Podcast Insider

Podcast Insider


Pet Peeves While Listening to a Podcast – PCI 360

August 24, 2023
Those annoying little podcast recording habits that can cost a podcaster their credibility.

Woman with annoyed expression


All three of us hosts on Podcast Insider are avid podcast listeners. There are things that annoy us – and I’m sure we are not alone. Here are a few things that really annoy us about podcasts we listen to. We’d love to hear what annoys you, too, or if you disagree with our angst.


Today’s Hosts: Mike Dell, Todd Cochrane and MacKenzie Bennett

Here are our pet peeves while listening to a podcast.


Mike
  • Bad audio.
  • Audio that is inconsistent volume.
  • Host and guest at different levels of sound.
  • Ads that are too soft or too loud.
  • Inserted ads that seem out of place.
  • One podcast I listen to just because it’s real good does this. An ad will come up mid-sentence and then after the ad, the sentence finishes. It’s hard to follow.
  • When the host and co-host talk about something visual that they can see but you can not. Give your listeners a link or a place to find what you are talking about at the beginning of the subject so they can look if they are in a place where they can look.
  • “Remember they are listening!”
  • Unfocused topics.
  • Do a little show prep!
  • Going to a podcaster’s website and getting a popup right off the bat. I don’t know you yet so let me look at the site first before popping up something in my face.
Todd
  • When I am made to feel I am not being talked to aka not part of the audience.
  • Adult language in an inappropriate content setting.
  • Bad audio: respect your listeners.
MacKenzie
  • Cite your sources. I am a skeptic right off the bat.
  • Give me info in the show notes.
  • Inconsistent audio
  • Do your homework – ex: Smartless – same exact interview I’ve heard everywhere else, give me something new
  • I almost always hate live recordings: one that I enjoyed recently, Vibe Check with Saeed Jones, Zach Stafford and guest Penn Badgley because it was cut down, had a guest for only part of it and proper audience participation.
  • The audacity to include eating noises. Why?
  • Banter isn’t as cute as some people think it is, sometimes it’s just fighting and being rude to one another.
  • Pre-scripted sound bytes and ‘mistakes’. Especially with the video component to the show – people aren’t as great actors as they think they are. Be original.
Pro Tip: Have you asked your audience what their pain-points are concerning your podcast. If not, maybe you should.

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    • todd@blubrry.com and mike@blubrry.com