Thursday 17 June 2010

Rick Nielsen: making a podcast a learning experience - not just a listening experience at mLearncon


A gray haired, bearded man, taking time to be consize. This is a live blogpost, so please overlook any mistypes, short notes...

What is a podcast: automated, time shifted, portable, media

the spoken word
From simple to more complex
first video was 1899, so build 111 years ago. Broadcasted word was introduced 125 years ago, the written word is about 4000 years ago, the spoken word was always around.
The broadcasted word was revolutional, because you could connect with people fare away from where you are/were.
Real stories capture attention, so do fiction stories. The well spoken word enters the theater of the mind. the human voice is a powerful learning tool.
Using natural voice: it's not about hired talent!, relax, from the diaphragm, you will be much easier to listen to, more genuine and believable, does anyone think that their voice sounds good when recorded.
Internet business mastery: Sterling and Jay: www.internetbusinessmastery.com (Inge check it, they have 96 episodes)
Podcast is like a conversation with friends: casual and relaxed, it is engaging, it is local (anyone can build it), global (you can broadcast it) and targeted (you can provide a content that is targeted, so your audience will be targeted).
Tell your story don't try to be someone else.

the podcasted word
You can listen anywhere (car, plane, train, walking, jogging, gym...), any time (day or night, today, tomorrow, next week) - so try to make your content relevant for now and later (evergreen subjects), it's on a device of your choosing (iPod, cell phone, dvd, cd, network, tv...), they ask - they receive: your audience subscribes (RSS), when you add new info they will know, its "pulled" to your audience automatically.

podcast essentials
podcast strategy: define your audience, clearly define podcast purpose, your audience will be able to more readily focus on your content. Intro (current events, just what is going on), feature segment (the main topic), outro (post listener action - PLA) - comment on your blog, sign up for email link, "ethical bribe".
episode structure: build on concepts from one episode to another, your audience will continue to grow in understanding as a result.
episode continuity: sequence it logically.
episode consistently: publish with a frequency, make your publishing schedule known to your audience, and then publish on time.
episode length: establish episode length (average 20 minutes, be consistent), publish to be listened to in one sitting, if your episodes are too long, your audience will not return, no PLA - bummer (they will not do the follow-up because they will be gone).
podcast format: there are 4 formats: choose a format that best meets audience needs: monologue (not as easy as it sounds), dialog - easier to produce, round-table - keep your voices in order (use people with different voices, different accents... to enable people to know the different personae), interview - audience loves these.

the podcast experience
Learning objectives: comprehension is usually not assessed as formally as in traditional eLearning, just another conversation in your day, the podcast medium is usually quite casual. Try to put reflection moments in it.
study aids and more.
attention: get their attention, when on the web, use good titles to pique curiosity, spread the word, publish on iTunes, talk it up through twitter and all the social bookmarking sites, frequent blogs posts too!
engagement: get audience feedback, involve your audience directly by mentioning comments on the air - give them a shout, playing 800 number comment, interact through twitter, fora, via teleseminar...
Relationship: create relationships
Influence: trust, cut through 'defenses', they will listen to you and take your advice, you can more easily change minds an ultimately behavior, your audience will listen, learn and contribute.