Radio and podcasts: speaking for the ear
Live or taped, phone or app: set up a quiet room, test the phone, and answer in short spoken sentences that make sense to a listener who hears each one once.
- Start here: the essentials
- 1. What to confirm: live, taped, tape sync and podcast
- 2. The room, the phone and the headset
- 3. Speaking for the ear
- 4. The pre-interview and the introduction
- 5. Podcasts: ask the host
- 6. See it
- 7. Practice
- 8. Your interview
- 9. Check your work
- 10. Knowledge check and scenario
Start here Essentials
At minimum, find out what kind of interview it is, set up one quiet room and one tested phone, and record one practice answer there. A phone and a room with soft furniture are enough.
- Ask whether the interview is live or taped, whether you will use a phone or an app, and how long it lasts (what to confirm).
- Choose the quietest furnished room and switch off whatever hums (the room).
- Test the phone held to your ear, or a headset. Skip the speakerphone (the phone and the headset).
- Turn on Do Not Disturb, and keep water and soft notes at hand (the room).
- Record one answer in short sentences that do not refer back to earlier ones, and play it back (speaking for the ear).
Minimum time: about 30 minutes. Done when: the audio checklist is complete and one practice answer recorded in that room on that phone has been played back.
1. What to confirm: live, taped, tape sync and podcast Understand
A listener hears each sentence once, at the speed you speak it, with no way to look back. Everything in this chapter follows from that. A reader can reread a quote, and a listener cannot. A host cannot see you nod. So the ear needs shorter sentences, a clean sound, and a clear start.
Before you agree, ask what kind of interview it is. SciLine, a service that helps scientists talk to reporters, says to ask, for radio or TV, whether the interview is live or recorded (SciLine, Five tips for scientists handling media requests). The format decides what you can fix and how.
| Format | What it is | What to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Live | On the air as you speak, usually a two-way: an on-air conversation between a host and an interviewee | When does it start? How long? Will a caller or other guest join? Who gives the cue? |
| Taped | Recorded now, edited, aired later | Will it be edited? How long will the aired piece be? Can I redo an answer? |
| Tape sync | You talk to the host by phone while your side is recorded locally, by a producer or by an app on your own phone, then combined so you sound as if you were in the same room | Which app or recorder? Who starts it? What do I do with the file after? |
| Podcast episode | A longer conversation, usually taped and edited, posted later | How is it edited, and by whom? When does it post? Where? (section 5) |
NPR Training's glossary defines tape sync as the arrangement in which a guest's side is recorded locally, either by a producer or on the guest's own smartphone app, and defines an actuality as a voice in a story other than the reporter's, also called a cut or a sound bite (NPR Training, a glossary of audio production terms). Convention
What taped means
NPR's ethics handbook says one of its hosts tells taped guests three things: the interview is not live, it will be edited, and it will run longer than what airs. He also tells them roughly how long the edited piece will be. If either side makes a factual error, the question can be asked again (NPR Ethics Handbook, Fairness). That is one outlet's published practice. Ask any station you work with whether the same applies. If you make a slip on tape, say you want to start the answer again. Ask the producer
Broadcasters and the phone
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP) notes an FCC rule requiring broadcasters to tell the other party at the start of a call that it may be broadcast (RCFP, Introduction to the Reporter's Recording Guide). If a station calls you and says nothing about recording, ask: "Is this being recorded, and could it air?" Print and online covers saying aloud when you record yourself. Ask the authority
The equipment advice in this chapter comes from public-radio producers' checklists. It is a way to avoid common audio problems, not a requirement. If a producer or host gives you instructions, follow those first. This manual does not teach hosting or producing a podcast, and it does not say how any particular podcast or station edits an interview. That is for the host or producer to answer.
