Finding Your Voice: The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Presenting Genuinely
- Christopher Wesely
- May 11, 2023
- 4 min read
Updated: May 12, 2023
Often we see or hear people podcasting or vlogging and quickly form the belief that they somehow became confident and engaging speakers at the beginning of their careers. While for some people this may be the case, for the majority of people, it took time and effort to relax and find their voice. This takes practice, but I assure you it will pay off.
As a young podcaster, you have a valuable perspective to share with the world. Your voice is powerful, and it is the key to creating an engaging and authentic podcast. In this post, we'll explore some tips and strategies to help you discover and embrace your unique podcasting style.
Why Would Anyone Care?
People all over the world are looking for community and a sense of belonging. Finding a podcast or podcaster that they connect with creates an emotional connection in the listener that can be accessed at any time, anywhere in the world and can cover a huge variety of topics.
For the podcaster, finding your voice is not only about your tone and delivery, but also your perspective, personality and storytelling. Talk about things that interest you and you can get passionate about. This way you will easily find your engaging and authentic self, rather than being bored about topics you think other people are interested in. People often find entertainment in watching or listening to people who are genuine and the content or topic is sometimes secondary.
Be yourself! Nobody Else Knows How To Be You
Impersonations are great and loads of professional actors and musicians and other artistic people do them well, but whomever they're impersonating must be something unreal! I mean, why go through the effort, right? It's the people who are the most genuine and truly authentic that are impersonated because people can relate to them better because their behaviour isn't an act.
The Importance Of Finding Your Voice
If you want to stand out in this crowded market and create a unique and engaging podcast, you're going to have to do a deep dive into yourself. Get to know what you like the most and what you could talk for hours on end about. What get's you the most excited? Video games? Cars? Arts and crafts? Talk about it! What's more, talk about it how you would to your best friend, use language that suits who you are and don't be afraid to show your quirks.
If every YouTuber started copying MrBeast's videos because they want views like him, it wouldn't work. There's already a MrBeast in the world and if someone wants to see a video in the way he makes them, they go and watch MrBeast, not someone else.
There may be techniques in editing and shooting the videos that can be borrowed, but catchphrases, speech patterns, tone and presentation style need to be an individual thing. People will feel how unnatural and forced you're presenting when you're mimicking someone rather than being completely genuine.
Be Authentic
When a person is being honest, transparent and true to themselves in their content and interactions with listeners, their audience begins to develop trust and loyalty and become engaged. You will find this to be true in all of your interactions. When you talk to your best friend, you talk without worrying about judgment or fear of them not liking you (they already like you, they're your best friend) and so, you are your genuine and authentic self. Aim to find this in yourself and unleash it on your audience.
You may need to experiment with different styles and formats in your podcast until you can find one that suits who you are and who your audience is.
Perhaps you enjoy asking questions and like the idea of being an interview host, or perhaps you're more comfortable in a panel of friends discussing ideas. Trying different formats will help you discover your strengths and preferences, which will also provide variety and excitement to your listeners.
Infinite Perspectives: Find Your Unique Angle
The fact that you are an individual unlike any other, means you are already experiencing your unique angle. If you play a video game, your experience is going to be slightly different from other people playing the same game. If you enjoy bike riding, the difference you have with others could be you like mountain bikes, but not BMX bikes. Your preference of ice cream flavours is going to be different. But, people will appreciate this difference. If someone is going on the internet or streaming service or to a show or whatever way they're seeking entertainment, they are seeking out individuals sharing their ideas about the world. People want to know what other people think about things and they want to broaden their own field of vision in the world.
Once you've chosen your topic(s) and you've thought about which way you want to present your podcast, start thinking about what your unique experiences have to offer your audience. Can you do things that most people you know have trouble with? Can you offer expert advice on your topic that not many people are talking about? Do you have tips and tricks that will save people time and stress? Do you have an opinion about something? If it's coming from you and your own experience, you're on your way to finding your unique angle.
Grow and Evolve
Part of engaging with your audience is asking them for feedback. You will develop a community of loyal followers that will enjoy asking you questions and just generally being able to interact with you. This feedback and engagement will be vital to growing your podcast and community because you will have first-hand information on the wants and needs of your audience.
Finding your voice is going to be an ongoing journey of growth and evolution. As you learn new skills, become a more confident speaker and adapt to the changing trends and needs of your audience, you will be on your way to making your personal brand. Remember to always be humble, open-minded and stay curious. Your voice is unique, and the world needs to hear it.
If you've enjoyed this article please like and share, and feel free to leave comments below. I'd love to know if this has been helpful and if there's anything else I can help you with.
If you'd like help starting a podcast, you can use the contact section to get in touch.
Happy Podcasting!
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