Did You Hear That?

Have you ever been listening to a podcast or something similar, and then suddenly you hear a dog bark? Or maybe there are kiddos running around in the background, and suddenly it’s hard to hear what the host and guest of the show are saying? Personally, it drives me nuts - at least when it becomes hard to hear the main speakers. I’m especially not a fan of when people are drinking or eating something while close to the microphone … oh - my - gosh - I can feel myself getting agitated just thinking about it - ha! When I hear someone slurping up a beverage like it’s some kind of ASMR experience, I just want to slap the drink out of their hand and say, “NO! - Bad Host! Bad. Host. I came here to listen to a podcast, not feel like your drinking something in my ear!” I digress …

“Make sure you’re letting people hear the experience you had in mind.”

My point is - make sure you’re letting people hear the experience you had in mind. A lot of what I listed above doesn’t seem to bug some folks, and that’s totally fine! At the end of the day - if I don’t like it - I can just stop listening. But for YOUR audio projects, make sure that you are aware of what the final product sounds like from the consumer perspective.

A lot of the decisions to include or exclude noises can be very subjective, and it depends on your goals. If you have a podcast about parenting, and a kid suddenly runs by the mic - yelling and screaming about a new toy - then that may actually enhance the show and add some charm. If I listen to a podcast of a sermon from a church, then I’m more forgiving about any echoing I hear in the background, because I understand the environment in which things were recorded. My expectations and standards change with each program that I engage. At the end of the day - you can’t please everyone - so at the very least - you should make sure that YOU are happy with YOUR audio, and let the chips fall where they may.