77. Which Software Should I Use to Record an Interview? | Podcasting Creation Tips

FAQ Friday answering the podcasting question of "Which Software Should I Use to Record an Interview?"

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Transcript

Welcome to Podcasting for solopreneurs and FAQ Friday, where I answer a podcasting question in 5 minutes or less. Today's question is, which software should I use to record a podcast interview? This question comes from Lexi. Hey, Lexi. Thanks for listening. There are several different options for recording an interview with a guest over the Internet. You can use something that's a bit fancy and that's going to give you superior quality like Riverside FM or SquadCast. But, honestly, I like to keep it simple, and I suggest just using Zoom. While there's a bit of a learning curve to using Riverside or SquadCast, you can probably get the hang of it pretty quickly.

But you also need to think about your guests and their ability to navigate an unfamiliar platform in order to do the interview with you. While you'll be using it week after week and getting the hang of it, many times your guest will have never used it before. I've found that the fancier platforms, they're just kind of more trouble than they're worth. And while the quality of the recording is superior, the average listener isn't going to be able to tell the difference. I know my fellow editors out there listening are cringing right now, but it's the truth. Most people are already familiar with and comfortable using Zoom. So just using that makes life easier. I do recommend changing a few of the default settings in order to give you better quality on Zoom.

Under the recording settings, you wanna check the box to record a separate audio file for each participant. And under audio settings, you want to enable original sound and turn off the echo cancellation. Before I wrap up this episode, I do want to emphasize the importance of wearing headphones when doing an interview. This is a nonnegotiable. In order to prevent your guest's audio being captured by your microphone. That's something called bleed, and it's no good. Next Friday, I will talk about whether or not you need to wear headphones when recording your solo episodes. So be sure to hit the follow button on this podcast so that you don't miss it.

And if you have a podcasting question, click the send me your question link in the episode description, and I'll answer it in an upcoming episode. Until next time. Happy podcasting.