How Do You Stop Rambling on Your Podcast?
To stop rambling on your podcast, get clear on the specific promise of the episode before you record and plan only the points, stories, and examples you need to deliver it. If you think of something interesting that doesn’t serve that promise, save it for another episode. And if you catch yourself rambling while you’re recording, stop, find your place, and start again. You can edit out the detour later.
Are you a rambler?
Do you have a rambling problem?
Let’s find out, have you’ve ever been recording an episode and suddenly realized you’ve been talking for five minutes and you’re not entirely sure how you got there?
You might be a rambler.
Do you ever get to the end of a story having forgotten the point you were originally trying to make?
You might be a rambler.
Do peoples eyes glaze over when you start explaining your theories?
You might be a rambler.
I’m probably not telling you anything you don’t already know. If you’ve been podcasting for a while, you have suffered through episodes where you’re listening back to your recording and wondering how you managed to take such a spectacular detour from the point. Or, maybe you haven’t started podcasting yet because you know that your thoughts are used to free-roaming and may not be containable. You’re thinking, “Give me a microphone and who knows when I’ll shut up.”
Either way, rambling is something you can learn to control. And you don’t have to become an overly-scripted podcaster to do it.
Why Do Podcasters Ramble?
As a podcast coach, I work with a lot of people who struggle to get to the point. I actually think their rambling comes from a good place. I mean, some of it comes from people who love the sound of their own voice (ah, former broadcasters, I’m looking at you), but mostly it comes from a good place.
You know a lot about your subject. You want to help people. Once you get behind the microphone, you start thinking of all the other things you could tell your listener, and suddenly everything feels important enough to include.
The problem isn’t that you have too little to say. It’s that you’re trying to say too much.
I love cooking competition shows, and one criticism you hear from judges all the time is, “There’s too much on the plate.”
Usually, they’re not saying everything on the plate is bad. The sauce might be great. The puree is sheer perfection. The crispy little whatever-the-hell-that-is they balanced on top might be delicious. There’s just too much going on. The flavours start competing with each other and it’s ruining the whole dish.
So what do the judges tell the chef to do? “Edit. Take something off the plate.”
Your podcast needs the same discipline. Just because something is interesting, valuable, or demonstrates your expertise doesn’t mean it belongs in this episode. Your listener doesn’t need everything you know about a subject. They need what they came to this particular episode to learn.
Keeping that in mind will significantly decrease how much you ramble on your podcast. And using that to create a PLAN will also cut down the rambling.
How Much Should You Plan Before Recording a Podcast?
The easiest time to take something off the plate is before you put it there.
Before you record, get really clear about the promise of the episode. What’s the one thing you’re helping your listener understand, solve, change, or do in this episode?
Once you know that, figure out what you actually need to say to get them there. Know your main points. Decide which stories, examples, or analogies will help you make those points. Give yourself enough structure that when you’re recording, you always have a pretty good idea of where you’re going next.
That doesn’t mean you have to script every word.
In fact, I think there’s a sweet spot between reading a script and completely winging it, which I talked about in Episode 260: Scripted vs Unscripted Podcasts: Why Neither Works (And What to Do Instead).
The goal of preparation isn’t to make you sound scripted. It’s to give you a road map so you can sound natural without getting lost.
Now, you’re still going to think of other things while you’re recording. That’s okay.
Maybe you’re halfway through a story and suddenly remember another story that would also be really good. Save it.
Maybe you’re explaining your second point and three other things pop into your head that your listener absolutely, positively needs to know. Congratulations. You just came up with three future episodes. Save them.
Remember, your podcast isn’t one and done. You get to come back next week. You don’t have to unload your entire brain onto your listener in one sitting. That thing is way to big and juicy for one sitting!
How Do You Stop Rambling During a Podcast Interview?
Rambling gets a little trickier when you’re interviewing someone because now there are two people with the ability to take the conversation somewhere you hadn’t planned to go.
Your guest says something interesting, so you follow it. Their answer brings up another question, which takes you somewhere else, and twenty minutes later you’re having a completely different conversation than the one you intended. Sometimes that’s exactly what should happen.
