You may have noticed that podcast creators always have such insanely large headphones on. Why do they do that? And should you do that yourself?
How many times have you seen a professional photographer take a photo without looking through the lens? Almost never, right? Because the photographer wants to actually see what he's doing. Otherwise, he'll only have half a head in the frame, the horizon will be skewed, and the windmill he intended to be in the middle will be in the upper right corner. That is also how audio recording works. You put on headphones in order to hear what you're doing. And yes, that sometimes feels a bit uncomfortable However, do it! Put those headphones on! Otherwise it's a big gamble on how you will sound in your podcast.
With headphones on, you can hear things that you wouldn't hear otherwise. Is the sound even reaching your recording device? Is the microphone not falling out, is there a cable break, or is there another malfunction? Is the microphone too loud or too weak? Are you sitting too close or too far away? Are you talking sideways into the microphone? Are you smacking too much with your tongue or your lips? Do you hear background noises, such as the metro line or the wind?
When I record a talk show podcast, every speaker gets to wear their own headphones. People find that a bit inconvenient at times, yet it offers numerous benefits. If people start sitting too far away from the microphone, they are more likely to hear it. I explain ahead of time that they should be approximately a fist's length away from the microphone, but people tend to find that to be too close and turn away or lean back. They hear themselves getting softer with headphones on, and they almost instinctively tend to sit closer again.
Please contact us if you would like to record your podcast in our podcasting studio in Brussels.