Jamie: All right, so imagine this. You're really getting into a podcast, right? Jamie: Like maybe it's some crazy true crime thing or you're finally hearing about Jamie: that cool new tech everyone's talking about. Jamie: And then, bam, something just yanks you right out of it. Jaayne: Yeah, I know that feeling. Jamie: And it's not even the ads or anything like that. It's the editing. Jamie: Oh, yeah. Or like the over-editing. Jaayne: It's like they're afraid of any silence or something.
Jamie: It's like listening to a robot, Jaayne: You know? Yeah, totally. Jamie: And that's actually what we're diving into today, giving podcasts some room to breathe, Jaayne: You know? Okay, I like that. Jamie: We've got this article, Give Your Podcast Permission to Breathe. Jamie: Love the title. And it's all about finding that sweet spot with audio editing. Jaayne: I see, I see. Jamie: And you don't have to be like a podcasting expert to get this, by the way.
Jamie: This is about those little things that make a huge difference in how you experience, Jamie: well, anything you listen to. Jaayne: Absolutely. Jamie: So this author, he starts off talking about this poll he did on Twitter, Jamie: asking people what their biggest podcast turnoffs are. Jamie: All the usual stuff came up, right? Like too many ads, weird format changes. Jaayne: Right, right.
Jamie: But a lot of people chose other. And when he looked into it, Jamie: a bunch of them were saying editing was their big issue. Jaayne: Interesting. It's so true, though. We think about the hosts, Jaayne: the sound quality, but we don't always think about the editing. Jamie: Yeah. And it makes sense because as a listener, you don't always notice every single edit. Right. Jamie: But those little changes really affect how you experience the whole thing.
Jaayne: Yeah, I'd say so. It's like you don't notice every brushstroke in a painting. Exactly. Jamie: But they all add up to make the whole picture. Jaayne: And just like with too many brushstrokes, too much editing can kind of ruin the whole thing. Jamie: Totally. And that's how you get that staccato voice thing that the article mentions. Jaayne: Oh, yeah. The author had that great line. The human voice is not a staccato.
Jaayne: So true. Yes. When we try to make it this perfect rhythm, taking out every little Jaayne: pause and breath, it just sounds... Jaayne: wrong. Jamie: It's true. And our brains can tell. We know how real speech is supposed to sound. Jamie: Think about it. In a normal conversation, you wouldn't expect someone to never Jamie: take a breath between sentences. No way. Jamie: Exactly. And it's those little imperfections that make us sound, well, human. For sure.
Jamie: It's like we just instinctively know, you know, when someone's speech sounds too perfect. Jaayne: Yeah. Too polished. It's like that uncanny valley thing, but for audio. Totally. Jaayne: And speaking of uncanny valleys, one of my biggest pet peeves is when they edit out all the breaths. Jamie: Ugh, yes. It's like they're scared of a little silence, so they just cram everything together. Right. Jaayne: You get to the end and you're like gasping for air.
Jamie: I know, right? So what's the solution then? Just got to let all the awkward Jamie: pauses and stuff stay in. Jaayne: Well, it's about finding that middle ground, right? Jaayne: Not totally raw, but not robotic either. The article actually had some good tips for this. Okay. Jamie: Yeah. What were those? Jaayne: So the first one is actually to embrace the um. Jamie: Really? I'm usually pretty quick to edit those out.
Jaayne: I know, right? But an um can actually make a conversation better sometimes. Hmm. Jamie: Okay. When does that even work? Jaayne: Think about someone like Ira Glass from This American Life. Oh, sure. Jamie: Yeah. Jaayne: He's a great storyteller and he uses ums on purpose almost to give you a little pause. Jaayne: You know, like those little pauses are part of how he tells a story. Jamie: That's a really good point. I'm going to have to listen for that now.
Jaayne: Yeah. Yeah, it's amazing how much something that small can change things, Jaayne: right? That's for sure. And that kind of leads into the next tip, Jaayne: which is about breaths. Okay. Jaayne: Obviously, we don't need to hear every breath, but a few natural ones here and Jaayne: there just make it sound more real. Jaayne: Less like you're reading a script, you know? Jamie: Like that balance. Yeah. Right. Sounding natural, but not like you're out of breath.
Jaayne: Yeah, exactly. And they even suggested like instead of cutting breaths out completely, Jaayne: just lowering the volume of the really loud ones. Jamie: That's actually really smart. So, it's still there, it just doesn't like blow out your ears. Jaayne: Right, it's like subtle editing, not trying to make it perfect. Jaayne: Which actually, speaking of, that brings us to the last tip, Jaayne: which is about all these AI editing tools. Yeah.
Jamie: Those are everywhere now. Yeah. So what's the AI editing warning? Jamie: I feel like there's got to be one. Lay it on me. What's the catch with AI editing? Jaayne: Well, it's not really a catch. More like a heads up, right? Those AI tools, Jaayne: they can be amazing, but they can go a little overboard sometimes. Jamie: Overboard how? Jaayne: It's like they get a little too excited about cleaning things up.
Jaayne: and they might end up chopping out those breaths and pauses that actually make Jaayne: the conversation sound natural. Jamie: So it's like those grammar checkers, you know? Yeah. You just need a comma. Jamie: They want to rewrite the whole sentence. Jaayne: Totally. Like AI editing tools are great, but they're tools, Jaayne: right? You still need a human to listen and make sure it flows right, you know? Jamie: Yeah, make sure it doesn't sound like too processed.
Jaayne: Right. It's like when you can tell someone's used those AI photo things to smooth Jaayne: out every little wrinkle on their face. Jamie: It's like too perfect. Jaayne: Exactly. And that kind of takes away from it, you know? Jamie: It's like we connect more with the real stuff, you know, like those little imperfections Jamie: that remind us we're all just human. Jaayne: Yeah, absolutely. And that's a big part of why podcasts are so cool.
Jaayne: It's like you're just part of this conversation, right? Jaayne: And that goes away when it's all edited to death. Right. Jamie: Like we're programmed to think perfect is better, but sometimes those little Jamie: imperfections actually make it more interesting. Jaayne: Totally. So, like, next time you're listening to something, try to listen to the editing. Jamie: Oh, that's a good point. Jaayne: Like, notice those little breaths, those pauses, even the ums and ahs.
Jaayne: Do they make it better or do they distract you? Jamie: That's such a great point. It's like anything, the more you pay attention, Jamie: the more you start to notice the little things. Jaayne: Yeah, exactly. And who knows? You might even catch those over-edited podcasts Jaayne: and be like, man, this thing needs to chill out a bit. Jamie: Totally. Well, I think that's a perfect place to wrap up our deep dive into Jamie: the world of podcast editing. Jaayne: I agree.
Jamie: So, until next time, folks, remember... Music: Music