Preparing for the BMT Podcast
We're excited to have you as a guest on The NYC Academic Solutions Podcast, and we want to make your experience as enjoyable and smooth as possible.
To help you get started, here's an overview of the steps you'll need to take:
- Send us your bio: Introduce yourself to our audience by providing a bio that highlights your name, professional background, area of expertise, and relevant accomplishments. Feel free to add personal anecdotes to help our audience connect with you.
- Brainstorm potential topics and questions: Think of interesting topics related to education, parenting, and local issues affecting families in New York City. Consider also preparing a list of questions you'd like the host to ask you about these topics.
- Set up your audio equipment and recording: Use your phone or invest in a dedicated microphone for clear audio and avoid using webcam or Bluetooth headphone microphones. Make sure you are using headphones. Finally, record your audio locally to ensure the best possible audio quality.
- Consult the BMT Podcast Audio Setup Guide: For a more in-depth explanation of setting up your audio and recording locally, refer to our comprehensive guide.
- Prepare your recording space: Choose a quiet location, ensure a stable Wi-Fi connection or use an Ethernet cable, and optimize your video background and lighting for possible social media clips.
For more detailed instructions, please read the rest of the page.
By following these steps, you'll be well-prepared for an engaging and insightful conversation on The BMT Podcast.
Thank you for your collaboration, and we can't wait to have you on the show!
Introducing Yourself
First and foremost, we need to introduce you to our audience!
To help our listeners understand why they should value your insights, please provide a bio that we can read at the beginning of the podcast.
A well-rounded bio should include your name, professional background, area of expertise, and any relevant accomplishments and experiences. Feel free to incorporate personal anecdotes or stories that might help our audience connect with you on a more personal level.
While we encourage you to share as much information as you'd like, keep in mind that we may need to condense it to fit our introduction format.
Examples will be introduced here later.
Crafting Topics & Questions
Next, what are we going to discuss?
Even though there's a wealth of topics to explore, we aim to keep our podcast episodes focused and concise, with a maximum duration of 45 minutes (or possibly shorter). Focusing on a specific topic for each episode not only makes it more digestible for our listeners but also easier for people to find and share with their friends.
We'd love for you to come up with potential topics that would resonate with our listeners, who are parents of kids in the NYC school system. Your topic suggestions should be relevant to education, parenting, and local issues that affect families in New York City.
Feel free to delve into recent news, trends, or research in your field, as well as any personal experiences or insights you've gained through your work. While your topic suggestions don't have to be perfectly worded, give it your best shot at making them catchy and engaging.
By sharing your interests with us, we can collaborate to develop specific podcast topics and captivating episode titles that will grab our listeners' attention.
If you need a starting point, consider asking yourself the following questions to get the creative process going:
- What are some common questions or concerns that parents frequently ask you in regards to their child's academic success?
- Based on your experience, what are the most prevalent challenges students face in their academic journey, and how have you helped them overcome these obstacles?
- What are some key pieces of advice or recommendations that you often share with parents to help them support their child's academic growth?
- What do you wish more parents knew about the education system, learning strategies, or fostering a productive learning environment at home?
- What are some unique or innovative approaches you've taken to help students succeed academically? How did these methods lead to positive outcomes?
- How have you managed to keep students motivated and engaged during challenging times, such as navigating remote learning or dealing with academic setbacks?
- In your experience, what are some misconceptions that parents may have about the education system or their child's learning process? How can we address these misconceptions and create better understanding?
Prepare Questions
Optionally, consider compiling a list of common questions that parents ask you or questions you'd like the host to ask you about the topics you're pitching.
This will help facilitate a more engaging, focused, and informative podcast. Think about the concerns and challenges that NYC parents typically face, and how your expertise can (or has!) address those issues.
By anticipating their questions, you can better prepare your responses and ensure that your conversation is both informative and engaging.
Example Topics and Questions
Here are some examples of topics that might work well for our podcast, as well as a short sample of potential questions.
Stuyvesant H.S. Admissions
Idea: "Is Stuyvesant a good choice for your kids?"
Potential Episode Name: "Decoding Stuyvesant: Is NYC's Top High School Right for Your Child?"
Content: We dive into the world of Stuyvesant High School, exploring the school's reputation, academic rigor, and admissions process to help parents determine if it's the best fit for their child.
Sample Questions:
- What sets Stuyvesant High School apart from other high-performing schools in NYC?
- How can parents and students navigate the competitive admissions process for Stuyvesant
- What factors should parents consider when deciding if Stuyvesant is the right school for their child?
ADHD
Idea: "Test Taking Strategies for Kids with ADHD"
Potential Episode Name: "Mastering Tests with ADHD: Strategies for Success"
Content: We discuss effective test-taking strategies tailored specifically for students with ADHD, empowering them to overcome challenges and reach their full academic potential.
Sample Questions:
- What are the most common test-taking challenges faced by students with ADHD, and how can they be addressed?
- What strategies and techniques can students with ADHD use to improve their test-taking skills and performance?
