Why audio quality is important
We know that men and women who project their voice lower, are perceived to be more competent and authoritative. Budding broadcast journalists at university are encouraged to drop the pitch of their voices to forge a career on radio and television. Former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher took voice coaching to lower her voice pitch by an incredible 60 hertz.
Yes, the "quality" of your voice will help you sound more credible on a podcast.
Recent research also suggests the quality of the audio itself, influences the credibility of a speaker.
Cognitive psychologist, Norbert Schwarz, of University of Southern California, and Australian National University's Eryn Newman conducted a study of 99 volunteers who listened to a radio interview with a scientist on the topic of genetics.
One group listened to the recording with normal phone quality. The other group listened to the same clip, but at much less quality.
Because it was difficult to hear for the other group, it was deemed to be less compelling and less credible.
Audio quality is important not only for people to believe in what you’re saying in your podcast, but to keep listeners engaged.
Sound quality is arguably the most important part of a podcast. When I'm asked how I judge if a podcast is award-winning for the Australian Podcast Awards, I give more weight to the professional quality of the audio than anything else.
If listeners are straining to hear what's being said, they’re unlikely to come back again for more episodes, no matter how intriguing the topic.
'Fatigue ear' is becoming a significant factor with podcast listening. That is, the effort and focus needed to listen to a poor-quality podcast episodes can exhaust the listener.
When you're recording a podcast, think of the audio quality. What microphones are you and your guest using? What recording device have you got? Where are you recording – what are the acoustics like? Have you eliminated background noises? Are you editing your audio to make the interview more succinct and relevant? Have you removed the audible detritus that can intrude on the conversation, like coughs, banging microphone cords, lip smacks? Have you assembled and mixed the audio with EQ and compression?
Unless you have a real passion for it, it's probably best to engage in an audio engineer or editor to ensure the audio is as best as it can and should be. (Ask me!)
The better you treat the audio, the more likely people will come back to listen.