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If You're Really Interested In Podcasting…

One of the highlights of the TED conference this year was…

…Watching Roman Mars record an episode of his audio podcast, 99% Invisible, live in front of an audience. The topic of his TED Talk/podcast recording session was all about the design of flags. I want you to to stop and think about that. With all of the celebrities and amazing stories that are told on the TED stage, one of the most engaging and fascinating presentations was a guy, sitting behind a desk, recording an audio podcast (with a script) about the design of flags. While it does sound dry, it was anything but dry. Roman Mars is a master storyteller. And, the stories he’s most interested in are about design. Not the design of objects that have captivated our attention, but the design of things that we see everyday that are – to riff on the name of his podcast – mostly invisible to us. Many brands and marketers are tinkering with podcasting (audio and video) more and more. The growth in podcasting continues to impress. More and more people are discovering this format, and are becoming engrossed by the depth of niche content that is available. Figuring out how to produce something worthwhile (with frequency and consistency) is a challenge. Storytellers like Roman Mars have mastered it.

What you have here.

There is no doubt that the content of this podcast is great, entertaining and informational. As a professional marketer, what makes this TED Talk that much more interesting is in watching how he builds his stories, edits them, pulls it together and turns it into a real show.

Watch this: TED – Roman Mars – Why city flags may be the worst-designed thing you’ve never noticed.

Mitch Joel

Mitch Joel lives at the intersection of technology, business transformation and consumer culture. He is the Executive Director of Next Era Institute, a strategic intelligence platform helping leaders understand the forces reshaping business, technology, culture and society. The Institute identifies which shifts matter, explores their wider significance and translates them into strategic direction and momentum. Mitch is also a globally recognized keynote speaker. He has delivered thousands of presentations across both B2B and B2C industries to organizations including Google, Walmart, LEGO, Shopify, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble and Unilever. Strategy Magazine has called him “one of North America’s leading visionaries.” Mitch built his career by working directly inside the waves of change that reshaped modern business. He founded and built a digital marketing agency that worked with some of the world’s largest brands and was later acquired by WPP, where he served as President of a firm operating in 25 countries with almost 3,000 employees. Mitch is the bestselling author of Six Pixels of Separation and CTRL ALT Delete, and the host of Thinking With Mitch Joel, one of the longest-running business podcasts in the world. His writing and commentary appear in outlets including Harvard Business Review, Fast Company and Inc. Magazine. He is a member of Dr. Marshall Goldsmith’s 100 Coaches and was named to the Thinkers50 Radar. Mitch also hosts Groove – The No Treble Podcast, documenting the oral history of electric bass players. Mitch is also Co-Founder of ThinkersOne, a platform that enables companies to bring personalized thought leadership from world-class experts into meetings, events and off-sites in focused 15-minute bursts.