SOUND JUDGMENT, THE PODCAST - EP08 PUBLISHED ON 12/15/2022

As hosts, we have very little time to hook new listeners. We know this, because as listeners ourselves, we make decisions to listen to a new show—or abandon it—almost instantly. Likewise, we may have only half a minute for someone new to decide our show isn’t for them.

So how do the best hosts hook their listeners—and what can we learn from them?

In this solo-hosted episode, I explore four elements of effective intros through the insights and practices of Last Day’s Stephanie Wittels Wachs; Crime Show’s Emma Courtland; and Anne Bogel of What Should I Read Next? These three hosts, of two narrative podcasts and one interview show, use these elements in dramatically different ways to create remarkably effective ledes.

Listen & Follow Sound Judgment: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Everywhere Else

Sparkling, Attention-Grabbing Intros

The first universal skill of fantastic hosts is the ability to hook listeners with a great intro – what we call a “lede” in print journalism. The following examples share commonalities. But execution varies dramatically from host to host. We can have guidelines, even rules—and creative freedom. 

If you’re getting mad right now because you’re a producer, writer, or story editor and you feel overlooked, I’m employing poetic license with the term “hostiness.” You may be the one conceiving a blow-you-out-of-the-water lede and making your host look great. We love you. Read on. 

(Please note: This episode includes the sounds of guns and a brief discussion of some tough topics, including suicide, during my exploration of Stephanie Wittels Wachs’ lede into the Last Day episode, “A Love Story.” The third season of Last Day is about guns. If you’re a host or producer thinking about the tenth anniversary of the Sandy Hook school shooting yesterday, and how to report movingly and sensitively about guns, Last Day is a model of how to do this beautifully and ethically.)  

1 Surprise your audience to hook them.

Last Day host Stephanie Wittels Wachs (episode #1) led “A Love Story,” about a couple’s loss of their son by suicide, by taking her team to a shooting range. They learned to shoot and showed us how much fun it was. Shocking? Yes. The sounds grab us by the throat. The intro takes great advantage of the medium of audio. And this counterintuitive choice implicitly poses a question: What are we doing here? Anyone hearing that first 30 seconds has to stick around to find out.

But surprise doesn’t have to mean shock. (Nor should you shock listeners simply to get attention. As listeners, we know when we’re being exploited.)

You can surprise people simply by doing the unexpected. That’s what Crime Show host Emma Courtland did in her lede to “Paging Dr. Barnes,” a story about a con man who pretended to be a doctor—for decades (episode #4). The Crime Show team could have led with a dramatic scene of a patient dying. Instead, she led with the con man’s son recounting heartwarming memories of going to baseball games with his dad. That choice, made in revisions, turned what could have been a pedestrian true crime lede into something immersive and beautiful. 

2 Inspire curiosity

When we’re at the shooting range with Stephanie Wittels Wachs, asking ourselves, “What’s going on here?” Stephanie has created an “open loop”—a question that creates tension for listeners. To resolve the tension, we have to learn the answer. Deconstruct almost any content you consume and curiosity is at the core. (It’s also why so many shows employ cold opens—some more effectively than others.)

I’m hearing you in my head right now, saying, “Elaine, but I host an interview show. And I’m never going to bring a whole team to a shooting range in Montana. So how does this apply to me?”

Great conversation show hosts—think Terry Gross and Guy Raz – inspire curiosity by telling us from the get-go who they’re interviewing, why it’s relevant to us, and making a promise about what we’ll learn. Typically, great hosts employ a central question, which can be answered differently in every episode. “How I Built This” is really asking the question, “How did you build it? And how can I?”

Anne Bogel of What Should I Read Next? (episode #7) uses this approach. The whole show—all seven years’ worth—consists of different answers to this question. But Anne states the purpose of each episode right up front.

“It can feel silly at first to name your purpose,” she says. But it helps hosts, guests and listeners immensely to answer: "What is our purpose in being here today, in having this conversation? What do we hope you take away from this?" Knowing where we’re heading helps me decide to listen. 

