of College Radio Day and the faculty advisor of William Patterson College?s WPSC in Northern New Jersey. At that station, Quicke fostered PD/air talent Vont Leak who was, within months of graduation, doing nights on KDWB Minneapolis.*
Quicke is now the director of and a professor at Marshall University?s Pitt School of Journalism and Mass Communications. He is also the author of a new textbook that teaches students not just on-air technique but the psychology of being on the radio. He also takes a sometimes contrarian position on what good radio should sound like. In doing so, he offers guidance for anybody who creates audio for a living or develops talent.
Here is an excerpt from Finding Your Voice in Radio, Audio & Podcast Production.
All my experiences have led me to believe that compelling and powerful audio can be produced by students, even shortly after embarking upon a course that teaches audio and radio production. It does not always have to be the end product of a specific course, of college graduation, or being exclusively attainable by those who go on to work in radio or audio professionally. Indeed, I believe that sometimes a student and non-professional can have an advantage when it comes to producing unique content. In short, students can create audio and radio genuinely different from the professionals.
I also do not assume that audio must always be created to be heard by another person. Indeed, there is a good reason why you should not share some audio you create, and this book explores the benefits of doing that.
Admittedly, student-produced audio may have a poor reputation because, from a technical standpoint, it is perceived as raw, unpolished and perhaps poorly edited and mixed. You might think such weaknesses disqualify and nullify its audience appeal. However, I argue that these characteristics distinguish student-produced audio as being authentic, unfiltered, and emotionally potent. Technically poorly produced content must never be prematurely discarded. Its ideas and raw emotional power capture authentic expression. This book does not consider technical expertise as being a barrier to start creating meaningful audio.
Rather, I have developed a hands-on, practical approach to the business of creating audio content. Recognizing that a student starts from a point of lacking the technical skills to produce polished, well-edited audio, the objective is to develop their working knowledge of audio production, making the most of their personality and expressiveness. The goal is to encourage students? passion and creativity in the learning process.
To this end, I present a four-stage journey, from discoverer to decoder, which results in [what I call] R.E.A.L. communication.
Beginning the journey as a discoverer involves important work on two aspects. It introduces you to the wonders of audio, its qualities and potential. And more importantly, it encourages you to find out more about yourself as a thinker and communicator. Many will find that learning who you are in the context of audio production is a fresh exercise, which will stretch and (hopefully) invigorate you as you find your own voice and discern what particular interests and concerns really matter to you. Working with yourself at first, positive discovery will enrich you as a person even as you are preparing to create audio. It?s one of the great by-products of the learning process. Rather than plunging into the technical nuts and bolts of audio production, we delve first into who we are as potential communicators. We all have so much to learn about ourselves. Self-awareness is the communicator?s great strength and asset, and yet so many people are happy to talk without having any.
Having gained greater self-awareness and direction, you can move onto the developer stage of the journey. Here there are more practicalities of audio production, facing key questions about the kind of audio you intend to produce and the mechanics involved. By now you should be aware of your own strengths, and how you would create content to meet what?s required.
The third stage in the journey is being a deliverer, when you share with the world the finished audio content you have created. Whether it?s live broadcasting on radio or livestream or an edited audio piece, you are delivering content that is carefully planned and produced for an audience to hear.
The final stage in the journey is the decoder. Once an audio piece has been completed, it?s rarely returned to. Yet, if a piece is successful, can we learn exactly what made it so? Can we also seek to understand why something did not work, or did not achieve its full potential? Perhaps even more useful is returning to some work after a long period of time and realizing what could be improved that you did not realize at the time. The decoder phase explores the usefulness of feedback, both from yourself, and from others. It?s a part of the journey when you break things down and understand how your audio works. The process allows you to decode other people?s audio, too, and learn from them.
From my experience of teaching audio, I am convinced that this process of moving from discoverer to decoder is fundamental to successful audio production. Miss out on any part of the journey and a student is likely to struggle in finding purpose and confidence. This is especially true for a student who fails to do the necessary introspective work at the beginning. Even if they end up in their dream audio job, they can still feel imposter syndrome because they never did the important work of understanding themselves first. Understanding yourself is how you find your voice.
Vitally, this journey is accompanied by the acronym R.E.A.L., which describes the distinguishing hallmarks of what audio sounds like from someone who has gone through this journey of self-discovery, from discoverer to decoder.
First, audio needs to be relatable. Relatable audio brings listeners into the story by carefully leaving room for them to feel that they can identify with its content. Sometimes its content will be unfamiliar to listeners, but careful consideration of their place within its story, allowing them to absorb its details and emotions, moves them toward identification. You encourage them to relate to something that may be new and challenging by inviting them to enter its dynamics. Genuinely relatable audio takes audiences into identifying with the speakers and their situation! It can move an audience to feel comfort, or horror, or amusement, or even bewilderment.
Engaging audio captures a listener?s attention and interest. Each listener passes through a range of life experiences, of highs and lows in a wide range of situations, and engaging audio connects with them where they are. Unafraid to express the full range of human emotions, including vulnerability, its creators share themselves with listeners empathizing in return. It shares in the human search that seeks to find deeper meaning in their circumstances. A podcast about losing a loved one, or celebrating an important achievement, will readily find an audience that can identify with the range of emotions.*
Third, compelling audio is authentic. Here the discovery stage bears fruit. Who is speaking and how they speak about what matters to them comes across genuinely to hearers. It ?rings true.? This experience of ?ringing true? depends on the communicators really knowing themselves, their strengths and weaknesses, their own stories and passions. It is especially evident in storytelling, navigating the ups and downs of life. Authentic audio also describes how someone exploring a topic that may be considered risky, obscure, or brave, recognizes their reservations or fears. Authentic means holding very little back. Sometimes questions need to be asked out loud.*
Finally, the most satisfying audio is that which is liberating. Its content invites listeners to become freer or less oppressed through fresh understanding. Such audio is arguably life-changing. Communicators, who ask big questions, challenge conventional wisdom and understanding, are liberators actively engaged with freeing themselves and their audiences from concepts, thoughts and structures (both physical and abstract) that can confine. It is a bold claim, but liberating content can encourage understanding of fresh possibilities and even a sense of purpose.
It is my hope that this book will encourage, inspire, and equip you with the lifelong tools and methods you will need to succeed in life. From firsthand experience, I have seen students grow in confidence and ability, building upon their audio and radio experiences to become more fully realized in their self-identity. That?s what happens when you find your voice. You realize who you are and what you want to say.
?Finding Your Voice in Radio, Audio, and Podcast Production? is now available for purchase on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and all booksellers. It is also available directly from Routledge.*



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