The What, How, and Why of Your Content

It takes a skill to get on the microphone and record content that communicates directly to your audience. In this Intentional Content series, I’ll be sharing how to build-up that skill easily with tips and content formulas. These formulas can be used for interviewing, storytelling, co-hosted and solo episodes.

This episode kicks off the series with 4 questions that have helped me setup my episodes for success and I know they will help you too. This is the what, how, and why of your content.

Jump To It:

(select the chapter marks within the player above)

00:13 - Introducing the Intentional Content series.
01:16 - Inside scoop on the Podcast Planner.
01:50 - The question that helps with content clarity.
03:42 - The question that helps with provoking emotions from your content.
04:40 - The question that presents an action for your listener.
05:45 - The most important question to answer when creating content.
06:50 - Free download to make this part of your recording process!
07:07 - Next episode teaser!
07:27 - Facts you should know about.

What Are You Going To Tell Your Listener?

For interviews: What is this interview going to tell your listener?
For storytelling: What is this story going to tell your listener?

This question is easy, but shouldn’t be overlooked. It holds an importance to our basic human communication, clarity. Getting specifically clear helps deliver the content and makes it easy for the listener to follow along.

Try answering this question with three solid answers. According to Quick & Dirty Tips, “Ideas presented in threes are naturally more enjoyable, more interesting and more memorable.”

Do you have to have 3 answers? No, as long as you’re clear on what you want to tell your listener. This means it can be one too as many answers as you need it to be…like your content.

Onto the second question that will help setup our episodes for success…

How Do You Want Your Listener To Feel?

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

— Maya Angelou

One of the best ways to communicate with your listener is by making them feel something.

For interviews: How do you want your listener to feel about this interview?
For storytelling: How do you want your listener to feel about this story?

The three common emotions:

Inspired
Entertained
Educated

Don’t stop there, share how you personally feel about the topic. Remember, your audience is trying to connect with you and what you have to say. Get clear on how you want to make your listener feel.

What Do You Want Your Listener To Do?

For the most part, communication has a purpose. You can enhance that purpose by asking your listener to take action.

With what you’ve told your listener and how you made them feel, what do you want your listener to do?

This question sets up an important element of your show, the call-to-action (CTA). A call-to-action is a direct prompt to your listener to take action.

Create a relatable-to-the-episode CTA to continue the connection you’re building with the listener. It comes off odd when you just plug in the same old CTA that's not even relevant to the topic. Don’t create a disconnect after all that hard work.

Why Are You Interested In This Topic?

Podcasting is an intimate medium, if you’re not interested in the topic, it will come through. Create content that you’re genuinely interested in. The fourth and last question that will help setup our episodes for success is…