What you wear can affect everything from your mood to your voice itself. As podcasters, constricting or uncomfortable clothing can negatively impact how your voice comes alive. In today’s episode, you’ll discover how your clothes impact your voice.

Listen in to hear: 

  • Why it’s important to be comfy and confident in your wardrobe
  • Why you should wear what you love 
  • Tips for mic friendly clothing options

Connect with Mary!

Podcast cover art by Emily Johnston of Artio Design Co.

Transcript with audio description:

[MUSIC IN // INTRO]

<< Ghosthood Featuring Sara Azriel “Let’s Go” BEGINS >>

MARY: Welcome to the Podcaster’s Guide to a Visible Voice.

<< WOMAN SINGS: Let’s go >>

MARY: Reveal and define your voice to speak your truth through the power of podcasting. And I’m your host, Mary Chan.

<< WOMAN SINGS: So so so so let’s go >>

MARY: Hi. Welcome to episode number 58, why what you wear matters in podcasting.

[MUSIC FADES // MUSIC IN]

MARY:

This is going to be a short and quick episode for you because I’m talking about clothes. And personally, I’m not quite a fashionista here. So, I mean, think about it. I worked in radio. Not a lot of visuals involved. I wore a lot of hoodies, sweatshirts and jeans to work and my runners. So, I do know about comfort, though, and that is something I will speak to about. However, first, I wanted to, uh, just say thank you for some of your feedback from my last solo, episode number 56, all about reliable backups and how I lost everything. All my audio folders, all my audio files, all the things that I had for this podcast and my work. [LAUGHTER] I didn’t lose it all. 

But go back to episode 56. If you have not heard that episode yet, it’s vital for your podcast production process, so make sure you listen to that. And in it I did ask about if there were any Mac equivalents to a, uh, backup system that’s automatically in Mac laptops. And so I did get some feedback, including a voice note from Beth Cougler Blom, the host of the podcast, facilitating on purpose. And full disclosure, she is one of my clients, but even more so, I love it because she left me a voice note. Yay. So here’s her tip for you on backing up on a Mac machine.

[MUSIC OUT]

BETH: It’s Beth Cougler Blom calling. I just listened to your podcast episode about your backup. oooh, that was, uh that must have been painful. Um, but thank you for doing the episode. I have been meaning to do some backups on my own PC, and this is going to spur me on to actually get it done. But, I use a mac regularly. You probably have heard from others by now. But, a Mac, there’s a thing called Time Machine, which does an automatic backup. So it’s super, super convenient. And that’s what I do on my iMac to an external hard drive. And I believe I have it set to daily backups? So I got to go check that probably it’s been a while since I’ve set that up, but yeah, Mac is awesome that way. So Time Machine on the Mac is what you would be letting people know about. Or you could just look into that for your folks.

MARY: Well, there you go. I am a Windows person, so I had no idea. But I knew there was something there had to be, right? Technology is all about backup systems. So thank you so much, Beth, for that tip! 

[MUSIC IN] 

And like I mentioned at the start of the episode, this is going to be a short and sweet one because, honestly, I’ve been getting ready for my talk in Denver with NTEN and the 23NTC Conference, which is the nonprofit tech conference in Denver. And now, since you’re listening to this episode, I’ve already come and gone back home from Denver, but short episode because I was planning and getting ready to have this done before I left. So part of the planning process is knowing what your schedule is and making sure that you get some episodes recorded before you go. But one of the reasons why I started thinking about clothing is also I’ve been packing, right? You’re trying to figure out, what am I going to pack? This is the first time I’ve probably used my carry on luggage in, I don’t know, pre pandemic times. Probably 2019 was the last time I used it. And I am a carry on type of person. And so, anything that I need to bring with me needs to be able to be squished into that carry on luggage, and it has to be comfortable. And I pretty much live the same way outside of luggage as well. Because when I’m podcasting, I like to be comfy. Not just because that’s my lifestyle. That’s why I roll. I live on the west coast of Canada. Come on. We are very what is that? Uh, athleisure? That’s the word, right? Where it’s like athletic, leisure clothing. Uh, that is a thing, um, not very used to the button up shirts over here. 