3 Start with a scene

It’s been said 1000 times that radio is the most visual medium—it’s theater of the mind. Put us in the middle of the action, and we’ll go there in our heads with you. I’ve never shot a gun, but listening to “A Love Story,” I feel like I’m at a bleak Montana shooting range just as the sun rises. I’m freezing, and see rosy cheeks on my fellow shooters. (Scientifically, the adrenaline also pumps through me; my blood pressure and heart rate actually climb.)  She’s got me now, and I’ll follow her anywhere.

But scenes don’t have to be unusual. They often serve to create relatability. When the con man’s son describes a baseball stadium in “Paging Dr. Barnes,” most of us imagine a stadium we’ve been to. We smell hot dogs and spilled beer and hear the roar of the crowd. Why would I leave? I didn’t.

4 Sound quality can kill you

One last thing: If there’s any place in your episode where sound quality is the most critical, it’s in your lede. The cleaner and more meticulous your audio is, the less your listener will notice it. If it’s hollow, echoey, or noisy, it creates a sense for the listener that this host is an amateur. Unless we can’t find this information anywhere else, we’ll leave. It’s like dating: Your shoes are ugly or you show up without a shower, and we’ll go right back to Tinder. 

Are you hooking your listener?

Make sure you’re doing everything you can to hook your listener with a personalized Hook-Your-Listener Audit.

Our personalized feedback on your show, delivered in a 45-minute session and a step-by-step follow-up report, will show you your strengths, help you build on them, and give you quick, easy ways to improve on areas that might be holding you back.

Did you know that almost 70% of women listeners who share podcasts with their friends and family do so because they believe the recipient will like the host? And that word-of-mouth is the TOP way women listeners find new shows? Gaining clarity by through our encouraging, specific audit will kickstart your growth. Implementing just one of the suggestions you’ll get will give you more confidence, enthusiasm and joy in the process. You’ll gain a greater sense of ownership and leadership over your show and a closer relationship with your audience—and that’s just the beginning of growing a community, your business, and your star in the podcasting universe!

How it works: You’ll share an episode with us. We’ll examine your lede, sound quality, structure, relatability, credibility, pacing and more, all through the lens of hostiness.

For the holidays, this 45-minute session, filled with action-packed takeaways specific to your show, is only $149. This is a quick and painless way to transform your show—and more importantly, you as a host—from good to great! But our elves are super busy with Christmas, and there aren’t many of these sessions left. Get one of the last remaining audits now through New Year’s Eve and schedule your audit for January or February. The price goes back up to $300 on January 31. We can’t wait for you to hear how great you’ll sound and the listener compliments you’ll get!

Subscribe to Sound Judgment, the Newsletter, our twice-monthly newsletter about creative choices in audio storytelling, to get these blog posts, new episode reminders, our Sound Judgment Kudos, a deep-dive “Try this” lesson from a top podcast host, and more. “This is soooo good!” says Mary Ellen Slater, editor-in-chief of Managing Editor magazine and an expert on email newsletters. Don’t miss it!

The episode(s) discussed on today’s Sound Judgment:

Last Day, A Love Story, from Sound Judgment Ep. 1, “Emotional Bravery on Last Day with Stephanie Wittels Wachs”

Crime Show, Paging Dr. Barnes, from Sound Judgment Ep. 4, “Cinematic Storytelling with Crime Show’s Emma Courtland.” 

What Should I Read Next?, Ep 350: “Book mail keeps us together” and Ep 351 “Book Club Favorites: LIVE from Bookmarks!”, from Sound Judgment Ep. 7, “Secrets of Hosting Live and In-Studio with the Queen of Book Podcasts, Anne Bogel.” 

Sound Judgment is a production of Podcast Allies, LLC. 

Host: Elaine Appleton Grant

Project Manager: Tina Bassir

Sound Designer: Andrew Parella

Illustrator: Sarah Edgell