Write and record your own podcast episode
Write and record your own podcast episode
Participants will listen to one episode of An Dream Dearg’s #Dearg podcast to draw inspiration for recording their own podcast episode. They must design, record and edit their own interview with the member of their local Irish language community who most inspires them.
Instructions for participants:
1. Visit https://dearg.buzzsprout.com/ and select one podcast episode.
2. Listen to and take notes on the jingle, introduction, and themes being covered during the episode. This will help you when recording your own episode.
3. Think about and choose one person from the Irish language community who inspires you the most and that you would like to interview for your podcast episode. Your podcast episode should last no longer than 20 minutes.
4. Do your research on them (for example, why did they start becoming involved with the Irish language? Was there something in particular that they did that inspired you? What is their job? What are their hobbies and interests?) This information will help you to write your episode’s introduction.
5. Write 10 questions to ask your interviewee (we recommend you start by asking about their own history with Irish – were you brought up with Irish/ how did you become involved with the language?)
6. Contact your chosen interviewee to ask them if they are willing to be interviewed by you and organise a date/time for your interview.
7. Once your interview is completed, write and record your episode’s introduction. Some possible points to include could be:
- Introducing yourself and telling your audience a bit about you;
- Giving a bit of an insight into your interviewee;
- Letting your audience know why you chose to interview this person.
8. Once you have completed your introduction, combine both your introduction and the interview audio using one of the below recommended softwares on your computer.
9. Listen back to your interview, ensuring that you are happy with it.
10. Send your podcast episode to andreamdearg@gmail.com for the chance to have your episode hosted on their website!
Things to consider:
- Am I choosing a unique interviewee? Is there anyone I can think of that no-one else will?
- Where am I going to conduct the interview? (Is it too noisy? Is there an echo in the room? Will there be people around who will disrupt us?)
- What time of the day am I going to conduct the interview? (Am I going to get the best out of my interviewee?)
- Do I have enough storage space on my mobile phone to record a 20-minute interview?
- Have I definitely pressed the record button?
- Am I listening to what the person is saying and are there any opportunities for follow-up questions? (Whilst you have a set list of questions you want to ask your interviewee, if they mention something specific and you’d like to find out more, ask them about it! It shows you’re interested!)
- Am I being respectful of my interviewee’s time? (If they are giving answers which are a bit longer than you’d expected, how do you bring them back on track without being rude?)
Skills required:
- Good listening skills
- Organisational skills
- Communicational skills
Equipment you’ll need:
- A mobile phone with a voice recording app
- A computer (to edit your interview, or to conduct the interview if you’d prefer Zoom)
- A charger for your mobile phone in case it dies
Applications for editing interview:
- Waveform Free
- iMovie (Mac)
- Audacity