2. The room, the phone and the headset
Sound quality is the one thing about a radio interview you can fix entirely before it starts. NPR Training publishes a checklist for producers, called Catch audio problems in radio interviews before they happen, and a one-page version (NPR Training, Catch audio problems in radio interviews before they happen; the one-sheet PDF). The items below paraphrase it, in the order a guest can act on. They are also on the audio checklist.
| Item | What NPR's checklist says | Why it helps |
|---|---|---|
| Noise makers | Turn off the air conditioning, close windows, unplug the fridge, and do not vacuum | A hum under your voice stays under every sentence and is hard to remove |
| The room | Use a furnished room, which soaks up sound | Bare walls and hard floors add echo |
| Phone position | Hold the phone like a phone. If it pops, rotate the mouthpiece below your jawline. Avoid holding it flat in front of your mouth | Breath hitting the microphone makes a pop, called a plosive or p-pop |
| Headset or earbuds | Test a headset mic or earbuds against simply holding the phone. Quality varies day to day | Your own test decides which one sounds better in your room |
| Speakerphone | The checklist says not to use speakerphone | The mic picks up the room as well as you |
| Listening | Listen on over-ear headphones when you can | You hear the host clearly, and the host's voice does not leak into your microphone |
| Video | Turn video off on Zoom for an audio-only interview | One less thing to manage during an audio-only call |
| Body noise | Watch for rustling clothes, tapping and noisy jewelry. Eat beforehand and keep water nearby | Every small sound is picked up |
| Interruptions | Turn on Do Not Disturb and lock the phone | A notification can land in the middle of an answer |
The checklist adds that after the interview a producer may record a moment of silence, called room tone: the quiet sound of the place where you spoke. An editor uses it to fill gaps, so stay still and quiet if you are asked to. Your local test is the better judge of your equipment than any rule. Record 30 seconds each way, listen to both, and choose. Test it
The same checklist describes a tape sync arrangement in which one phone records while another carries the call. If a producer asks you to do that, ask them to walk you through it once before the interview. Depends on the app
Silence your devices before you start, and keep the room as it was in your test. A phone vibrating on a wooden table, a chair that creaks and a dog at the door are sounds that are hard for an editor to remove. If the interview is live, the sound goes out as it happens.
3. Speaking for the ear
Written sentences carry clauses, parentheses and references to earlier ones. Spoken sentences for a listener do not. NPR Training's guide on writing for your voice says to use fewer clauses than in print and to keep sentences short and simple, because listeners cannot go back to recover the start of a long sentence. It says not to use words you would not use in conversation, that repeating a word is fine, and that swapping in a synonym such as "twister" for "tornado" is not. Its test is to read the sentence aloud, and if you run out of breath, it is too long (NPR Training, Would you say it that way?). Convention
| For the eye | For the ear |
|---|---|
| "As noted earlier, the bloom, which a satellite image shows covering approximately a third of the lake's surface area, is being monitored, pending laboratory results." | "About a third of the lake is covered. That comes from a satellite image. We are watching it. The state lab's results come in about two days." |
| "That is, again, why we do not yet know whether the toxin level is elevated." | "We do not know yet whether the toxin level is above the state's advisory level." |
Three habits carry over from Print and online and matter more on air. First, no "as I said" or "like I mentioned": the listener may have tuned in a minute ago, and an editor can cut either answer. Second, say the word again instead of a new one. Third, give a number once, slowly, with what it counts.
Pace and pauses
The CDC's spokesperson chapter says that microphones and nerves make people talk faster, so slow down and pause between sentences. It advises practicing answers in 10 to 20 second phrases and, if an answer must run longer, pausing about every 20 seconds so the host can come in, a point it makes for radio (CDC, CERC Spokesperson chapter). A pause gives the host the chance to follow up and gives you the chance to breathe. Convention
Two other published figures fit these. A University of Florida Extension publication says to keep answers for recorded TV or radio to 20 seconds or less (UF/IFAS Extension, WC114 Media Interview Skills). NPR Training says an ideal soundbite runs 5 to 15 seconds, and that a clip that is long, dense or needs setup is written out by the reporter instead (NPR Training, Soundbite essentials). At 150 words a minute, the round figure the answer timer uses until you measure your own, 20 seconds is about 50 words. Your pace differs, so time your own answer. The figures describe what producers like. They do not tell you the outcome. Convention
Notes
Notes are fine on audio, because the listener cannot see them. Paper rustles on a microphone, so use a single sheet on a soft surface, or notes on a screen. Write your main point and supports as phrases, not sentences, so you speak instead of read. The CDC chapter says to learn the ideas, facts and anecdotes rather than memorize answers, which tends to sound rote. Preference
4. The pre-interview and the introduction
Radio and podcast producers often call before the interview. The call is called a pre-interview. NPR's glossary has no entry for the word and we found no public-radio definition, so this section rests on one media-training practitioner, a former television producer, and on an NPR training anecdote. Treat what follows as practice, not a standard.
