In recent years, podcasting has become immensely popular, and the number of people who want to start their podcasts is increasing daily.
However, many new and amateur podcasters may not realize just how much work goes into creating a high-quality podcast.
Having a good podcast isn’t simply about having good content or an exciting topic; it also needs to have good audio quality. Otherwise, your audience won’t be able to listen to it for very long before they decide to turn it off.
Most people assume that to ensure great audio quality in your podcast, you only need a decent microphone, headphones, and an audio interface.
But the reality is that you also need to edit your podcast correctly.
So, if you want to learn some great tips and tricks for podcast editing, keep reading, and we’ll teach you everything you need to know!
Before We Start
Before we can delve into some constructive tips, it is worth noting that excellent audio editing has two different sides to it.
The first is knowing your way around the audio editing software you use, and the second is being able to be creative with the way in which you edit your podcast’s audio, so keep these in mind when you edit your podcast.
Podcast Editing Tips 101
Podcast editing is crucial for creating engaging and professional content. Focus on editing before mixing, and learn key combinations in your DAW to save time (See also: Best DAW For Podcasting).
Add fades to smooth transitions and play tracks at double speed to quickly identify filler words. Remove filler words and adjust breaths for a natural flow, but avoid over-editing. Introduce “beats” to reset the listener’s ear during cadence changes and use ambiance clips for smoother transitions.
Handle multiple speakers effectively by untangling overlapping conversations, removing false starts and apologies, and editing out excessively agreeable speakers. Edit consonants for a natural sound and delete background noises during silences.
Use reference tracks and time stretching to ensure alignment, and be mindful of maintaining speech flow. If working with a list of cuts, edit in reverse order to prevent confusion. Overall, strive to create a polished podcast that keeps listeners engaged.
27 Top Podcast Editing Tops For 2024
- Listen to your interview once before editing
- Take notes of things to edit using timestamps
- Keep the blank space while editing
- Listen at regular speed
- Edit before mixing
- Learn key combinations in your DAW
- Add fades to the tops and tails of clips with abrupt entrances
- Play tracks at double speed to identify filler words
- Delete filler words and interpolate
- Fade out pronounced breaths instead of removing them
- Tighten up natural pauses and breaths for better delivery
- Add a “beat” between vocal cadence changes to reset the ear
- Let hosts ramble to avoid abrupt cadence changes
- Use ambiance clips for silences and flow “beats”
- Tuck music fades behind the content
- Use a long crossfade when connecting two pieces of audio with different background sounds
- Use Strip Silence to see where conversations overlap easily
- Untangle multiple speakers talking over each other
- Remove apologies, false starts, and phrase restarts
- Edit out excessively agreeable speakers
- Edit on consonants
- Delete background noises during silence
- Drop the source file into a separate track for reference
- Time stretch the longest file(s) to fix audio drifting
- Be mindful not to disrupt speech flow
- Edit in reverse when handling a long list of cuts
- Give it one last listen
Learn Your Editing Tool
It might seem basic, but everyone needs to start somewhere.
Editing tools are known as DAWs (Digital Audio Workstations). They are places where you can either record and edit your audio or import your audio and work on it from there.
Whatever option you choose, learning and mastering the editing tool you use is the key to creating a good podcast.
Once you become more familiar with your tool, the editing process will become much easier, and you’ll soon be able to imprint your style onto the way you edit your audio.
This individual style is one way your podcast can stand out from the rest too!
Interviewing And Microphones
If your podcast revolves around interviewing someone or you regularly have guests and other hosts, investing in additional microphones will not only improve the quality of your podcast but also make audio editing much easier.
Whether you’re in the same room or miles away, you should try to ensure that you and your other hosts have the same microphone to ensure the audio quality is consistent throughout.
Checking Your Environment
If you’re just starting with your podcast then the chances are you probably don’t have a properly soundproof recording studio at home, nor do you have the money to hire a professional studio for a few hours either.
Recording in an unprepared environment can be a nightmare when it comes to editing the audio, so keep these few things in mind when choosing when and where to record your podcast.
Firstly, pick a room that you’ll have full control over—no interruptions, no instructions, nothing. This will ensure that you’re undisturbed while recording and won’t have to start over and over again.
Secondly, try to soundproof as best as possible. Even things such as curtains and a carpeted floor can dramatically reduce the amount of noise that echoes while recording.
Thirdly, try to record when there’s the least amount of noise outside, as not only will it distract you while you’re talking, but it’ll also make the editing process much easier.
Background Noise
Speaking of background noise, it is arguably one of the most annoying things to have to deal with when it comes to editing a podcast, so being able to reduce it as much as possible is advised.
Background noise doesn’t just come along noises from the outside though, and can also occur when you speak into the microphone.
To help with this, we recommend investing in a pop filter, which can help reduce any noise picked up by your microphone, and will save you loads of time when it comes to the editing of your podcast!
Keep It Simple
When starting, it can be extremely tempting to try to overcomplicate the editing process by adding in a bunch of fancy transitions and cuts, but in reality, this can have a detrimental effect on the quality of your podcast and only increase your workload when it comes to editing the podcast.
If you’re new to podcasting and audio editing, you probably won’t know to do anything too fancy, and trying it will make it sound worse.
So you should try to keep things as simple as possible and master the basics first.
Preparation
Our last tip isn’t about audio editing, but if you ask any professional podcaster for some advice, they’ll all tell you the same thing: Be prepared.
If you put a good amount of time into preparing your podcast, then things will likely go much more smoothly.
Check all of your equipment beforehand, especially the microphones, headphones, and audio interface, to ensure that you’re recording properly and that there’s no unwanted noise.
What Specs Do I Need for Podcasting and Editing?
This will ensure that not only is the editing process easier but also that you’ll be more comfortable talking in the podcast.
You should also prepare scripts for you and your guests, even if they’re just simple prompts on what to talk about throughout your podcast!
Summary
Overall, many different things can make the editing process of your podcast easier, but we hope that at least some of these tips will help you out!
