[Podcast] Finding your voice with Shelter in Place host Laura Joyce Davis
SOUND JUDGMENT, THE PODCAST - EP05 PUBLISHED ON 11/10/2022
How do you know who, exactly, you ARE behind the mic? What you sound like versus what you wish you sounded like? How to stand out as a host while being your unique self? Not to mention telling a gripping story or weaving a conversation listeners can't stop talking about?
Laura Joyce Davis, host and executive producer of the award-winning show Shelter in Place, has answers...and they're gems. We learn what the rules are for hooking listeners and how to break them, with an example from Laura's interview with her friend, Pulitzer-Prize-winning author Anthony Doerr (Cloud Cuckoo Land, All the Light We Cannot See, and more). You'll hear Laura grapple with how much of her doubts and fears to share, along with how much of her personal life (Kids' names? Fights with her spouse?). And you’ll get tips from her Broadway-actor brother on how to get over the dreaded readerly voice on the mic for a natural, conversational, intimate sound.
You'll be a better host after listening to this episode — and you'll enjoy hosting more, too.
Takeaways from Laura Joyce Davis, host of Shelter in Place
You need a strong hook to entice listeners. And you might have heard that there’s an unwritten 30-second rule—that’s all the time you’ve got. But you can get away with a longer lead if you create suspense.
How can you voice a script naturally and avoid that awful “readerly” quality? Take a tip from Laura’s Broadway actor brother: Stop focusing on the words in every sentence. Instead, focus on the whole thought you’re conveying.
At some point, you’ll need to grapple with how much of yourself to share with your listeners. This is a big part of finding your voice. There are huge payoffs to sharing parts of yourself—and this is a question that you may need to wrestle with over and over again.
More takeaways coming soon!
More about Laura Joyce Davis
Laura Joyce Davis is the host and executive producer of Shelter in Place, which won the “Changing the World One Moment at a Time” award at the International Women’s Podcast Awards. She is a full-time lecturer and managing editor at Stanford University's Storytelling Project, the CEO and co-founder of Narrative Podcasts (an online course), and one of Podcast Magazine's Top 22 Influencers in Podcasting in 2022. Her work has been recognized with a PR News Social Impact Award, a Fulbright scholarship, and occasional praise from her three children.
Her favorite project management tools are butcher block paper, nice markers, post-its, white boards, and gel roller pens.
A note about Sound Judgment: We believe that no host does good work alone. All hosts rely on their producers, the hidden hands that enable a host to shine. We strive to give credit to producers whenever it’s possible to do so.
The episode discussed on today’s Sound Judgment:
Help us find and celebrate today’s best hosts!
Who’s your Sound Judgment dream guest? Share them with us! Write us: allies@podcastallies.com. Because of you, that host may appear on Sound Judgment.
Sound Judgment is a production of Podcast Allies, LLC.
Host: Elaine Appleton Grant
Project Manager: Tina Bassir
Sound Designer: Andrew Parella
Illustrator: Sarah Edgell
Subscribe to Sound Judgment, the Newsletter, our once- or twice-monthly newsletter about creative choices in audio storytelling.