The practitioner says a pre-interview is often an audition. Producers use it to learn what kind of guest you will be and what you will say. A strong comment may be passed to the host, who then asks about it on air. The questions resemble the host's, so take notes (Throughline Group, Five Ways to Ace Your Media Pre-Interview). NPR's ethics handbook says bookers and producers do pre-interviews, and that they confirm the guest knows the subject and what will happen. It also says a guest should know when the interview starts and ends and should have no doubt about what is on or off the record. An NPR training piece describes a reporter who treated a Zoom call as a pre-interview to judge whether the source talked well, and recorded it just in case (NPR Training, Reporting audio interviews and scenes). Convention
So our default is to treat the pre-interview as on the record, and as possibly recorded. Say what you want the host to ask about. Do not say anything you would not want to hear on air.
Your introduction and your name
The practitioner also advises asking how you will be introduced and how your name will appear on screen, and checking spellings. For audio, the second half is how your name will be said. Do three things in the pre-interview or at the start of the call:
- Give the introduction you want: your name, your role and place, in one sentence. For example, "Lena Ostrowski, a hydrologist at Kettle River State University."
- Say your name, and say how to pronounce it if it is often mispronounced. Ask the host to say it back.
- Confirm the title the station will use, especially if you speak for an organization or only from your own expertise (Before you say yes).
Record the answer on the request sheet. The bio sheet in Your media kit holds the final version.
5. Podcasts: ask the host
A podcast can be a public-radio show, an independent host with a microphone in a spare room, or a company's marketing channel. We did not find a published standard for how podcasts edit, whether they correct errors, or whether a guest sees anything before posting. So this manual treats podcasts by asking the host. That is our convention, and it is labelled as one. Convention
| Question | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Is it live or taped? | Taped lets you ask to restart an answer |
| How is it edited, and by whom? | Editing can mean trimming silence or cutting whole answers |
| How long will we record, and how long is the episode? | A one-hour recording becomes a different, shorter piece |
| When does it post, and where? | You cannot plan a follow-up without the date |
| Will I hear or read anything before it posts? | The host may say no. The answer tells you what to expect |
| Can I ask to redo an answer? | You may want to restart after a slip |
| How are errors fixed after posting? | Some hosts update a description, some re-edit, some do nothing |
| Who else is on the episode, and may the host cut clips for social media? | Clips travel without the context around them |
| How are we recording: an app, a studio, a file I send? | Sound, setup and consent depend on it |
The question about clips is not hypothetical. Oregon's Department of Justice, in a checklist for crime victims dealing with the media, warns that bloggers, podcasters and other outlets may clip and spin your statement (Oregon DOJ, Tips for Bias Crime Victims Interacting with the Media). Write the host's answers on the request sheet's notes or in an email thread you can find later. Ask for them in writing when the topic is painful or the recording is long. Ask the host
A long, relaxed conversation can feel private. It is recorded, edited by someone else, and posted. A podcast host may not follow the practices of a newsroom, and a host who is friendly in the pre-interview may edit in ways you did not expect. The questions above cost nothing, and a host who declines to answer any of them has told you something. Bad news and personal stories covers conditions you can set for a painful story.
