Podcast Recording Tips: 7 Things to Do Before You Record

In this blog, I’m walking you through 7 podcast recording tips to help you prevent audio issues instead of having to fix them later. But first a story…

My husband and I fell in love when we were still broke college students.

We drove everywhere together to save gas. We pooled our money to get groceries and cook the meals we wanted to eat out but couldn’t. (I vividly remember making chicken cacciatore in the small, ugly apartment we shared with a roommate).

And then we started our first real jobs: him in an economics firm and me in a school.

We had the simplest, smallest wedding you can imagine, and started our married lives together as early 20-year-olds with new careers and… CREDIT CARDS!!!

We could finally do shopping hauls, restaurant date nights, and spontaneous trips!

Those were some magical first years of marriage, until we realized we couldn’t really pay our credit cards off each month.

But it’s ok, we’ll pay it next month.

Or the next.

Oh, but now interest is making it difficult.

Let’s just wait for the Christmas bonus!

Tale as old as time, right?

Several $1,000s later, we realized we needed to get our shit together, consolidate our debt with a personal loan, and start budgeting. We often imagine what things would be like if we’d handled our money like we’re doing now since year one.

We don’t beat ourselves up over it, but we wonder.

Most of the time, it’s better to prevent problems than struggle to fix them later, and this definitely applies to your podcast’s audio quality!

As a podcast manager who edits ~10 shows a month, here are 7 podcast recording tips that directly tackle the most common culprits of bad audio:

1. Check for sources of background noise and pick a quiet spot to record

Close the windows, put the AC fan on the lowest setting or turn it off if you can, and move all other living creatures, except for plants, into a different room (if possible).

If you do hear a noise while recording, stop, wait for it to pass, and then restart what you were saying. You can edit that out later, but if you keep talking while the noise is happening, it might be impossible to remove.

2. Do a mic check

Always test your mic before recording and make adjustments as needed. I highly recommend doing a short 15 second recording and playing it back to see how it sounds.

I’ve had clients that have recorded entire episodes only to realize the recording has no sound, or the mic connected was not their podcast mic but their laptop mic!

A simple 1-minute test can easily prevent that.

3. Beware of large rooms without soft furnishings

These produce an echo! If you can, record in a small room and add rugs, curtains, pillows, or any soft furnishing you can find. I once did a mic test in my office, and there was a slight echo, so I propped a pillow behind my laptop, and it was gone.

4. Use a pop filter

A pop filter reduces harsh plosive sounds like p’s and b’s. Some mics include one, but if yours doesn’t, it’s super affordable, and I highly recommend it.

5. Maintain a proper distance between you and the mic

A good rule of thumb: put your hand between you and the mic to measure the distance. Then angle the mic slightly instead of pointing it straight on.

That also helps reduce plosive sounds.

6. Stay hydrated throughout the day

One of my favorite podcasts ever is Good Hang with Amy Poehler, but recently she had a guest with the worst mouth clicks and sounds I’ve ever heard. I couldn’t listen to the episode at all because it was so unpleasant.

This mostly happens because the person is dehydrated and their saliva gets stickier (gags). To avoid that, sip water throughout the day before recording the episode.

7. Wear wired, closed-ear headphones

This one is so important, I’m going to linger on it!

Headphones aren’t just a fun accessory that makes you look like a real podcaster (though honestly, they do make you look pretty legit).

A good pair of wired, closed-ear headphones is 100% essential. Here’s why:

You can monitor your recording as it’s happening.

That means you’ll catch things like the neighbor’s lawn mower firing up, your dog deciding now is the perfect time to hate on the mail delivery person, or that tiny buzzing sound your laptop makes.

You’ll also catch if you’re popping your P’s, if you’ve drifted too far from the mic, or if your mouth is dry and making horrible, monstrous saliva-noises (like the aforementioned guest on Amy Poehler’s podcast lol).

Without headphones, you might not notice these things until you’re in the editing phase, and now have to waste precious time trying to fix easily preventable issues.

You prevent audio issues when recording with someone else.

Let’s say you’re interviewing a guest and they cough right in the middle of your brilliant question. If you’re both wearing headphones and recording on separate tracks, that cough lives on their track only; you can easily silence it in editing without touching your gorgeous question.

But if you’re not wearing headphones and your mic picks up their cough bleeding through your speakers, that’s now permanently attached to your audio. You’re stuck with it, or you’re cutting out part of what you said.

Headphones also prevent that annoying echo effect where your guest hears themselves back through your speakers, and as a podcast manager, trust me when I say fixing this is a nightmare.

You become a better conversationalist.

When you’re listening through headphones, you’re hearing your guest (or co-host) with crystal clarity. You’re not distracted by the room you’re in or the dozen other things competing for your attention. You’re truly present and engaged, which makes for a better conversation.

Which headphones should you get?

I’m gonna make this super easy for you: Sony MDR7506 Professional Large Diaphragm Headphones.

These headphones have been the industry standard for years and are still going strong. If you watch any video podcast, seven out of ten times you’ll see people wearing these exact headphones!

PRIME EVIDENCE:

They’re the ones I have too. They sound great, help me pick up on every little detail of my voice and background noise, and are super comfortable to wear. The closed-back design blocks noise so my mic doesn’t pick it up, and the coiled cable means I don’t have to rely on an unstable bluetooth connection.

And they’re incredibly affordable for professional-grade headphones.

Here’s my affiliate link if you want to get ’em.

So to recap… Here’s your essential podcast recording tips checklist:

Use it every time you’re gonna record an episode!

• Quiet room, background noise checked
• Mic check done (and adjusted if needed)
• No echo-y empty room (soft furnishings in place!)
• Pop filter on
• Mic distance + angle set
• Hydrated
• Headphones on and properly connected (wired, closed-ear)

This takes you only a couple of minutes but will save you or your editor’s sanity, trust me!

Subscribe to my newsletter Sounds Like Brunch for more tips like this one, every Wednesday, straight to your inbox!

Thanks for reading! 🥂

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