The Unexpected Delight of Hosting a Podcast

Like many people in the pandemic of 2020/2021, I began a podcast. It’s called Books with Noah. The idea is that I talk with my friends for 15 minutes about one of their favorite books. I want the podcast to serve as a repository of book recommendations.

As mentioned in Reading is a Superpower, I am passionate about books. Reading unlocks potential for growth and entertainment. In my podcast, I share this passion with my guests and listeners.

Hosting the podcast has lead to unexpected joy and connection. When recording, I need to be a competent, articulate, and curious person. Even reading a book for pleasure is more active and engaging when I know that I will be discussing its contents.

Hosting a podcast gives me an excuse to reconnect with friends and acquaintances.

Recording my podcast is the highlight of my week. It is fulfilling to have an objective-driven conversation with my friends about topics that are close to our hearts. We share authentic moments that are uplifting and empowering. These experiences wouldn’t exist if I didn’t host the podcast.

Podcast conversations are different.

My first episodes were incredibly awkward. I was backchanneling continously. According to wikipedia, In linguistics, a backchannel during a conversation occurs when one participant is speaking and another participant interjects responses to the speaker. A backchannel response can be verbal, non-verbal, or both.
Examples of backchanneling are saying “oh yeah”, “ok”, or “I agree”.

Back-channeling is an important part of everyday conversation. If you are on the telephone and you don’t back-channel, people think that the connection has been dropped or that you’re not paying attention.

On a podcast, it’s important to let guests speak. They don’t need me to validate them as if on a telephone call.

Being an eloquent speaker requires practice.

Most of my daily conversation is casual and intimate. I enjoy writing because it affords time to shape and clarify ideas. Speaking clearly and thoughtfully is a similar challenge. Because of conversation’s timeliness, it is more difficult to choose the most appropriate words. Storytelling is the key to engaging an audience, whether in writing or speaking. Weaving a narrative is a special art.

Thinking, writing, and speaking are skills. Nearly everyone has a base-level of proficiency, but there is immense value in developing these abilities.

Being on a podcast is an opportunity to hear ourselves think, speak, and communicate. It provides a chance to hear what we sound like and decide how to refine our communication.

Creating space is essential for human connection.

A meaningful conversation is one of balance, comfort, and understanding. It takes energy, practice, and care to create a space where friends feel comfortable. Only once comfort pervades will people share their thoughts, feelings, and life experiences.

Curating an environment with intention is one of the most important tasks of being a host. Priya Parker does an extraordinary job explaining what a host’s responsibilities are. It’s not enough to simply invite someone over to one’s party or podcast and expect the situation to work out on its own.

Authentic experiences are what creates magic between people.

Making space for this to happen is an invaluable skill that makes a person very attractive. The ultimate job of a podcast host is to create a comfortable and authentic space for the guest to share his or her story. Hosts like Michael Krasny are experts in this craft.