Speaker:
Hello, my name is Christopher Phin.
2
:
I'm the creative content lead for
Message Heard, and today I'm gonna
3
:
give you a tip about naming your show.
4
:
Message Heard is a podcast production
house based in London, and we make a
5
:
whole bunch of shows for branded clients.
6
:
We do co-productions, we make our own
editorial shows, but my role within the
7
:
company is as creative content lead.
8
:
And what that mostly means is that the
majority of my time is spent working
9
:
on the branded side for the shows that
we make for a really wide variety of
10
:
different clients, whether those are
B two C, B two B, or internal shows.
11
:
And my job really is to.
12
:
Do the most work I can at the start
of that process so that we can help
13
:
the companies we work with shape the
stories they want to tell, figure out
14
:
the best formats for the stories they
want to tell and get that message heard.
15
:
And the point there is really, I mean, you
know, this is a bit inside baseball, but.
16
:
Within the company.
17
:
The way I state my job is I wanna get
the client as excited about the podcast
18
:
project as I am about the ideas I've
had for how they can tell those stories.
19
:
And then I wanna turn around and make
our team of producers internally within
20
:
message heard as excited about that
way of telling the story as well.
21
:
Doesn't matter if it's the most exciting
client or the least exciting client.
22
:
I want us to be excited about the way
we can tell the stories in our engaging,
23
:
exciting, and ultimately effective way.
24
:
Like most people, I started off in
podcasting as a listener and in fact,
25
:
I started off as a radio listener.
26
:
I would be working late
as a waiter, as a student.
27
:
I'd come home and stick the radio on.
28
:
It'd be either Radio four or the
World Service, or weirdly for me
29
:
talk sport, which is odd because
I like neither sport nor right
30
:
wing provocateur or commentators.
31
:
Um, but something about it really
worked for me at that time.
32
:
But, so I started listening to radio and
then gradually did that really, uh, like.
33
:
Many people do this.
34
:
That slide into podcasting of consuming
some of the radio shows, especially from
35
:
Radio four for me, that I would enjoy
as podcasts, as on-demand listening.
36
:
And from there I got the itch.
37
:
And at one point, when I was particularly
creatively unfulfilled in a job, I started
38
:
my own little podcast and it was just me.
39
:
Tasting different whiskeys, and talking
in the microphone about my experience of
40
:
them and the sort of history of whiskey.
41
:
That podcast is still ex instant, but
it's been many years since it was updated.
42
:
But And that kind of festered for a
while until I was working at publisher
43
:
here in Scotland and there were some
internal changes, which meant that I was
44
:
making my own role redundant, which is a
fun trick to pull off if you can do it.
45
:
And at that time, had some
conversations with the chief exec.
46
:
I.
47
:
Did a few different roles, but the one
thing that came out of those conversations
48
:
really was starting the podcasting channel
at that publishing house in Scotland
49
:
and ultimately developing a slate of
a dozen, 15 more shows across lots of
50
:
different verticals within the company.
51
:
If you ask a lot of people what
they love about podcasting, they'll
52
:
point to the fact that it's very
accessible, and that's true.
53
:
They'll point to the fact that it can
elevate underrepresented or marginalized
54
:
voices, and that's true, and those
are things I love about it as well.
55
:
But for me, there's one particular
thing that podcasting is brilliant at
56
:
and that is turning dull activities.
57
:
Great.
58
:
So if it's something like your commute,
and not to be too dramatic, but your
59
:
commute is basically time stolen from
you by capitalism, it's time that you
60
:
don't have under your control that.
61
:
a societal machinery
has taken away from you.
62
:
as podcasters, we are in an astonishingly
powerful and privileged and honored
63
:
position such that we can be the
reason that when you are leaving
64
:
your house, Over morning, your
thought isn't necessarily, oh God,
65
:
I've got to spend 40 minutes crushed
into somebody's armpit on the tube.
66
:
It is, thank God, finally, 40
minutes of me time that I can catch
67
:
up with that show that I love.
68
:
I can sit virtually next to
the table where these people
69
:
are having a conversation.
70
:
I can walk sneakily.
71
:
Virtually alongside these
people as they talk.
72
:
It's time for me.
73
:
I am reclaiming that time and
that intimacy of connection, that
74
:
authenticity of voice, that ability to
be connected with people in time that
75
:
otherwise would be ripped from you.
76
:
That is intensely powerful.
77
:
Every single day, if I go on to
podcasting subreddits, there are
78
:
dozens and dozens of people posting
the variants to the question.
79
:
Can you help me think up
a name for my podcast?
80
:
And very often, when.
81
:
Elucidate on the, you know,
the format of the show.
82
:
It will be what one might kindly
refer to as quite a generic concept.
83
:
You know, And what they want is
a, a name to go on top of that.
84
:
And very often they're quite hung up
on uniqueness, which is hard to do.
85
:
Podcasting, millions and
millions of podcasts out there.
86
:
But actually my contention is that
87
:
Christopher Phin: if you find it
hard to think of a name for your
88
:
podcast, then your podcast isn't good.
89
:
Yet.
90
:
If you up with a podcast and then
just cast about for a good name
91
:
then you probably don't have a
particularly well conceived show.
92
:
The solution therefore, isn't
necessarily just trying to come
93
:
up with a bunch more names.
94
:
It is to rework your format
and the mission of the show
95
:
until the name is obvious.
96
:
In other words, the name for your podcast
should be a natural and inevitable
97
:
consequence of its format and its mission.
98
:
However, you can work backwards.
99
:
So if you've got a fairly generic
idea for a show and you cast about
100
:
for some ideas and like a hilarious
and neat pun occurs to you, that is.
101
:
Too good to leave on the table.
102
:
What you actually then have
to do is go, well, what format
103
:
points could I put in place?
104
:
How can I adjust the mission of this show?
105
:
Maybe it was something snarky that you
come up with, but your show wasn't snarky.
106
:
Do you wanna pivot it to be a snarky show?
107
:
Maybe it's a show where you are
elevating user generated content,
108
:
you're bringing voices in from
externally, and that's reified the name.
109
:
What can you do with that?
110
:
How can you ensure that the name
isn't just a coat of paint that's.
111
:
it's licked over the thing that you've
made, but is actually an inevitable
112
:
and and fundamental part of the
entire raise on debt for that podcast.
113
:
You can find me@chrisfinn.com.
114
:
That's C H R I ss P H I n.com, and you
can see all of my links in the show notes.
115
:
Thanks for listening to Podcasting People.
