To Script or Not to Script!

To script or not to script - that is the question. 

In this episode, we are talking the talk, but how do we plan that talk? 

Basically, are you writing your podcast? 

There are three ways of planning your episodes: Bullet points, the key points you want to cover. A detailed outline, this expands on the bullets and adds more written detail or the word for word script.

Let's look at the pros and cons of each. Sometimes some can fit better with whatever format you've chosen. If it’s a solo show with a host who knows the subject inside and out, can get away with bullet points. Or an interview where the interviewer doesn't want too much information pre-recording.

They might want just to use bullets too. I used to do that when I was live on air on my business show because that way my questions were real. They came after I'd listened to the responses, and I often got told “you’re asking the questions the listener was thinking”. That's because I just had bullet points of the points I wanted to cover, but genuinely listened to the person I was interviewing.

So, are you going to outline it? Are you going to ad lib? Ad lib is really hard, especially if you are in a panel and don't know the group. People can be cutting in talking over each other, editing's harder, you could outline a group discussion and put in clear points. You'd most definitely script the podcast intro, as we've mentioned before, so it's exactly the same every week.

Both the intro and the outro on each episode can be recorded, so as it's the same, some podcasters, as I've mentioned, do it live each episode, but they still stay on brand and they still read the script at that part. 

What about the writing style?

A few words around that. Write like your talk if you script in episodes. If you are scripting, script the words you use on a daily basis and keep it simple. That's what people want to hear, your authentic voice. If you've scripted your podcast, you'll stumble over the words if it's things you wouldn't normally say.

So, write like you talk. If you're podcasting for the first time, you probably feel more comfortable scripting a few episodes to begin with, and then you'll probably move on to bullet points with outlines and who knows, you might just get to the bullet point stage. I'm sure you will.