[Newsletter] The missing ingredient in your story
This is the third issue of Sound Judgment, the Newsletter. If you’re seeing this newsletter for the first time, please subscribe today so the next one will go to your inbox!
Hi readers!
Happy Halloween — and happy midterms! As a LinkedIn commenter asked me recently, “Which is scarier?”
A little warm-up before we get into today’s how-tos:
Have you subscribed to our new podcast, Sound Judgment, yet? If not, do it now. And thank you. You’re warming our hearts. If you’ve already subscribed, we’d love your rating and review!
Two questions for you:
We want your questions about hosting, producing and storytelling. If we were to make it possible for you to leave us a voice memo on our website, would you use it?
We’re considering opening up our private Podcast Allies Facebook group to everyone and changing its name to Sound Judgment. Would you join to talk with peers about creative choices in audio storytelling?
To answer, click on this link. It helps us enormously to get your feedback!
Without this ingredient, an audio story falls flat
Have you heard about the three registers, or dimensions, of a story: external, philosophical, and internal? To be honest, until I interviewed Emma Courtland, this week’s Sound Judgment guest, I hadn’t.
Until recently, Emma was host and producer of Gimlet Media’s smart, compelling true crime podcast, Crime Show. Emma and I dissected the episode “Paging Dr. Barnes,” about a con man who passed as a doctor for decades. It’s fascinating – and they almost killed it.
After two revisions, the episode was meticulous. It had all the elements of the genre: a hard-to-believe crime, a dead body, a “why-dunnit” mystery. But, Emma said, “It felt hollow. Flat.”
It was missing the “internal” register.
Herewith, some definitions:
External: What happened? Everything we produce needs this (I’m looking at you, chat-casts), but plot-driven narratives are especially driven by the question, “and then what happened?”
Philosophical: What is the meaning of this story in the outer world? Often, in journalism, this is the answer to “Why should the listener care?”
Internal: Who is the main character? What is the meaning of this story to this person? Are we invited into the character’s thoughts, emotions, relationships, and the ways in which the events of the story changed this person?
As Emma told me, a good story includes two of these registers. A great story has all three (and, I would argue, you know this depth when you feel it).
How are you applying these story dimensions to your own work?
Listen to today’s episode to learn how Emma and her team rescued “Paging Dr. Barnes” by transforming it into a cinematic, three-register piece that is, frankly, luminous.
Try This
In every issue, I give you one actionable takeaway from a Sound Judgment episode. Today’s takeaway comes from Beth Silvers, who with Sarah Stewart Holland co-hosts the hit show Pantsuit Politics. Pantsuit Politics is coming up on its seventh birthday. Silvers and Stewart Holland are role models of podcast persistence, a byproduct of their pursuit of excellence.
How do you set yourself apart from the competition?
Back when I worked as a beat reporter at New Hampshire Public Radio, Monday mornings meant news meetings. We’d huddle around a massive white board and pitch stories we wanted to report. Most news items are actually part of a longer thread: a particular crime, for instance, is often just one example of a trend. To make the news fresh, News Director Mark Bevis would commonly counter a reporter’s eagerness with, “Well, how are you going to push that story forward? How are you going to advance the conversation?” Sometimes there was no way; the idea would die. But often, these questions prompted smart critical thinking and new lines of inquiry.
That’s exactly what Silvers and Stewart Holland do in Pantsuit Politics content meetings.
“We’re constantly pushing ourselves to say, ‘what could we add?’ because every conversation is so saturated. When we started Pantsuit Politics, there weren't a million…news and politics podcasts. It was a totally different time,” Silvers says.
On Sound Judgment, we discussed their episode about “quiet quitting.” The phenomenon had already received a lot of press. They wrestled with whether they could — and, more importantly, should — cover it.
“[We asked] what could we possibly say about this that hasn't been said? We are challenging ourselves all the time to ask, what's new?” Silvers says. “Or how are we thinking about this that we haven't heard somewhere else or read somewhere else?”
So challenge yourself. Don’t produce the first episode that comes to mind. Do some research; know what others have already done. Then ask, “What can I bring to my listeners, using my lived experience and my expertise, that they’re not getting elsewhere?”
For more examples of how to advance the conversation and how to beat the podfading* odds, listen to the Sound Judgment episode, “A ‘Yes, and’ Approach to Cohosting with Pantsuit Politics.”
*Podfading: a made-up word describing podcasting’s most common affliction: quitting.
SJ Kudos
Every issue, we’ll give Sound Judgment Kudos to audio folks we think are making fantastic sound judgments creative choices—choices that elevate the quality of podcasts.
Our first SJ kudo this month goes to Jeremy Enns of Counterweight Creative. He teaches an intense six-week Podcast Marketing Academy workshop that Podcast Allies Operations and Marketing Manager Tina Bassir and I are taking. It’s kicking our butts — and we are learning SO MUCH.
Second goes to writer Shreya Sharma of Inside Podcasting. Shreya ran a fun bingo contest on Twitter encouraging people to do nice things for other podcasters (yes, I now own two Pantsuit Politics mugs). Then she gave away five valuable newsletter pitch doctoring sessions.
Want to nominate someone for a Sound Judgment Kudo?
Fill out this teeny-tiny form!
(It takes 60 seconds or less and someone will love you for it.)
Our Own Sound Judgments
Veteran voice talent Christopher G. Johnson made my night! He introduced himself on LinkedIn and left me this voice message: “Sound Judgment is a wonderful podcast and yes, I am telling everyone to listen!” Love how fitting it is to get an audio message from a voiceover artist (or, ahem, a podcast host). You have to listen to hear his gorgeous voice.
I am excited about creating our new Sound Judgment Advisory Board! We chose to make Sound Judgment to bring you living case studies of how the best shows are made. But we also are deeply motivated by our desire to lift up the voices of incredible talent deserving recognition. That means bringing in wise advisors. One of their roles will be to help curate podcast guests inclusively — of race, ethnicity, gender, age, geography, podcast format and style. I’m so happy to welcome our first two members:
Denise Soler Cox is a filmmaker, podcaster, the subject of the documentary Being ñ, and an in-demand public speaker whose mission is to transform how we think and speak about culture, identity and what it means to belong.
Laura Joyce Davis is a lecturer in the Stanford Storytelling Project, managing editor of SSP’s student-run podcasts including State of the Human, and CEO of the training company Narrative Podcasts. Prior to working at Stanford, she was the executive producer and host of the award-winning podcast Shelter in Place.
My personal best sound judgments this month:
Taking a couple of hours off to celebrate Kari Knutson’s birthday! Kari is a therapist, public speaker, and one-woman storyteller specializing in emotional intelligence. Her podcast Get Big Out Loud takes psychology off the couch. She’s leading the development of online workshops for The Denver Training Group. Look for a Sound Judgment workshop on great hosting from yours truly in January.
Don’t forget to tell us your dream guests for Sound Judgment, the Podcast. Our email is allies@podcastallies.com.
And forward this newsletter to a creative person you love! If someone forwarded this newsletter to you, subscribe here!
It's a joy to be with you.
Elaine Appleton Grant