Baby steps into podcasting

So you bought your $80 condenser mic, found a quiet room to record (or maybe built a makeshift sound box using egg cartons for walls) and you’ve got Garage Band or Audacity running in the background. You’re ready to podcast.

Now what? Those who’ve tried podcasting before may have realized how different it is from writing blog entries — and it should be, because podcasting, unlike blogging is a performance art. If you’re a bit lost in the art of intonation and enunciation, my suggestion is to go with baby steps.

1. Browse through your blog for one of your more interesting commentaries. Read it out loud. Read it out loud again. Repeat. Your podcast can be a weekly read of your column.

2. Doing this regularly — let’s look at once a week — instills a sense of confidence allowing you to venture into extemporaneous speaking later on.

3. If you stutter, clench your first. It helps.

The art of podcasting adds new dimension to your blog. But only if done well. Famous NYT columnist David Pogue reads his columns out loud for his shows so there’s nothing to be ashamed of. The trick is to do it regularly, just like like blogging, but never to appear gung-ho at the start by recording daily. It might turn off readers who still prefer your usual daily dose of posts.