- How can parents and educators support students with ADHD in their test preparation and overall academic journey?
College Readiness
Idea: "College Readiness - Transitioning from H.S. to College"
Potential Episode Name: "From High School to College: Smoothing the Transition"
Content: We discuss how parents and students can effectively prepare for the transition from high school to college, ensuring a successful start to the next chapter of their academic journey
Sample Questions:
- What are the most common challenges students face when transitioning from high school to college?
- How can parents help their children prepare for the academic and social changes they'll experience in college?
- What resources or support systems should students take advantage of during their first year in college?
Optimizing Tech Setup
Delivering valuable information is important, but it's also essential that it's easy on the ears.
While we don't expect studio-quality sound, we do strive to maintain a minimum level of audio quality for our listeners. As such, we have a few tech requirements:
No Webcam audio
Webcam microphones produce low-quality sound, which can be distracting and frustrating for listeners. They tend to pick up background noises and have a limited frequency response, resulting in a less-than-ideal listening experience. Investing in a dedicated microphone, preferably with noise-canceling capabilities, will help to ensure that your voice is clear, free of background noise, and pleasant for our audience.
If you don't have a standalone microphone, we will have a list of options at various budgets in our BMT Podcast Audio Setup Guide.
No Bluetooth Headphones with Built-in Mic
Although you may be tempted to use your Bluetooth headphones or earbuds, they are generally not suitable for our podcast requirements.
Bluetooth headphones have inferior microphone quality compared to dedicated microphones as they are designed primarily for phone calls or casual voice chat, and not for high (or even medium) quality audio recording. As a result, the audio captured by these built-in microphones will sound tinny, hollow, or muffled, which can be distracting for our listeners and detract from the overall podcast experience.
Bluetooth can also suffer from connection issues such as interference, signal dropouts, or latency. These problems can lead to audio glitches, missed words, or even complete disconnections during the podcast recording. Such disruptions can negatively impact the flow of the conversation and make it challenging for listeners to follow along.
Use of Headphones
Wearing headphones during remote podcast recordings is a crucial requirement for maintaining high-quality audio.
Wearing headphones prevents audio bleed, or the leakage of sound from the speakers into the microphone, that can result in echo or feedback, which is both distracting and unprofessional. By wearing headphones, you prevent your microphone from picking up the sound of the other participants speaking, ensuring a cleaner, more polished recording.
Just about any headphones will do, even Bluetooth headphones (just make sure they are fully charged!).
Local Audio Recording
Local audio recording is crucial for high-end podcasts, as it not only acts as a backup but also serves as the primary audio source due to the lower audio quality offered by Zoom. To ensure professional audio quality, it's essential to capture the audio locally on your computer or a digital audio recorder in addition to recording the podcast through Zoom.
A high-quality local recording guarantees a seamless and professional final podcast, even if unexpected issues occur with the Zoom call, such as dropouts, glitches, or file corruption. By prioritizing local recording, we can provide our listeners with an exceptional listening experience without compromising audio quality.
There are various software options available for recording audio locally, and we will cover some of these in the BMT Podcast Audio Setup Guide.
BMT Podcast Audio Setup Guide
For detailed guidance and suggestions on setting up your audio, please refer to the BMT Podcast Audio Setup Guide.
Preparing Your Recording Space
In addition to the above steps, we recommend the following recording considerations to ensure a high-quality podcast experience:
Environmental Noise
Minimize environmental noise (e.g., TV, music, kitchen sounds, vocal pets or people, traffic).
Choose a quiet location for recording, and let those around you know that you'll need silence during the session.
Recordings tend to pick up much more noise than we anticipate, so it's important to have have a quiet space without distractions.
Stable Wi-fi
Ensure a stable Wi-Fi connection or use an Ethernet cable for better reliability. Stable Wi-Fi generally means being very close - usually in the same room - as the router.
Despite the advances in Wi-Fi technology over the years, having your router far away can easily lead to audio dropouts, stuttering, or other connectivity issues that can disrupt the flow of the conversation.
If it all possible, and you are using a laptop, please use an Ethernet cable during our recording. It really makes a difference!
Visual Clutter
Although the BMT Podcast is not published as a video, we would like - with your permission - to record the video and create short social media clips to help promote both you and the podcast.
Setting up a clutter-free, professional-looking background to avoid distractions would go a long way to making these clips clean, engaging, and useful.
Lighting
Optimize lighting by avoiding backlight and using defuse light sources, such as an open window or an LED light panel. Good lighting helps to create a visually appealing video for any accompanying visuals, and also helps to make you look your best on camera.
Need Assistance?
By adhering to these guidelines, you'll be well-prepared for your appearance on The NYC Academic Solutions Podcast. We're eager to share an insightful and engaging conversation with you.
If you have any questions or need clarification on any of the guidelines mentioned, don't hesitate to reach out to us!
Thank you for collaborating with us, and we can't wait to have you as a guest on the podcast!