The long podcast conversation
An hour gives you room, and the room is the risk. Answers drift, you repeat yourself, and you say something you would not say in a 20-second clip. Three habits help. First, keep your main point and two supports on one sheet where you can see them. Second, come back to your main point in different words each time. The CDC chapter says to learn the ideas rather than memorize answers, since memorized answers sound rote. Third, pause. A pause every 20 seconds, as the CDC suggests for radio, also lets the host steer. Preference
Call-in shows and the live caller
We found no fetched source that covers call-in shows. These points are this manual's reasoning, not a standard. Ask the producer whether callers are screened, whether there is a delay, and whether you will hear the caller's question before you answer. A caller may hold a different view or a loaded premise. Treat the question as you would a reporter's: answer first, then return to your point (Hard and unexpected questions). Preference
Air checks: reviewing your own broadcast
An air check is a recording of your broadcast that you play back to review your delivery. One paid course lists air checks among its radio lessons (Packt on Coursera, Media Training: Radio; listed as a reference only, and this manual has not used its content). The University of Florida publication says to review earlier recordings of yourself before an interview and to record a mock interview to critique it. After a broadcast, listen once for what you said and once for how you said it, and write one change on the debrief sheet (interview log).
6. See it See it
Dr. Lena Ostrowski prepares for a taped radio interview. Lena Ostrowski, 51, is a hydrologist at Kettle River State University in Minnesota. She studies algal blooms. After a blue-green algae bloom closes the beach at Pine Hollow Lake, the regional public radio station asks for a taped interview the next morning. Toxin test results from the state lab are due in 48 hours. The university, the lake, the station and every figure are fictional.
The producer calls the evening before for a pre-interview. Lena assumes it is on the record and keeps her answers as she would on air. She asks four things: is it live or taped, will the station record her side locally, how long will the interview run, and how will she be introduced. The producer says taped, with a recorder app on her own phone, about 12 minutes recorded and under 4 aired, and gives her title as "hydrologist at Kettle River State University." Lena says her name and asks the host to repeat it. She asks about the university's media policy in a separate call to its media relations office (Before you say yes).
Her office has a tile floor and bare walls. She uses her home study instead: books on three walls, a rug, the window closed, the dehumidifier unplugged. She records 30 seconds holding her phone like a phone and 30 seconds with her earbuds. The earbuds pick up a faint hum from the cord on her shirt. She uses the phone, held with the mouthpiece below her chin. She writes her three phrases on a single index card and puts it on a folded towel.
In the room she reads her main point aloud. "The bloom is about a third of the lake and the state lab results come in about two days" runs out of breath. She splits it: "About a third of the lake is covered. That comes from a satellite image. The state lab's results come in about two days." She records it and plays it back. Nothing refers to an earlier answer.
Known: the interview is taped, the next morning, with her side recorded on her phone. The bloom covers about a third of the lake by the satellite image. The lab results are due in 48 hours.
Assumed: Lena assumes the interview will be edited and will run longer than what airs. That assumption comes from NPR's published practice; the station has not said how it edits. She also assumes the producer's recorder app will work with her phone.
Open: whether the toxin level is above the state's advisory level, which the state lab settles, and whether to issue an advisory, which the state health department settles, not Lena (Communicating uncertainty). Whether she may speak for the university or only from her expertise is settled by its media relations office. How the host introduces her is settled by the producer, and Lena has asked. Her answers stay inside what she knows.
Teresa Lindqvist asks a podcast host two questions. Teresa Lindqvist, 52, lives in Tacoma, Washington. She is asking the city council for a signal at a crosswalk where her son Eli, then 15, was seriously injured two years ago. A local podcast, Crossing Lines, asks her for a 60-minute taped episode. The podcast and all details are fictional. Bad news and personal stories covers her conditions for a painful story. This example covers what she asks about the format.
Before she agrees, Teresa emails the host the questions from the table in this section. She wants to know how the episode is edited, when it posts, whether she hears anything first, and whether she can ask to restart an answer. She also asks how they will record. She has said she wants the interview at her kitchen table with her sister present. The kitchen has hard surfaces, so she asks whether the host will bring a recorder and whether they can try the living room, which has a sofa and rugs. She does not insist; she tells the host the kitchen is the setting she prefers and asks what they would suggest.
Known: a 60-minute taped episode is proposed, and the setting she prefers is her kitchen table with her sister there.
