Give as good as you get 🎁
How to give useful feedback -- plus where to get it
Welcome to The Audio Storyteller: tips and ideas for audio producers. Subscribe to get the full list of jobs, courses and other fun stuff straight to your inbox.
A couple of months back I had a pretty tough feedback session. Almost nothing about my story was working -- the arc didn’t make sense, the pacing was off, the ending was too neat, and worst of all: my main character wasn’t relatable. It was kinda brutal.
But after I picked myself up, I realised how helpful the critique was. I went back to the drawing board and reevaluated the story -- and learned some lessons about nuance and structure that I can use in all my work going forwards.
I also realised how fortunate I was to be in a group of people who were really honest with me. It’s such a gift to have folks who will listen to your work intently and give you thoughtful, actionable notes -- not platitudes you can’t learn from.
Taking part in a residency at UnionDocs with other audio makers and our amazing mentor Neena Pathak wasn’t just a chance to receive feedback. It also allowed me to hear others receiving feedback too, helped me tune my listening ears, and develop the muscle of giving feedback on tape and scripts.
Some of the questions I’m thinking about when I’m listening to others’ work include:
Why do you (the producer) care about this story, and why should I (the listener) care?
Does this episode achieve what it set out to?
What work is this beat / scene doing?
Am I gripped? Where’s the tension?
Which characters do I feel empathy for? Why?
How’s the scene tape? Can I really see the scene in my mind’s eye?
What am I feeling while listening? How is my body reacting?
Are there any tropes or over-used devices? Could this character be introduced in a different way, for instance?
Is the sound design effective? Is it emotionally manipulative? Does it make use of space and silence?
So, where do you get feedback? If you’re not in a professional setting where you’re regularly getting notes on your stuff, there are a few options out there…
📌 Timber - The Edit
Timber is offering professional feedback on your podcast episodes for an introductory price of $20 per month. It works through a subscriber-only area in the Timber Discord called #the-edit. A panel of journalists and producers will “listen carefully to your audio and give you kind, thoughtful and important advice”. They cover soundscape, host chemistry, journalistic notes, storytelling and more. Details here.
📌 Rough Cut Collective
This group of audio producers offers editing services including cutting, reordering, refining and deepening a story draft. They listen for pace, clarity and structure. Rough Cut also offers a pro bono service for some projects. Here’s how it works.
📌 Make a pod-pod!
As I wrote about in an early edition of this newsletter, bringing together your own group of podcasters / producers can have loads of benefits - including getting great feedback. I recommend starting with one of the many radio listservs (eg PublicRadioNYC or UKAN); there are usually plenty of folks interested in collaborating. Learn more.
I would love to hear what you’re listening for when you give feedback -- and what’s the most useful piece of feedback you were given on an audio project? Comment on the post for this email - or let me know on Twitter.
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What I’m listening to
Found this episode of the Audiocraft Podcast really useful — not only for an insight into interviewing folks about their mental health, but also in how to produce a podcast for a charity.
Enjoyed this Invisibilia exploration of narrative, imagining what a story might look like without the conventions of storytelling. Plus: great train tape 🚂
Thanks for reading, audio storytellers! If you enjoyed it, share with a friend or coworker. (They can sign up here.) As always, hit me up on Twitter or email with what you’re making or listening to.