Rockin’ Libsyn Podcasts: Communication Diva With Jenn Swanson

This series is all about libsyn’s newest podcasters. Its sole purpose is to introduce these awesome podcasts to the world as well as share their podcasting insight to empower the community!


Q & A with Jenn from Communication Diva


When did you start podcasting?

I started podcasting on Dec 12th, 2011 with a very short introductory episode that basically told people who I was and what my plans were for the show. I must have recorded it four times, and I was nervous which you can likely tell by listening to it. I didn’t edit it much…mostly because I didn’t know how…but decided that my typical way of doing things is to just jump in and do it and figure things out as I go, so that’s what I did.

(I’m one of those people who hates to read manuals and just likes to fiddle with the thing until I can get it to work. Not all that efficient, I’m sure, but that’s how I roll. It only backfires on me sometimes…like when I accidentally switched one of my telephone handsets to Spanish, and have no living idea how to get it back to English. Oops!)

Why did you start podcasting?

I love to communicate and adore storytelling. I am an actor, a preacher, and a writer, among many other things, and once I stumbled upon this medium, I fell instantly in love. One of my dayjobs includes teaching at a downtown college. I teach in healthcare, and one of the courses I really am passionate about is called Human Relations Skills. This is a very short (too short) basic communications course.

The feedback I consistently get from my multicultural classes of (mostly young) students is that there is so much to know and not enough time to do more than just skim the surface with the time allotted. Students seem to actually take what I am teaching, apply it, and report that some of the skills they learn have radically changed the way they relate to the people in their lives.

This made me aware that there is a real need out there for basic and practical ideas/ways/skills to help people deepen their relationships. I thought maybe podcasting would be a fabulous way to share those ideas with more people.

What’s your show about?

As you may have figured out by now, it’s about all aspects of both personal and professional communication.

I interview people from all walks of life who have something to say about how they use aspects of communication in their work and their private lives. I interviewed a realtor who talked about the stress and emotion involved in buying/selling a home, and how he navigates through that minefield.

I interviewed a First Nations spiritual practitioner and learned a lot about how intuition plays a big role in Native communication.

I interviewed an actor about the power and importance of body language and non-verbal communication.

I have a huge list of topics and people I want to interview, and keep adding to it as I meet people. I almost need to take my equipment everywhere I go!

What’s your podcasting set-up? Hardware, software, CMS, etc.

At the moment, I have a very modest set-up. I use WordPress and the Thesis theme. I have a desktop iMac and use GarageBand to edit with. I have a Roland R-05 Digital Audio Recorder that is brilliant, and at the moment, I am using the built-in mic.

I do a lot of field interviews in coffeeshops, schools and other people’s homes, so I need it to be portable.

On my “wish list” I have a Behringer mixer and a Heil PR40 microphone…but those will be a while yet. I’ve been told my sound is pretty good as it is, for which I’m grateful, but I know that there are easier ways to do some of what I am doing, and more equipment would facilitate that.

How have you promoted your podcast?

I have posted on Twitter and have a Facebook Page. I have submitted to iTunes, Zune and Blackberry. I have put several pages on StumbleUpon and Digg and have been accepted into the StitcherSmart Radio Affiliate Program.

I have guest-posted on a couple of other sites, and have invited people to answer a question for a “list post”. I have also commented on other blogs and tried to reach out to others in the same area of interest as my own.

I have business cards on my to-do list, and have just put out a little “tour of my podcast site” video on YouTube. I am ALWAYS looking for new ways to promote the show!

What do you know now that you wish you knew when you started?

I was pretty lucky to have initially found some very generous people who have loads of expertise, and who have become almost gurus to me. These are Cliff Ravenscraft of the podcastanswerman.com and Pat Flynn of smartpassiveincome.com.

They have both been instrumental in my not making as many mistakes as I may have, given my dislike of reading technical manuals! I wish I had done more of a “launch”.

I wish I had known more about the technology and about SEO when adding tags and titles and such. I know I have an enormous amount of info yet to learn, but that’s part of the fun. (Plus I get to communicate with some really cool people all around the world, which is stunning, when you think about it!)


We can all use better ways to communicate, so SUBSCRIBE to Communication Diva! And if you wanna chat with Jenn you can email her at jenn(at)communicationdiva(dot)com.


If you wanna get started podcasting right away, sign up HERE!

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