But the key is movement. Being able to facilitate movement in your body is so key to making sure that your voice comes alive. If you’re wearing, like, an uncomfortable bra, there’s some underwire jabbing into you. You’re going to be thinking about that the whole time you’re trying to record your episode, which could affect your voice, or if you’re wearing pants or are just a little bit too tight in the waist and maybe you’ve had some lunch. So it’s a little tight and restricting, and you can’t breathe properly. And so you can’t use your voice to the fullest potential. Or here’s a very popular one for the ladies. I don’t really know about this because I don’t have a lot of dresses. I might own two, maybe? Those tight, tight dresses that a lot of, like, Ted Talks. People wear them on the stage. They, uh, look great. They really make you look great because you get to wear those the tight undergarments to keep everything in, looks good, but it can really affect your voice because, again, the breathing, you’re sucking everything in. We are the North American Western culture of, making that belly disappear. But when that belly disappears, it means you are really restricting your breathing. 

Now, you may look good, but you might not feel very good because you can’t breathe, relax, move your body to its fullest, and then using your voice to its fullest potential. So, comfort really is key. So what you wear does matter in podcasting. 

[MUSIC OUT]

Another reason why what you wear is important for some people. They really like talking with their hands, me included. It is part of movement which affects your voice. But I remember when I was recording one, uh, of the announcers to read a script they were in the voice booth. When you’re reading a script, you’re coming alive and using your full body, including your hands. And he started, I don’t know, pointing and shifting his arms, but his button up shirt was actually so crisp, I could hear the shirt crumpling and moving in the background as he’s talking. So I had to tell him to stop. I’m like, no, you actually can’t move your arms. And in fact, you probably might not want to wear that shirt again behind the mic because, uh, we picked up everything. And so he had to talk and read his script with his arms down by his sides, or only be able to move his hands and his fingertips versus his whole arms. So it restricted how much energy he could have coming out of his voice and his body. 

So the next time you are behind the mic, think about what you’ll be wearing. And usually when I say behind the mic, I mean the literal behind the mic as we’re podcasting. But even in spaces where you are speaking up, how does your clothing affect your voice? And I’m talking everything from, like, the hair tie you might use to tie your hair up, is it a little too tight and giving you a headache? To the socks and shoes that you’re going to wear. Even my daughter is complaining all the time because she’s got like, little bits of wood chip or grass stuck to her sock in her shoe. And she’s like, ah, I can’t. It hurts. I need to take my shoe off. Yeah. So make sure that you’re totally comfortable because that will help amplify your voice. 

[MUSIC IN]

What are some of your pieces of clothing that you’re thinking about now? And you’re like, yeah, why do I still have that around? And honestly, so many people I’ve been talking to ever since we’ve come back in person, we’re going to networking things. We’re seeing people in person are no longer wearing the heels because they’re like, whoa, I have not worn these in three years. My legs, my calves are killing me. So ditching those. Or the really, you know, the hard pants. Who are wearing the hard pants anymore? Are we still in sweats? Joggers, leggings? Yes, they’re comfy. In fact, I don’t really care what you wear when we’re podcasting behind the mic. It’s traditionally nonvisual. So, talked about it before. We can all be podcasting in our pajamas. Nice and comfy. 

So, yeah, take a look at your wardrobe. What are you not wearing anymore? I didn’t even think this would become like a wardrobe closet type of episode, but yeah, this whole Marie Kondo thing. What is sparking you joy? If you’re not wearing that anymore, get rid of it. Let’s downsize our closets while we’re podcasting. Share with me what are you no longer going to wear when you’re podcasting. I had a lot of pants that were just a little bit too tight, so I’m going to get rid of those. And also a couple of t-shirts that are just a little too small that I’ve had since, oh, I don’t know, 20 years ago. I’m such a hoarder for t-shirts. I love my funny t-shirts. So send me a voice note. Drop me an email. You can find all the details on the show notes of this episode or on my website, visiblevoicepodcast.com, and let me know what it is you are downsizing from your closet, because it will help your voice, believe me. 

[MUSIC OUT]

And so that is it from me today with my Vancouver Canucks, uh, hoodie sweatshirt that I’ve had since I was in high school. It’s so comfy, I can’t get rid of it. So wear what’s comfortable. We’re going to talk a little bit more about movement in the next episode, so get ready for that one. So until then, wear whatever you want. Keep those sweatpants on and speak with spirit.

[MUSIC ENDS // PAUSE A BEAT // OUTRO – SHOW CLOSE]

<< Ghosthood Featuring Sara Azriel “Let’s Go” BEGINS >>

MARY: Thank you so much for listening to the Podcaster’s Guide to a Visible Voice. If you enjoyed this episode, I’d love it if you shared it with a podcasting friend. And to reveal more voicing and podcasting tips, click on over to visiblevoicepodcast.com.

<< WOMAN SINGS: Let’s go >>

[MUSIC ENDS]