Assumed: Teresa assumes the host will cut the recording to a shorter episode. That is her assumption. The host has not said.
Open: how the podcast is edited and when it posts, which the host answers, ideally in writing; whether the host agrees to her other conditions (Bad news and personal stories); and whether the driver's case is still open, which the prosecutor's victim advocate settles. Until the host answers, Teresa does not agree to a date.
Free pages that show the practice:
- NPR Training, Catch audio problems in radio interviews before they happen: the producer's checklist this chapter paraphrases.
- NPR Training, Would you say it that way?: writing for the ear, with the read-aloud test.
- NPR Training, an audio glossary: tape sync, two-way, plosive and room tone.
7. Practice Practice
Minimum: one answer recorded in your chosen room on the phone you will use, played back, and the audio checklist ticked. Time: about 30 minutes. Materials: your phone and its voice memo app, a quiet room with soft furniture, water, headphones if you have them, the audio checklist and the playback checklist. The audio checklist is essential for a radio or podcast interview. The playback checklist is optional on a first pass, and it is the quickest way to hear a back-reference.
- Choose the room. Walk through the rooms where you could take the call. Say a sentence aloud in each. Choose the one that sounds deadest, with soft furniture and no hum.
- Switch off the noise makers. Air conditioning, fans, a refrigerator you can unplug for an hour, and anything that buzzes. Close the window.
- Test the phone. Record 30 seconds holding it like a phone and 30 seconds with a headset or earbuds. Listen to both. Choose one.
- Set the room. Do Not Disturb on, phone locked, water in reach, one sheet of notes on a soft surface.
- Pick one likely question from the question deck or your practice sheet, and write your answer in short sentences. Read it aloud once. If you run out of breath, split the sentence.
- Record the answer in that room on that phone, without reading it word for word.
- Play it back on headphones. Listen for a hum, an echo, a pop, a rustle, an "as I said" and a sentence that needed the one before it. Tick what you hear on the playback checklist.
- Redo it once and tick the audio checklist.
Record a three-minute answer to one question and pause every 20 seconds. Then record 60 seconds of the room with no one speaking, the room tone, and play it back to hear what the microphone adds. Listen to your answer once for words and once for sound.
8. Your interview Your interview
The box below reads your format, how much time you have, and whether the interview is live or taped. It says which parts of this chapter apply now and which can wait.
9. Check your work Check your work
Criteria
- Do you know whether the interview is live, taped, tape sync or a podcast episode, and how long it lasts?
- Is the room furnished, with noise makers off and the window closed?
- Did you test the phone held like a phone, or a headset, and choose one?
- Does your practice answer play back with no hum, echo, pop or "as I said"?
- Do you know how you will be introduced, how your name is said, and (for a podcast) how it is edited and when it posts?
Worked example
Lena's checks (fictional) meet the first criterion: taped, her side recorded locally, about 12 minutes recorded and under 4 aired. They meet the second and third: the study is furnished, the dehumidifier is unplugged, and she chose the phone over earbuds after a test. Her playback has one problem: a rustle from her index card on the desk, which she fixes with the towel. The fifth is partly met. The producer gave the title, and Lena has asked the host to repeat her name. What she does not have is the date it airs. The station settles that. That is a complete Start here result. It says nothing about what she will be asked or whether the toxin level is above the advisory level.
Common mistakes
- Using the speakerphone. NPR's checklist says not to. The microphone picks up the room.
- Taking the call in the bare room. An office with a tile floor sounds hollow. A bedroom or study with soft furniture sounds better.
- Letting the pre-interview be casual. It may be recorded, and strong lines may be used.
- Reading a script. A script sounds read. Use phrases on a card.
- Not asking the podcast host anything. The questions in section 5 cost nothing.
What is still unresolved
This chapter does not settle how a particular station or podcast edits, whether it corrects an error, or when your interview runs. The producer or host settles those. It does not settle whether your recording is lawful in your state (Print and online points to RCFP and a lawyer). It does not teach how to answer a hostile question on air, which Hard and unexpected questions covers.