I was listening to a wonderful podcast I’ve just discovered out of Iceland!
Well Iceland and Switzerland as the host moves between to the two. It’s called Sigrund Sparks. This the punchy few minute podcast from Sigrund. She is very inspirational.
What pushed my fingers to the keyboard was an episode on perfectionism. This is especially poignant for podcasters. This is even more so if you are yet to start the journey.
No one wants to sound like garbage when they hit the publish button. Equally, perfection does NOT exist in audio production.
Indeed perfection does not exist.
So do what you can to the best of your ability and look for ways to continually improve.
This may or may not mean changing your gear over time. I discussed an approach to gear here and here. A brief summary goes a little like this: The more expensive and complicated the setup, the harder it is to find problems in that setup and the more soundproofing you need in your recording space. I would go for gear designed for journalists who work outdoors. Their gear is designed for the situations they find themselves in. Most mics and mixer setups are designed for musicians. Understand the medium and work from there.
Your voice, your mic technique and your editing skills will improve over time. This is especially so if you listen with a critical ear. This is another spot where perfectionism can raise its ugly head. Look for improvement over time not perfection immediately. And please, please, please remember: Perfect does not exist!
Takeaways
- Do not let the search for perfection stop you from publishing.
- Think about your setup and where issues can arise.
- Continual improvement is your goal.
- Perfect doesn’t exist!