Why You Should Have a Pre-Recording Ritual for Your Podcast

Professor: “Pass the vials around and observe the difference between a hypertonic and a hypotonic environment. Swish the blood back and forth and compare the two vials.”

Taking deep breaths, I tell myself, I can do this. It’s just a little bit of cow blood. I don’t even have to touch it. I’m a brave person.

I’ll be fine.

I pull my lab coat in tighter — is it just me or does the air feel chillier all of a sudden? — as I brace myself to take part in the experiment and impress everyone with how utterly NORMAL I act when I’m around blood.

It’s my turn.

I gingerly hold Vial 1 with my ice-cold fingers and swish it around like everyone else.

Ok, this one is thin and watery. It’s sooooo red. It’s cherry juice! It’s cherry juice. It’s cherry juice.

I pass it forward and hold Vial 2.

Huh, this one is thick like cherry syrup. Cherry syrup. Cherry syrup.

I then pass this one along and smile to myself.

I DID THAT.

ME!

30 seconds later…

Lab partner: “Professor, Adrienne is fainting!!!”

What nobody in that room knew is that almost every time I encounter blood, I have what’s called a vasovagal presyncope — aka when your nervous system overreacts and your blood pressure + heart rate suddenly do a Tower-of-Terror drop that almost causes you to faint.

So in order to survive medical tests that involve drawing blood, I’ve had to develop a ritual…

My Ritual for Drawing Blood

1. A few minutes before my turn, I start taking deep breaths and force myself to be hyperaware of my surroundings and how my body feels.

2. As soon as my behind touches the seat, I tell the nurse, “Ok, so I get VERY dizzy and nervous when drawing blood. I feel like I’m about to faint.”

3. I ask for an alcohol pad that I can sniff.

4. I ban the word VEIN from our conversation. For some reason, this is the ultimate trigger word. All it takes is one, “Hm, I can’t seem to find your VEIN,” and I’m a goner.

5. I ask them to distract me and talk with me about anything else.

6. I tell them to please hide the vial when they’re done because if I see the blood at any moment, poof I’m gone.

7. I then close my eyes, breathe deeply, and try to talk to them about whatever topic they’re using to distract me.

And ta-daaaaa I’m able to get through it in one piece.

I’m a fan of rituals, recipes, and routines.

There’s just something so satisfying about stacking a couple of actions / ingredients together and getting the perfect outcome.

Which is why whenever I make a podcast guest appearance, I do my pre-recording ritual.

And I think you should have one too.

Create a Pre-Recording Ritual

I got this idea from the excellent book Everybody Has a Podcast (Except You), where the McElroys discuss the often neglected practice of checking where your head is at before you start recording.

These are expert podcasters who have been doing this a loooong time, and they STILL avoid just jumping right in.

Instead, as co-hosts, they have an extremely simple pre-recording routine:

• Avoid talking about business
• Put away their phones

That’s it.

They place so much importance on their mental state that if they start recording and realize one of them is “off” for any reason, they reschedule.

A quote from the book that struck me…

“Making podcasts is hard enough without having to struggle with an uncooperative brain. Remember, you are the only judge of whether you’re in a position to make your art.”

And a 2-step routine like theirs might be enough for you.

But I prefer a multi-step ritual that makes the podcasting process not just survivable, but enjoyable, something to look forward to.

My Pre-Recording Ritual

1. Hydrate – I pour myself a glass of ice water (with a cute glass straw because obviously) and drink it slowly as I walk around the house doing the rest of the steps.

2. Get comfortable – I change into soft, comfortable clothes that aren’t too warm. I live in Puerto Rico and can’t use a fan or AC because of the background noise.

3. Set up recording space and do a mic check – I like doing this before the next step on purpose so I can get it out of the way before relaxing. That way I’m not thinking about it.

4. Put phone in DND and do a quick meditation – Phone = potential stressor. I put that shit on do not disturb and put on a quick Headspace meditation.

5. Do vocal-warm up exercises – I just hum Taylor Swift songs and call it a day.

If you’d like to see this ritual in action, check out this reel!

Your Pre-Recording Ritual

Do you have a podcast ritual?

If not, what would you do if you started one?

DM me on Instagram and let me know. I’m genuinely curious what your pre-recording process looks like (or what it COULD look like).

Podcasting is hard enough without having to struggle with an uncooperative brain.

And you deserve to show up to the mic feeling good.

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Thanks for reading! 🥂