Solo podcasters often rely too heavily on editing after the fact. We have the luxury of editing out mistakes, but in doing so, we often remove the best parts of the show.
In improv, the most interesting moments are often the “happy accidents”—strange analogies or unexpected confessions that arrive from nowhere. When you bail on these moments to “fix” the recording, you rob the listener of the feeling of discovery. Your audience wants to hear the real you, and that often exists in the unscripted, slightly imperfect moments.
In this micro-episode:
- Why “happy accidents” create depth in your content
- How over-editing makes you sound rehearsed and robotic
- The “Pause and Follow” technique: Why you should explore a tangent before cutting it
Resources: Find more episodes and subscribe at stereoforest.com/minute.
Transcript
WEBVTT
::Those of us in solo podcasting really lean into the idea that we can edit ourselves using software or apps
later on after the fact. That is a bonus that we have as podcasters that say live streamers or webinar hosts
or stage performers just don't have. But we can use that live energy, that adrenaline to our advantage in
our edited solo shows too. Now in improv, just like other forms of live
::the interesting stuff, the good stuff, often happens when something really unexpected comes out of your
mouth. Those happy accidents, as they like to say. You're in the middle of a scene and maybe a strange
analogy comes out of your mouth that you weren't even expecting. Maybe your character makes a confession
that surprises even you in the moment. You don't even know where that came from. Or a tangent arrives from
nowhere.
::the scene get to choose to lean into that or let it go as a detail and move on. The best option in a live
performance like that, not all the time but usually, is often to lean into that thing. But those of us who can
edit often stop recording or we move back or we pause and we redo or reset in the middle and we get back on
track. We kind of bail on the moment sometimes.
::it out and I hear that happening when I'm listening to an episode. Those moments are quite often where as a
listener I'll be saying out loud no more of that thing. I want to hear what happened. I want to hear the rest of
that story. I want the host to dig in on that thing. Those surprising discoveries, happy accidents,
whatever, if we listen for them can make your show even better. Sometimes, not always but sometimes. It's
often where like that depth comes from.
::Or it helps form the world around your podcast personality in a way. Your world building for yourself. And
your listener can tell that that thing is the real you. It's often less rehearsed, less planned. It might be
a little bit off topic, but still has to do with the topic. So your tone and your cadence really reads as like
discovery. We're all discovering this thing together.
::really unexpected moments or stories. They might not be as tight or as well worded.
::And it's hard to know yourself unless you let yourself explore that thing while you record.
::Now leaving these things in can be kind of tough to do. Sometimes they're vulnerable but I like to think of it
as having a chance to kind of level up your show.
::So here's something that I've tried that might be helpful.
::When you feel the urge to course correct, just pause instead. Take a beat. Ask yourself what it is you've
just kind of stumbled onto and then follow it for a little while, maybe a minute or so before you decide
whether or not it belongs in your show. Now you might discover that it's nothing. It's not a good fit. That's
fine. That's why we edit our shows. But what we're looking for here are those
::things that we might initially think that were too weird, but they're actually a great fit for your show. So
see if that's the case prior to bailing out. I'm Jen DeHaan. This is the Credibility Minute. Find more
episodes and get in touch with me at stereoforest.com slash minute.