Your listener can hear your body even if they cannot see it. If you slump in your chair, that collapsed posture shows up in your voice.

Physicality and voice are mechanically connected. Your breath and vocal resonance change based on whether your chest is open or contracted. When we record alone in a quiet room, we tend to stay still to avoid making noise, but this results in a flat, low-energy performance. To sound engaging, you must bring physical energy to the microphone.

In this micro-episode:

1. How gesturing with your hands changes your vocal energy
2. Why standing up improved my improv and sketch comedy performance
3. A simple A/B test to prove that physicality alters your sound

Resources:

Example Mic Arm (style is not "low profile" - can be raised so arms don't bump): https://www.elgato.com/ca/en/p/wave-mic-arm-mk2 -- genuinely happy with this compared to what it replaced!

Support your business: Find more episodes and subscribe at stereoforest.com/minute.

In improv comedy, the first thing you say in a scene is called an "initiation." A good initiation contains a gift—specific information that gives your partner something to work with. Vague openings like "Hi, how are you?" force your partner to do all the heavy lifting.

The same principle applies to podcasting. Opening an episode with "So, today I want to talk about..." forces your listener to wait while you figure out your point. Specificity is generous. When you start with a specific client question, a metric, or a concrete moment, you give the listener an immediate reason to care.

In this micro-episode:

1. The concept of "The Gift" in improv and how it applies to business content
2. Why vague introductions increase cognitive load for your audience
3. How to test if your opening sentence is specific enough to hook a listener

Find more episodes and subscribe at stereoforest.com/minute.

Decision fatigue affects your listeners just as it affects you. Every choice depletes their finite brain resources until they default to the easiest option. That option is usually "no" or opting out entirely.

Your audience is likely multitasking while listening. They might be driving or exercising or working. When you ask them to subscribe and share and download and visit a website, you overload their working memory. Recent research suggests our working memory holds only about four items rather than the previously believed seven.

In this micro-episode:

1. Why multitasking listeners have lower cognitive capacity
2. The link between choice overload and low conversion rates
3. Why you must limit your episodes to a single Call to Action

Resources:

Choice overload: https://thedecisionlab.com/biases/choice-overload-bias

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1057740814000916

Stats: https://riverside.com/blog/podcast-statistics

Find more episodes and subscribe at stereoforest.com/minute.

The phrase "I'm starting a podcast" implies a massive long-term commitment. This heavy expectation often leads to failure before you even begin. Statistics show that 44% of podcasts never make it past three episodes.

You can apply the improv concept of "Short Form vs. Long Form" to fix this. Long-form shows require sustained commitment and skill. Short-form scenes allow you to test ideas quickly with low stakes. You should treat your early content like short-form practice rather than committing to a year of hour-long episodes immediately.

In this micro-episode:

1. Why most podcasts fade out before episode 10
2. How to use shorts or micro-podcasts to test your concept
3. Why you should delay adding music and complex editing until you build the habit

Resources:

https://riverside.com/blog/podcast-statistics

Find more episodes and subscribe at stereoforest.com/minute.

Humans are wired for collaboration. We focus on social tasks for learning. A study comparing toddlers to non-human primates confirms that our brains engage more deeply when we collaborate.

Solo podcasters often make the mistake of talking at their audience. You can fix this by using language that creates a shared mental space. Phrases like "you know that feeling when" invite the listener to retrieve their own experience. This concept is called joint attention. It allows your listener to co-create meaning with you rather than just receiving information.

In this micro-episode:

1. The evolutionary basis for collaborative learning
2. How to turn a monologue into a shared mental space
3. Using "joint attention" to increase listener retention

Resources:

Joint attention: https://www.eva.mpg.de/documents/Wiley-Blackwell/Tomasello_Cooperation_ChildDevPerspec_2007_1554866.pdf

Find more episodes and subscribe at stereoforest.com/minute.

You might consider hiring an editor or producer because you worry about quality, and this is valid because the human brain links production quality to the value of the advice. Whether we like it or not (science has found this to be true).

Listeners actually rate speakers as more intelligent and likeable when the audio's high quality. Low-quality audio creates "cognitive friction" and that forces the brain to use resources for comprehension rather than processing ideas.

Find more episodes and subscribe at stereoforest.com/minute.

Written, edited, and hosted by Jen deHaan.

