Estimated read time: 2 minutes
It seems the only time I hear people talk on phones is when they sit next to me at an airport club, on a plane or somewhere else in public. That happens with FaceTime, too. And those can be annoying. Though, sometimes it’s interesting to hear what people are talking about.
I once called American Airlines while on a plane taxiing in Dallas to rebook a flight that I had just missed due to a delay and a flight the next day that I could no longer make now. My neighbors told me they found the discussion quite interesting. 🙂
But what about recording podcasts in public? Is that allowed? Legally? I haven’t seen a law against it, but it’s certainly a good marketing tool.
I used to do live Periscopes while sitting at airports. That had a few benefits:
- A unique setting for the broadcast
- I got it done and had some time
- It’s kind of a marketing tool
- … and conversation starter
What I found is that usually when I do these, people listen. And oftentimes they start asking questions … hopefully afterwards:
- Where is the show housed?
- <Then they follow – sometimes>
- What else do you talk about
Sometimes people ask about the tools that are needed to go live. At conferences people ask me often what I take along. This is basically my current kit:
[Tools review] The multimedia tools I take to conferences with me to tell stories
Similar things happen during podcasts recorded on-location. For example, we recorded this one at the club at O’Hare:
There were people around us, including other podcasters. As soon as we were done, they asked about the tools and apps we were using. I just recorded with my phone and used the Audio Recorder app.
It created a fun conversation actually. Unfortunately, we had to leave soon because our flight was boarding. So there’s that time restraint.
Of course, there are times when you shouldn’t record a podcast in a public place. Like in a library, for example. Consider your surroundings. Elsewhere: When people are talking near me, why can’t I talk to my audience via a podcast?
They are having a conversation right there. I’ll do the same over here. Except I’m talking to my phone.
Certainly, some people have strong reactions to others using phones:
- in public
- on dates
- to drown them out – maybe not, I hope
So that could come into play. I’ve recorded publicly a few dozen times by now, though, and nobody ever complained. At least not to me.
From a production perspective, I think it’s nice to be able to say: “Hi, it’s Christoph, dialing in from ….” and then jumping into the topic.
As long as you are speaking into where the microphones actually are on your iPhone the audio is usually good – even in somewhat louder spaces.