Some of the best interview moments come from something you couldn’t possibly have planned. A guest says something unexpected, you recognize that there’s something worth exploring, and you follow it. That’s not rambling. That’s being a good interviewer.
The difference is whether the conversation is still serving your listener.
You are the host. It’s your show, and you know what you promised the person who pressed play. If an unexpected conversation is helping you deliver on that promise, follow it. If you realize nobody is driving the bus anymore, it’s your job to take control and bring the conversation back.
That’s one of the things that separates a strong podcast host from someone who simply has conversations with a microphone turned on.
What Should You Do If You Start Rambling While Recording?
When you find yourself rambling while recording… stop.
Seriously. It’s that simple.
If you suddenly hear yourself and think, “What the hell am I talking about?” you don’t have to keep going just because the little red recording light is on.
Shut up for a second.
Look at your outline. Figure out where you wandered off. Take a second to collect your thoughts and then pick it up again.
You can edit the detour out later.
Your listener never needs to know that you got lost for three minutes. They just need you to get them where you promised you were taking them.
I think podcasters sometimes forget that they’re allowed to do this. Recording isn’t live radio. You don’t get a prize for making it from the beginning of an episode to the end without stopping.
Take the pause. Reset. Then keep going.
Can Editing Fix a Rambling Podcast?
Sometimes you don’t realize you’ve rambled until you listen back to the recording. That’s okay too. That’s one of the reasons we edit podcasts.
If a story went on too long, tighten it. If you made the same point four different ways, pick the best one. If there’s a five-minute tangent that’s interesting but doesn’t help deliver the promise of the episode, cut it.
This is also where another principle we’ve talked about on the podcast comes into play: every story needs a job. In Episode 265: Podcast Storytelling: How to Choose the Most Effective Story for Your Episode, I talked about choosing stories based on what you need your listener to understand or remember. The same test applies when you’re editing. A great story doesn’t automatically earn its place in the episode.
And that brings me to one of the most important tests you can use when you’re trying to tighten a rambling podcast.
Good Isn’t the Test. Does It Belong?
This is where podcasters get themselves into trouble. You listen back to a tangent and think, “Yeah, but that’s actually pretty good.”
Maybe it is.
That’s not the test.
Does it belong?
Does it help deliver the promise you made at the beginning of the episode? Does it help your listener understand the idea? Does it move the episode forward?
If it does, keep it.
If it doesn’t, take it off the plate.
And don’t mourn it. If it’s genuinely a great idea, put it in your ideas parking lot and turn it into another episode where you can give it the attention it deserves. You aren’t throwing away good content. You’re making this content better.
If You’re Always Fixing Rambling in the Edit, Look at Your Preparation
Editing can absolutely rescue an episode that wandered off course, but if you’re routinely cutting ten or fifteen minutes of rambling out of every recording, it’s time to look at how you’re prepping your episodes.
Instead of hours in editing, spend an extra ten minutes before you hit record. Get really clear on the promise, your main points, and how you’re going to deliver them.
Either way, get rid of the rambling. Your listener shouldn’t have to pay for your lack of preparation with their time. They gave you that time when they pressed play. Respect it.
Your listener isn’t judging your podcast by how much expertise you can cram into an episode. They’re judging it by how well you deliver the thing they came for.
So have a plan. Stay in control of your show. Edit when you need to. And when you have something great that doesn’t belong in this episode, save it for another one.
The goal isn’t to put everything you know on the plate. It’s to give your listener exactly what you promised them, make it really damn good, and leave them wanting another serving.
Could Your Podcast Use a Tune-Up?
If you’re listening back to your own episodes and thinking, “Okay, maybe I could take a few things off the plate,” that’s exactly the kind of thing we help you do in the Podcast Tune-Up.
We’ll help you tighten your structure, sharpen your content, and make sure every episode is intentionally serving the people you actually want your podcast to reach. Plus, we’ll zoom out and look at the bigger picture to make sure all that great content is actually helping your podcast do its job in your business. Click here to learn more.
