storytelling in science communication: why podcasts will conquer the world

Hi, my name is Pieter Blomme RADIO & PODCAST NERD RELAAS REC. / UGent DIGITAL STORYTELLING Good morning, I'm Pieter, and I will be sharing with you some essentials about podcasts, and why they are great for storytelling purposes. Who am I? I'm a radio and podcast nerd. I listen to them all the time. Everything I know from life, comes from podcasts. I'm also a podcaster myself, I make the RELAAS podcast every week, it's a podcast in Dutch in which each week a person tells a true story live in front of an audience. It has nothing to do with science, but it is storytelling in its essential form. It’s basically the main reason why i got intrigued by digital storytelling.

talent network for digital storytellers INSPIRE TRAIN LAUNCH And luckily, I work for REC., we are a talent network for digital storytellers. We inspire, train & launch digital storytelling talents. So this is what I do for a living. And with this experience, I also work for UGent as an practice assistent at the department of communication studies. I teach radio, storytelling and I make podcasts together with my students

podcasts? podcasts! To me, Podcasts are great examples of digital storytelling. Just to be sure. Does everyone know what a podcast is? It’s an audio story online, but specifically for the mobile and connected generation. So audio on demand, brought to you on your smartphone, through social media like facebook or twitter. Can be about anything: law, politics, sports, but there are also many science podcasts. I know, Storytelling is a buzzword nowadays. But, podcasts are not popular today because of the storytelling hype, but because of technology. (3G - 4G - smartphone streaming) But because radio people have always been the best storytellers in the world. (voice - microphone - imagination) And now that technology’s here. And more and more people are on social media. Podcasts are here to stay and to conquer the world.

this is why I love podcasts purest form of storytelling experiment with visual content episodical / subscribers talk nerdy about them great mobile experience Making a podcast is - in my personal point of view - the most interesting and pure way to tell a story, because in its purest form, you only need a voice telling a story to you, just like in the good old days where people gather around a fire and tell stories to each other. No virtual reality, no 360, no drones, no augmented reality. No need for special glasses or 4K tv’s, just a simple smartphone and some lousy headphone ears are enough to experience podcasts. But on the internet, it is very difficult for audio to go viral, to find an audience. We simply do not share great audio online. Unless we - as a maker - enhance it with all kinds of visual content like photo’s or video or meme’s or gifs, it’s very difficult to make your podcast work online. Podcasters have to fight their way into a visual oriented online society, and that’s why I love them: they are brave, they experiment, they bring the best of both worlds. Like on YouTube, podcasts most of the time consist of seperate episodes, you can binge listen if you want, but if you subscibe, you receive an update each week. That’s what makes ‘em bigger than radio, for example. One concept / different episodes, get people hooked. We still talk nerdy when we talk about podcasts. Only 3% of the listens on internet are podcasts. But this is slowly changing. More often: “I heard this in a podcast”. I love the social component. A few weeks ago I even organised a podcast festival. Just because we can. And last but not least, I love the great mobile experience: we podcast on our way to work, when we are ironing, cleaning, changing diapers… Podcasts are the solution for those who have busy lives and still want to know more about the fantastic world we live in. Just plug in your earbuds, start streaming and go.

science podcasts That’s also what these fantastic podcasts do. You know them? They are all about science. These are 6 of the most famous science podcasts in the world. Radiolab Ted Talks Talk Nerdy to me The Skeptics Guide to the Universe Stuff you should know The infinite Monkey Cage. Just listen to this beautiful beginning of a Radiolab episode? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_DgMQvGoFA&feature=youtu.be&t=1m55s Why are they so great? I want to finish this presentation with some killer advice if you would like to start experimenting with podcasts.

start with great audio storytelling find great narrative use the power of imagination find a persona work on your story structure start talking Start with great audio storytelling 1. easier said then done: find great narrative Everything has been done. Every topic has been dealt with. Why should your listener care about your podcast? If you can answer this question, it will be more easy to find great narrative: I'm doing a story about X, and what's so special about it, is Y (Yessica Abel) Frame the story in such a way that you find the universal connection: The reason why everyone of the people I target is going to like this story, is Z. Frame your story in a way that will make people share their experience with others. Why should your listener share? 2. use the power of imagination It’s what audio is all about Find out what kind of science topics don't need visuals? (no experiments! tell about things people want to imagine) (imagine a world, 200 million years ago, no man has ever stepped foot, dinosaurs) what parts of the story can I tell with sound effects, sound archive, noise you can record, interviews, monologues you can record 3. construct one or two persona in your head how old? young or mature what do they like? fans of pointless facts / lovers of bad movies - serious / humour - science lovers / nerds / ... when do they listen? maybe you should tell it in English - the internet has no borders talk to them directly (1 to 1) 4. Then construct your story in a way it sticks - you all watched a lot of movies, right? 3 acts: setup - confrontation - resolution Inciting incident - plot point one, plot point 2: SOMETHING HAPPENS Suspense. Why should I keep listening? What happens next? Hero - opponent - hero has to overcome talks (TED, Stuff you should know, ),interview, documentary (Radiolab) 20 minutes! 5. Start talking through excellent voices authentic personality people that talk easily soothing to listen to convincing

tell a transmedial story start with great audio enhance with extra content add excellent visuals 2. Tell a transmedial story, so split it up in pieces and tell each piece on a different platform (transmedial) Start with great audio good story - good voice - persona - story structure great audio gear - 1 microphone and 1 recorder is enough to start! find help - great crew (engineer, host, editors,...) (one of the best tips you’ll ever get) Enhance your podcast with extra content extra information, links, pictures, papers, references, related content Add excellent visuals hire a photographer draw pictures follow a designer's course make short movies, gifs, memes, 360's

engage your audience be everywhere share interact meet in real life engage you online audience to listen, comment, share, do something Be everywhere 2016: the end of the podcast RSS, iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud, YouTube, Spotify, Deezer,,... Share own social networks: yes you need facebook, twitter, instagram, snapchat,... find online communities with similar interests find moments & places where people can listen to your content Interact always react to comments, questions, remarks ask questions Meet in real life! online is offline

there are a thousand reasons not to begin just do it there are a thousand reasons not to begin just do it They Just Do It! There are a thousand reasons not to start I need a better microphone I just need a little more time If I only had a better script I'm waiting for the stars to form one line Just cut the crap & start doing it. Thank you.

@pieterbl pieter@rec.be www.rec.be