Sound Judgment Podcasts Releases Six-Part Series on Storytelling

 I have a friend, Bruce, who is a commercial wallpaper salesman. I know. Snoozefest. We've all met these people before at parties or functions. They can't wait to tell anyone who will or will not listen about what they make or sell, which is usually some armature that connects to another wheel that powers some widget. zzzzzzzzzz.

Bruce, however, regales us with fanciful tales of his commercial wallpaper sales calls and customers and can entrance us with his exquisitely curated details, wry humor, twists and turns, and then unexpected endings.

Bruce is a born -- and well-practiced -- storyteller. That skill, storytelling, is essential for podcast hosts and public speakers. As listeners, we take storytelling prowess for granted because so many of the hosts we listen to possess that skill. 

For those aspirational and fledgling podcasters who want to learn how to be a compelling storyteller, the Sound Judgment podcast recently released a six-part series on storytelling skills that is a masterclass in the skills needed to be a proficient podcast host.

First, let me tell you about Sound Judgment, for those not familiar with the podcast.

Sound Judgment podcast goes behind the scenes with today's great hosts to learn how they make their audio storytelling magic. The podcast explores their creative choices by pulling apart one episode at a time, together.

The podcast producers tell us that "The term 'sound judgment' connotes wise decisions, common sense, and clear thinking. All of which we intend — in the context of making wise creative choices about sound. I’m obsessively curious about the ingredients and methods — the creative choices — that make audio storytelling magic."

The host is Elaine Appleton Grant, who embodies the gift that she dubs "hostiness," which is the skills needed to be a good podcast host.

Sound Judgment is deep into its third season. On March 9, Grant began her six-part series on storytelling strategies "to hook your audience and keep your audience."

In the first episode, Grant says, "Over the last 18 months, storytelling patterns have emerged from the on-the-ground experiences shared with us by today's best audio storytellers. Welcome to part one of our new series on six strategies for making your content unforgettable, no matter whether it's for the ear, the page, the stage, or the screen. In this series you'll learn how to use sound vision, structure, scenes, surprise, suspense, and specifics to make content that audiences love and share. Each of these bonus episodes is bite-sized." 

The six episodes ran (sometimes two in a day) from March 9 until March 12. Then on March 13, Grant released a 39-minute episode that incorporates all six storytelling strategies. 

The six episodes average about 7 minutes, with the longest being 12 minutes and the shortest being almost six minutes. 

The six episodes that are linked to the six storytelling strategies are:

1. Sound Vision

2. Structure

3. Scenes

4. Surprise

5. The Missing Ingredient

6. Specifics

While these episodes are short, they are long on instructive content, tips, skills to harness, and directions to go.  

In that last episode, Grant tells the audience: "The six storytelling strategies you've learned are drawn from the patterns I've seen across

more than 150 behind-the-scenes lessons — lessons learned from some of the best hosts, producers, writers and editors I've had on Sound Judgment. You can put these techniques to use right away in your studio or at your writing desk. This episode pulls together examples from compelling shows and award winners. In almost every case, the creators who use these strategies are multi-talented. They produce podcasts, they're writers and journalists, they speak on stages, they act, perform, and do live storytelling shows at places like The Moth. These days, we're all creating on multiple platforms — so take a journey with me to learn how sound vision, structure, scenes, surprise, suspense and specifics and take your storytelling to the next level."

I've listened to the six individual episodes and the summary episode several times and always found skill-based knowledge I can use.

Even if you're not a podcaster, these episodes of Sound Judgment can help you. After all, most of us don't have interesting jobs. We're not secret agents, movie stars, nature photographers, or even alligator wranglers. 

While these skills are designed for podcasters, public speakers, video hosts, and more, these storytelling skills can help anyone. Imagine you work in an AT&T phone store. Someone at a party says, "What's going on with your job?"

Then, because you've listened to these six episodes and practiced, you spin the most engrossing tale about data caps, throttling, and 5G repeaters. Your audience can't get enough.