3 tips to capture the imagination

With business podcasts, we at ZUID add an extremely powerful means of communication to, among other things, your blogs, social posts and newsletters: your voice. More options mean extra opportunities, but it also raises questions. After all, how effective is your voice exactly? How do you make optimal use of your voice to tell what you have to say? And how do you optimally prepare yourself as a podcast guest?

Half a second

That's the average time it takes for people to judge whether your voice is trustworthy and friendly. That seems short and it is. However, there are parts that you do have a knack for to get in the way of your audience. With three simple tips, you can become an ideal podcast guest who keeps the audience glued to speakers.

Tip 1: Follow the LLL rule

Many inexperienced podcast guests are completely blind to the content of their story. Our tip: don't do it. Of course, it's important that you know what you're talking about. But anyone who has ever completed basic communication training may also remember that content only determines 7% of your message. Especially in situations where body language is the big absentee, the LLL rule ensures that your story comes across and sticks.

Slower, lower and louder
LLL stands for slower, lower, and louder. These are the three factors that give your story the emotional load that listeners rely on. By talking just a little slower than you usually do most of the time, the average listener has plenty of time to record what you're saying. By consciously talking just a little bit faster at moments that get to the heart of your story, you activate listeners at times that matter. Talking a little lower than you usually do increases your reliability as a speaker. Speaking too softly will make you look insecure, which would actually negate that advantage. That's why our hosts invite you to take an active position in front of the microphone, and, in addition to talking slower and lower, also a little louder than you normally do.

Tip 2: Short sentences? Yes, we can!

“An iPod. A phone. An internet communicator. Are you getting it? ' For many, Steve Jobs' famous presentation introducing the iPhone is still the benchmark for telling a business story. First of all, because Jobs applies the LLL rule perfectly. Secondly, because his story from A to Z meets an important second criterion: mainly talk in short sentences. Short sentences come across as firm and keep your audience sharp. The core of your story really doesn't have to be as memorable as 'I have a dream' or 'Yes we can'. But by preparing your core message in short sentences, your story comes in the way you want.

Tip 3: use the WII4Y formula

Jobs' story also meets a third important criterion. He stands on that stage as the personification of the Apple brand, which has just reinvented the mobile phone. That is quite a message. But instead of telling what Apple did and how, he mainly explains why and for whom they did it. The core of his story is what you can do with it as a user. This powerful way of formulating is called the WII4Y formula, or What's In It For You. So if you are an HR manager who wants to explain the HR policy in a podcast, do not say that employees have 24 vacation days in accordance with the collective labor agreement. Instead, express in your own words how important it is for employees to find a good work-life balance and occasionally take time to recharge their creative batteries. And how you're going to help them do that.

Finally: leave your nerves at home

Your story comes across best when your voice, breath, and body work together optimally. At times when things get exciting, for example in an unusual situation, that optimal cooperation can be disrupted relatively easily. That's why our recording studio consciously has the look of a normal meeting room. You're just sitting at a table with your interlocutors, like you've sat so many times before. The only difference is that there is a microphone on the table. There are no cameras, you don't have to put on makeup and your hair is always good. Do you prefer to talk in your own familiar environment? Then we'll just come to you with our mobile recording studio. With our experienced hosts, you are in safe hands under all circumstances.

With these three tips, you're ready to make a furor. Want to know more? Come in.

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