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pre-episode checklist FOR HOSTS

For more details, I suggest you first read the Audio Recording Guide in detail to fully understand each step. Once you’ve done this, you’ll be ready to use this checklist. I suggest you check the Audio Recording Guide from time to time as I’ll be updating it as technology advances. I’ll keep you updated, too!

I suggest at least taking a quick look at this list before each episode recording since environment, computer settings or other variables may have changed since you last recorded!

💡TL;DR If scanning the checklist before recording, the underlined items are important and the bold items are super important!

PRE-EPISODE CHECKLIST FOR GUESTS!

👆 Feel free to Please send this to your guests! Click the button above!

1. Pre-recording environment and general check:

Check for persistent background noise that could be eliminated or at least mitigated such as a refrigerator, computer fan, air conditioning unit, space heater, etc.
Check for intermittent background noise that could be eliminated or at least mitigated such as people talking in the other room, electronic notifications, loose noisy jewelry, squeaky shoes, your mic being in a position in which it’ll be bumped, shuffling papers, etc.
Make sure your water/beverage is handy, your laptop/device is charging (if applicable) and all your gear is on hand.
Have your headphones, earbuds or headset ready, if applicable. This is 100% necessary for long-distance recordings for you and ALL PARTICIPANTS.
Also for long-distance recordings make sure you have as much internet bandwidth available to you as possible. Have your family members or co-workers abstain from using the internet connection and make sure your machine and others on the same internet connection are not actively downloading/uploading.

2. Audio input check:

No matter what software you’re using, make sure that the correct audio input is selected. You don’t want to accidentally use your laptop or mobile device’s built-in mic, if at all possible. This is the number one mistake I see, so please double check this! After selecting your USB mic or USB audio interface, you can triple check by scratching or (lightly) tapping the mic and when you listen back you’ll hear that and you’ll know the mic is picking up the audio. Please check audio input before every recording!
Check with your guest(s)/co-host(s) to make sure they have the correct audio input selected.

3. Audio output check:

As mentioned before, headphones, earbuds or a headset is 100% necessary for all participants in a long-distance recording.
Check with your guest(s)/co-host(s) to make sure they’re all wearing headphones/earbuds/headsets.
Even if you are recording locally on your own, or with participants in the same room as you, it may not be a bad idea to listen to the audio through headphones to hear what’s being recorded into your own mic and the mics of other participants. This is called direct (AKA active) monitoring. More on this in the Audio Recording Guide.

4. Listen check (Check input gain and output levels):

Listen carefully for a minute or two to make sure everyone sounds as good as possible and everyone can hear each other. You or other participants may need to adjust input and output levels. It’s very important that everyone’s input gain is set correctly. Though many apps help normalize the input gain levels, it’s still important to make sure what’s being recorded by the mic is not too loud or quiet. If anyone sounds like their voice is distorting, fuzzy, or otherwise too loud, they’ll need to turn down their input gain level (either in their computer’s audio settings, on the actual USB mic or on the USB audio interface) or move a bit further away from the mic (the former option is desired, if possible). For audio interfaces, we want to see green on the input indicators (not yellow/amber/red).
For most dynamic microphones, the participant should generally be speaking slightly angled into the mic, around 6 inches away. For most condenser microphones, the participant should generally be speaking a bit further away.
Please make sure participants are speaking into the correct side/part of the microphone and at the correct distance. If you aren’t 100% sure, check a few quick tutorials on your specific mic. Careful with lavalier/lapel mics and earbuds as the mic can flop around and rub against the speaker’s shirt or face, causing unwanted noise.
If you’re recording locally, I’d also suggest you do a short test recording and then listen back to it before starting the recording. Even if you’re about to record a long-distance interview, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to do a quick test recording and listen back.
Tip: Be careful with the sound check…many people are very soft-spoken during their mic check and then they explode with vibrance during the recording. If you hear hear distortion or other unwanted noise during the interview, it’s advised to stop and fix the issue before resuming.

5. Record in the background on your end (double-ender recording):

This is optional, but it’s a good idea to obtain the best audio quality possible whether just you do it, or as recommended, you and your guests and/or co-hosts also do so. At the very least, it’s also a great backup mechanism.
This can be done on programs such as QuickTime Player, GarageBand or Audacity.
The easiest and quickest of the three is the QuickTime Player. Once the QuickTime Player application is open, you’ll go to File > New Audio Recording. To the right of the circular red record button, you’ll see a downward arrow. Make sure the correct input is chosen and choose “High” for the recording quality.
You can do a test beforehand. Make sure the volume slider on the bottom is turned down otherwise you’ll hear your own voice delayed. Click the red circular record button and leave this recording in the background during the interview.
After the interview, stop the recording and save appropriately.
Note: Just like everything else on this checklist, there are more detailed instructions in the Audio Recording Guide on double-ender recordings.

6. Start recording!

When everyone has lowered background noise and has tested their audio and is sounding good, it’s time to record. Once you click or tap record, triple check that you’re recording and check periodically during the recording process as well.
Remember if you or any participant messes up during the episode recording or if there’s background noise in the background of the person speaking, just take a breath and start over again a sentence or two before the error spot. Have a great episode!
Tip: To avoid issues, please avoid muting your mic in the software or on the actual mic, unless necessary.

7. bonus: post-episode marketing

If you haven’t already, prepare materials to send to your guest to make it super easy for them to share the episode on their platforms. This may include:
- the embed code to the episode player
- a copy blurb
- a social media graphic, or my favorite…
- an audiogram.
Those are just a few ideas. Make it easy for the guest to promote the episode! I’m happy to help with this. Like I mentioned, I’m a big fan of the audiograms. By the way, if you don’t know, an audiogram is a salient audio clip (usually 30 seconds or a minute - less is more) that is paired with an image that has a moving waveform (to indicate that it’s audio) Audiograms often include captions for people who are scrolling with their volume off (or for the deaf/hard of hearing community).