What Are Narrative Podcasts? Why Use Them in eLearning?

“Great stories happento those who can tell them”

—Ira Glass, host of ThisAmerican Life

In the modern adult learning community, there tends to be astrong focus on innovation—how can we best grab our learner’s attention and“wow” them with a training experience? Technologies such as virtual reality andaugmented reality are all the rage, and rightfully so. The potential of thesemodalities is immense. The problem for many organizations is that thesetechnologies may prove to be too expensive, or the resources and time needed toeffectively produce content may not be readily available. If this applies toyou, please allow me to suggest an inexpensive, easy training solution that youcan start utilizing today—narrative podcasts.

What is narrative podcasting?

Narrative podcasts are story-drivenaudio recordings. As opposed to more traditionalinterview-style podcasts, where a single person or group is interviewed,narrative podcasts splice together a number of interviews, recordings, andsounds to present a more complete listening experience. They tend to lean moreheavily on production effects, such as the use of music and sound effects, aswell as narrative storytelling techniques such as multiple characters, scenesetting, backstory, hooks, framing devices, and cliffhangers. Narrativepodcasts can be either fictional or non-fictional, but at their core both teachlearners by presenting conceptsas an immersive experience, allowing listeners to become apart of what they are learning.

Why use narrative podcasting?

1. Weare in the Golden Age of podcasting. Let’s be honest: podcasts aren’t new.So why is this an exciting medium we should be using today? Podcasts have neverbeen more popular than they are right now. According to a 2017 study on podcaststatistics (see References at the end of this article), 112 millionAmericans have listened to a podcast at some point and 67 million Americanslisten to podcasts on a regular basis. The success of narrative podcasts such as Serial, This American Life, and S-Town have created a culture of adultswho crave audio stories. Now is the time for the adult learning community tojump on the bandwagon and present training in a medium that people alreadyenjoy.
2. Podcastingis inexpensive.  You don’t need alarge budget to get into the podcasting game. The only things you truly need tostart podcasting are a microphone, a set of headphones, and audio editingsoftware that you can even access for free. Realistically, you can beginpodcasting with less than a $100 investment.
3. Podcastinghas a low barrier of entry. Creating narrative podcasts doesn’t require ahigh degree of specialization or skill. The heavy lifting of a narrative podcastis all done by the story. To some degree, we have all grown up learning fromstories, and we tell stories every day. All that is left to do is transfer thatinnate skill into content design.
4. Podcastsare transposable media. One of the beauties of podcasting is that podcastshave the ability to stand on their own, or to be part of a larger learningevent. They can be packaged as part of a curriculum, utilized in instructor-ledor self-paced training and eLearning programs, and offered as part of a blendedlearning approach. They can be the main focus of a learning event, or simplyone of the many parts offered.
5. Podcastsare portable. Unlike many other content delivery modalities, podcasts donot require a person to be in any one particular space at any one particulartime. They can be listened to in a classroom, at one’s desk, through a mobiledevice, out in the field, while driving or working out, or anywhere else alearner might be.

Why are narrative podcasts a good way to learn?

The true power of narrative podcasts lies in the effect thatstorytelling has on retention. Stories are the foundation of how we understandand remember information. They do this by triggering our emotions and tyinginformation to the way we feel when we learn something new. By intertwiningcontent with a story, learners are better equipped to recall information byrecalling the way they felt when they learned the information. According to theLondon School of Business, learners retain facts at only a rate of about 5 – 10percent. Tying these facts to images can help increase retention up to 25percent. However, if facts and concepts are interwoven into stories, retentionlevels can reach as high as 65 – 75 percent. Narrativepodcasts present an excellent opportunity to increase learner retention levelswithout much need for monetary investments or specialized skillsets.

So how can I get started podcasting?

This is the first of eight articles that will give you essentialinformation about podcasting. They will cover the equipment requirements,production, scripts, audio editing, tips and tricks, and copyright.

The important thing to remember is that the most critical part ofany narrative podcast is the script. It doesn’t matter how flashy productiontechniques end up being if ultimately your story isn’t compelling. Focus onfinding a good story to tell, write a script, and once you have something youare happy with, all you need to do is get your story down as a recording. Thebest advice I can give newpodcasters is to identify what professional podcasts you enjoy and listen tothem again with an ear out for the way they are produced. How do they usemusic, sound effects, pacing, breaks, and character changes? How does thedialogue between characters flow? There is a reason successful podcasts aresuccessful; find what works for the best in the business and think about how youcan use similar techniques. Other than that, all you have to do is startcreating! I think you will be happy with the results. After all, “great storieshappen to those who can tell them.”

References

Baer, J. “The 11 Critical Podcast Statistics of 2017.” March 15, 2017.Retrieved June 20, 2018, from Convince & Convert website: https://www.convinceandconvert.com/podcast-research/the-13-critical-podcast-statistics-of-2018/

Davis, M. “Stories – NotStatistics – Are Memorable.” November 7, 2016. Retrieved June 20, 2018, fromspeakingcpr.com website: https://speakingcpr.com/2015/11/the-numbers-dont-lie-stories-not-statistics-make-you-memorable/