Podcasting, for many, seems like it’s learned as you go, but for many starting their podcast, this might be unhelpful, especially if you have to learn new pieces of software and hardware that you need to prepare alongside show notes which can seem daunting at first.
That is why you can find courses online that cover all the fundamentals of podcasting. If you’ve never hosted anything before, this can be a significant step to get you started, especially if you want to attract an audience and have no idea how to do this.
Below, you can find a review of the power of podcasting for storytelling courses, and we’ll see what other learners think and whether it’s the suitable classes for you, whatever stage of your podcast journey you’re on.
What’s The Power Of Podcasting For Storytelling About?
This free course on futurelearn.com is brought to you by the university of Wollongong, Australia. It seeks to teach people how to plan, write, and publish a podcast and why this type of media is great for storytelling, with a free certificate for completion of the course.
The course is run by instructors with experience in podcast production and even a professor who teaches podcasting at the university, so you’re in the best hands to learn the basics of podcasting, and you can learn at your own pace.
A lot of the learning includes discussing with other students, completing quizzes, and following practical activities that consolidate what you have learned with each lesson.
The best thing is there isn’t a big scary test at the end of the course.
What’s Included?
If this sounds like something that appeals to you, you’ll find it’s free to register on, and all you need to do is create an account, so you can keep score on how far you are in the course and if the course isn’t running, not to worry, as you can be notified when it becomes available.
In the meantime, there is a list of learning objectives that you’ll be more confident in as you arrive at the end of the course, and these are:
- Discuss podcast narrative and genre
- Find out how and where audio works best
- Record and share a podcast with other learners and audiences
- Discuss experiences listening to or producing a podcast
- Identify optimal environments for recording audio
- Produce a podcast and publish it on the right platform
- Experiment with audio, silence, music, and sound effects to add to the podcasting experience.
What Do Other Learners Think Of This Course?
When looking at the overview, we find that out of 221 reviews, it has an average score of 4.7 out of 5, which is a good reflection of how easy it is to get to grips with and how practical the guidance of each teacher is, as these courses can be optimized depending on feedback.
Many reviews have said how easy it is to get started and how the content isn’t too superficial and suits individual interests and aspirations when starting a podcast journey, and many have commented on how well-paced the course was.
There is also a mention of how the assignments are optional and use real-world examples to identify what makes the best features of podcasts so prominent and why these are important.
Are There Any Downsides To This Course?
When looking at any problems, one issue arises when looking at the technical aspects of podcasting, and even though it covers them briefly, it may not be as detailed as some would like, but you can find references to external resources which cover this gap.
This means that you might have to diversify your learning across different platforms. Still, with a course title like this, there is a lot to cover, as the course is spread out over two weeks and a weekly study recommendation is 3 hours, so it’s comprehensive in some areas.
This means any podcast software like Adobe audition, Logic Pro, Garageband, or other DAWs might not get the coverage you’re hoping for, so you can expect to be doing your own research when looking into things like mixing and using music or sound effects.
Who Is This Course For?
If you’re still wondering whether this course is for you, think of it like podcasting 101, where the basics are covered, and you can become a better host and producer at the end. You do get unlimited access to articles, videos, quizzes, and peer reviews.
As it’s free, there’s no harm in signing up, and when you start, you can hover over all the classes available and see if they are useful to you or not, as you could be a great storyteller but need some pointers for technical aspects of your podcast.
There’s no denying that learning to podcast is a continuous process, and even though we think it’s definitely worth trying out, there may be some outside learning.
Even if you don’t learn much, it may help you think when listening to other podcasts for inspiration.
How Useful Is Storytelling In Podcasts?
Even though it may seem easy to do, much like how you converse with someone and go into different stories, doing it for an audience can be more difficult as you have to maintain interest.
Suppose it’s an ongoing story for a series, for example. In that case, you want to ensure that by the end, it comes to a natural and satisfying conclusion, primarily if you rely on research to help you tell stories for a topical podcast.
Below are a few specific reasons why this skill is essential to your podcast.
Helps You Market A Product Or Service
If you have a business model that relies on things like merchandise or services that are relevant to your audience, having a story around them brings a lot of spending power to them as people become invested in it and are likely to invest their time in it.
Think of it as something your audience can own in exchange for the amount of time they have invested during these segments of your podcasts, and by promoting products and services which are helpful to an audience; they get a better understanding of the podcast overall.
More Creators Are Using Storytelling
You don’t need us to tell you how some of the top-rated podcasts, including stuff you should know, my favorite murder, the daily, and the Joe Rogan experience, all have storytelling at their foundation or use it in creative ways.
The best way to experience this is by listening to your favorite podcast and taking notes on how topics and stories are presented.
In many cases, these are presented in a way that is just as mystifying to the host as it is to the audience, so there’s that allure.
Many content and podcast creators consider storytelling as a priority on their list, so whether they have engaging stories or slow-burners, you know the skill has had a lot of work put into it, especially if you have an audio-only podcast.
Builds Structure To Your Shows
One aspect that we think goes unnoticed is that you can plan a topic of conversation around a topic you want to discuss.
So when preparing your show notes and you notice a gap in your show, you can engineer an anecdote or story designed to provoke or make your audience laugh in a way that fits the theme of your presentation, so your words have a lot of power and meaning.
You also want to tell stories that are meaningful and don’t sound too generic, as audiences are exposed to stories every day in the form of advertisements and social media, so you’re stories have to be engaging enough to compete with these platforms.
Is Podcasting Teachable?
Courses like the one from Futurelearn are good examples of how podcasting has become mainstream and appeals to many people of different interests and beliefs, so while becoming a pro is a continuous process, there is a lot of value to courses such as these.
This may be because you have a podcast theme or topic in mind and are not sure how to present this to a prospective audience, and you may just need the inspiration and confidence to get started so that they can be helpful for this as well.
Closing Thoughts
We’ve covered a lot about this course. During your research, you might come across other free classes online that you find more value in, but having a look at the course overview and user reviews is important, especially if you have to pay to get access to the course.
There are many benefits to getting on a course, so if you’re new to podcasting, it’s crucial that you learn the basics of this skill somewhere.
