WEBVTT - Listen to yourself

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is to listen to yourself. I know that a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of people find listening to audio recordings or watching

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<v Speaker 1>video recordings of themselves to be painful, but it doesn't

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<v Speaker 1>have to be, and it can be a great way

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<v Speaker 1>to become more effective at communication. So Before Breakfast is

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<v Speaker 1>celebrating its fifth anniversary right around now. Since launching this

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<v Speaker 1>show in March of twenty nineteen, I have recorded well

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<v Speaker 1>over thirteen hundred episodes. My process involves recording and then

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<v Speaker 1>listening to the recording to double for my producer if

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<v Speaker 1>there are any required sound edits. I do not love

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<v Speaker 1>the sound of my voice, but at this point I

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<v Speaker 1>have gotten used to it. I also listen to interviews

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<v Speaker 1>I have done on other people's podcasts. Doing so has

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<v Speaker 1>brought me face to face, or perhaps ear to ear,

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<v Speaker 1>with some of my more annoying vocal tics. I have

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<v Speaker 1>not gotten rid of all of them by any means,

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<v Speaker 1>but at least being aware of them has helped me

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<v Speaker 1>do them a little less. So. I know not everyone

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<v Speaker 1>is into podcasting, but many people do have to address

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<v Speaker 1>other people at some point. Maybe you lead meetings, maybe

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<v Speaker 1>you occasionally give interviews about a topic. Maybe you sometimes

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<v Speaker 1>need to give speeches. Listening to and watching yourself is

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<v Speaker 1>one of the easiest ways to get feedback on your performance.

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<v Speaker 1>I'd like to think that I am not burying my

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<v Speaker 1>head in the score when I am singing with my choir,

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<v Speaker 1>But I have watched videos and you can see the

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<v Speaker 1>top of my head more often than i'd like, So

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<v Speaker 1>note to self. Look up. If you watch a video

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<v Speaker 1>of yourself leading a meeting, you can instantly see if

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<v Speaker 1>you are doing something with your hands that is distracting.

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<v Speaker 1>Many people are surprised to hear how fast they speak

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<v Speaker 1>when they are reading something out loud. What feels like

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<v Speaker 1>a lengthy pause might not actually be noticeable. Maybe you

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<v Speaker 1>are using filler words like um or like frequently. There

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<v Speaker 1>is no need to give yourself a complim about this,

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<v Speaker 1>but for formal interviews you might try practicing answers to

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<v Speaker 1>the usual questions so you don't need to resort to

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<v Speaker 1>these fillers. For instance, if I have just written a

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<v Speaker 1>book and I am doing podcast interviews about the book,

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<v Speaker 1>everyone is going to ask me what led me to

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<v Speaker 1>write the book. There is no need for any ums

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<v Speaker 1>in an answer. I think the key with all of

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<v Speaker 1>this is approaching a recording from the perspective that feedback

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<v Speaker 1>is almost universally helpful. No one is perfect. I am

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<v Speaker 1>not sure any normal person loves the sound of his

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<v Speaker 1>or her own voice. We hear our voices differently in

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<v Speaker 1>our heads than other people hear us, and that difference

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<v Speaker 1>can be bothersome. But it's not like the difference doesn't

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<v Speaker 1>exist just because we don't like it. So if you

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<v Speaker 1>need to communicate for something high stakes, try recording yourself first.

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<v Speaker 1>If you are interviewing for jobs, have a friend to

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<v Speaker 1>ask you some common questions and record your responses. You

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<v Speaker 1>will likely be able to pick up on what sounds

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<v Speaker 1>strong and competent and what doesn't good to know. If

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<v Speaker 1>you will be giving a toast or a speech, videotape

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<v Speaker 1>or run through, you will see times when the pacing

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<v Speaker 1>is off or anything you are doing physically that you

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<v Speaker 1>are not aware of. Other people listen to us all

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<v Speaker 1>the time, but we don't necessarily listen to ourselves. Doing

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<v Speaker 1>so means we experience ourselves as others would. Knowing what

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<v Speaker 1>others are experiencing makes for better communication, so it's worth

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<v Speaker 1>giving it a shot. In the meantime, this is Laura.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of

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<v Speaker 1>our times. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've

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<v Speaker 1>got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at

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<v Speaker 1>Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a

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<v Speaker 1>production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit

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<v Speaker 1>the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to

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<v Speaker 1>your favorite shows.