Website and Contact at https://stereoforest.com/minute

Get StereoForest’s newsletter for podcasting resources at https://stereoforest.com/newsletter

Produced by StereoForest https://stereoforest.com

About Jen at https://jendehaan.com

1. Like this episode or show and want more? Support us with a one-time tip: https://StereoForest.com/tips
2. We love our podcast host Capitvate.fm! Contact to ask me anything, anytime. You can support the shows by signing up with Captivate here: https://www.captivate.fm/signup?ref=yzjiytz
3. We have our newsletters on Kit.com. We also have our tip form with them, and sell products on their platform. Easy, and they don't take a cut! Check Kit out and support the show using this: https://partners.kit.com/ijdkivtf8ndd
4. Transcriptions by MacWhisper. I use and love the Pro version (subscription free!) - you can get it too using this link: https://gumroad.com/a/20303251/ivpqk
5. Schedule posts? We use Metricool (reasonable for multiple accounts/brands/shows). Support us using our link: https://f.mtr.cool/VZBOZR
6. Support the show and get creative templates and assets: https://share.uppbeat.io/p4od8inwhc2j

Host: Jen deHaan is the founder of StereoForest. With a background of over 20 years in tech, education, & instructional design and 10 years in improv and performance, Jen brings systems and scientific approach to media production.

Jen's website: https://jendehaan.com

This podcast is a StereoForest production. Made and produced in British Columbia, Canada.

Recording solo episodes while looking at a wall is an intimidating experience for many or most creating videos or podcasts. We naturally worry about rambling or sounding monotone, especially when we attach our business reputation to the content.

This is an entire skillset to develop! You can shorten this learning curve if you choose to work with a remote director. You can get real-time feedback on your pacing, prosody, or even how you communicate ideas.

In this micro-episode:

1. Why recording solo feels unnatural for professionals new to performing
2. The kinds of problems a remote director solves in real-time
3. How to stop comparing your... chapter 1 to their chapter 10

Find more episodes and subscribe at stereoforest.com/minute.

Written, edited, and hosted by Jen deHaan.

Website and Contact at https://stereoforest.com/minute

Get StereoForest’s newsletter for podcasting resources at https://stereoforest.com/newsletter

Produced by StereoForest https://stereoforest.com

About Jen at https://jendehaan.com

1. Like this episode or show and want more? Support us with a one-time tip: https://StereoForest.com/tips
2. We love our podcast host Capitvate.fm! Contact to ask me anything, anytime. You can support the shows by signing up with Captivate here: https://www.captivate.fm/signup?ref=yzjiytz
3. We have our newsletters on Kit.com. We also have our tip form with them, and sell products on their platform. Easy, and they don't take a cut! Check Kit out and support the show using this: https://partners.kit.com/ijdkivtf8ndd
4. Transcriptions by MacWhisper. I use and love the Pro version (subscription free!) - you can get it too using this link: https://gumroad.com/a/20303251/ivpqk
5. Schedule posts? We use Metricool (reasonable for multiple accounts/brands/shows). Support us using our link: https://f.mtr.cool/VZBOZR
6. Support the show and get creative templates and assets: https://share.uppbeat.io/p4od8inwhc2j

Host: Jen deHaan is the founder of StereoForest. With a background of over 20 years in tech, education, &...

I discussed how boredom (or, going on autopilot) helps you generate ideas in the previous episode. This episode covers how you can trigger that state intentionally.

You need to find activities that have a low cognitive load. These are tasks that allow your brain to enter "autopilot" mode so the Default Mode Network can engage and solve problems while you perform routine actions.

In this micro-episode:

1. My ways to autopilot that could inspire some ideas for you
2. A kind of... "problem loop" technique for problem solving and generating ideas
3. Making sure your environment is distraction free

Find more episodes and subscribe at stereoforest.com/minute.

Written, edited, and hosted by Jen deHaan.

Website and Contact at https://stereoforest.com/minute

Get StereoForest’s newsletter for podcasting resources at https://stereoforest.com/newsletter

Produced by StereoForest https://stereoforest.com

About Jen at https://jendehaan.com

1. Like this episode or show and want more? Support us with a one-time tip: https://StereoForest.com/tips
2. We love our podcast host Capitvate.fm! Contact to ask me anything, anytime. You can support the shows by signing up with Captivate here: https://www.captivate.fm/signup?ref=yzjiytz
3. We have our newsletters on Kit.com. We also have our tip form with them, and sell products on their platform. Easy, and they don't take a cut! Check Kit out and support the show using this: https://partners.kit.com/ijdkivtf8ndd
4. Transcriptions by MacWhisper. I use and love the Pro version (subscription free!) - you can get it too using this link: https://gumroad.com/a/20303251/ivpqk
5. Schedule posts? We use Metricool (reasonable for multiple accounts/brands/shows). Support us using our link: https://f.mtr.cool/VZBOZR
6. Support the show and get creative templates and assets: https://share.uppbeat.io/p4od8inwhc2j

Host: Jen deHaan is the founder of StereoForest. With a background of over 20 years in tech, education, & instructional design and 10 years in improv and performance, Jen brings systems and