David Wolf

Producing a great podcast series involves more than simply throwing up a live mic and rolling.  There are several styles that you can choose in terms of format. Plus, you can create variations on these as is deisred.The thought process per below can help organize the presentation of your content. The first two listed form the foundation of most techniques you might use. This post was inspired  by http://trafcom.typepad.com/podcast/2008/05/trafcom-news-podcast-75-pick-your-podcast-style-and-format.html from from Donna Papacosta, who has a wonderful series on the subject.

• Commentary- This technique uses one voice, one point of view, often used like a lecture or "tips and advisory" format. The Commentary form requires a the voice talent to be able to perform or at least...that is hold the interest of the listener. This is not as easy as it seems, particularly if you don't have experience in voice performance. That said, some individuals have a natural talent, no formal training, and are organically colorful, musical and entertaining to listen to. Just beware it is challenging to hold a listeners interest with this technique, as it can become monotonous.
• Interviews- I like to think of an interview as questions, followed by answers from a guest.Some interviews come across more like conversations, which is becoming an acceptable approach to podcasting. I will say that I personally I prefer to make a distinction between the interview technique (clean question, clean answer) as opposed to a conversation which is less formal and more organic. Some radio broadcast pros suggest that a host prepare 2:1 for a given interview in terms of time and energy. That is 2 hours of prep for 1 hour of produced content. Some also suggest that you pre-interview your guest. I have found that in most cases, I prefer not to telegraph the interview too much in order to get a spontaneous response from the questions I ask them.
• Real Conversation- I like to make a distinction between the interview technique (clean question, clean answer) as opposed to a conversation which is less formal and more organic. Real conversations are spontaneous, more improvisational, and allow the listener to "sit-in" on what might seem like an intimate or private interaction. This provides a less produced and very authentic experience which is certainly appealing to many.
• Script and Clip- This is a radio documentary format and requires more editing and more complexity in terms of production. In this form you would include some narrative, them insert audio clips from the field, comments, reports, interview segments and so forth. Your narrative can become the glue for the podcast, the point of view, so to speak.