Many solo episodes suffer from low energy because they merely cover a topic rather than playing a game.
In improv, “The Game” is the pattern or dynamic that drives a scene forward in a specific style of improv. Without a game, a scene in this style often ends up with just two people talking with no direction.
The same can be applied to podcasting, where instead of a game you have an angle. You need to find this angle to give your episode an engine and a reason to exist.
In this micro-episode:
- The definition of “The Game” in improv and how it applies to thought leadership
- Why generic topics lead to flat, directionless episodes
- How to use a specific angle to keep yourself from rambling
Resources: Find more episodes and subscribe at stereoforest.com/minute.
Transcript
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::So a lot of solo episodes out there have this issue where there's a topic being covered, but there's like no
energy behind that topic. Now improv scenes have what's called a game and a game can take a lot of different
forms. People will have different definitions for what a game is, but in a nutshell, game is this pattern or
it's a dynamic that makes this kind of game.
::a scene, a game-based scene, tick. Once you find the game, you play it. You heighten this game. You return to
this pattern. The game acts as this engine that drives everything forward. It's really the core energy of
that scene. Now, a scene without a game, in game style improv at least, is just two people talking. Things
might happen, but there's no shape. There's no energy. There's no reason that exists for this scene.
::to be there instead of like some other scene like there's no reason they're often flat they don't really
have a lot of direction so let's connect this idea to our solo episodes like if you start an episode i'm gonna
talk about networking that's a topic but there isn't the energy behind it so you might think about what's
the game behind this like maybe the worst networkers give
::really great advice. That would be a game because you have an angle to your episode.
::That's a move that you can keep making. It's a pattern that you can return to. You can heighten that idea,
that angle.
::So what you're looking for is that angle. And what you're adding to the topic is really you. Where's the you
in that topic?
::This topic could be contrarian, like common advice about solo episodes is backwards, although it doesn't
need to be contrarian. Maybe this is something that you've learned from a specific client or after moving
across a continent to a new region, something that you noticed. But when you know your game, you know when
you can drift off that topic. You can feel that you've wandered away from your angle.
::And then you can find your way back to your angle. It's harder to do that with a really generic topic. So
having this angle will let you sort of shape your episodes better using those patterns and build them up on a
much stronger foundation. So before you record your episodes, write down like one sentence that really
captures that topic with your angle. And that angle will bring you to the energy of your episode.
::I'm Jen deHaan. This is the Credibility Minute. You can find more episodes and get in touch with me at
stereoforest.com slash minute.