Speaker 1: This is Entrepreneurs Get Visible, the podcast for people who want more impact, influence and income. I'm Anna Parker-Naples, and I'll be sharing with you proven methods from leading entrepreneurs that help you get visible as an authority in your field. Because anything's possible when you get visible. How much thought are you giving to the structure of your podcast episode? That's what I want to run through today in this episode of Entrepreneurs Get Visible, so that you are making sure that whatever you deliver with your podcast episode, and this actually can work for all sorts of different systems. It could be how you write your blog, it could be how you deliver your video content, how you deliver a training on stage. going to go through what's known as the format system, or sometimes if with a little bit added on to the end, it's known as the Pentagon system, to make sure that the content you deliver in your podcast is received by people's learning preferences. So we all have different ways of receiving content. In terms of NLP, neuro linguistic programming, these are known as being visual, being auditory, being kinesthetic. And also you can have a kind of more logical brain. And very often people want to hear, feel, see content for themselves in a particular way so that they can process it. And very often this means that whenever we're delivering, you want to think about how you are making sure that no matter how detail orientated someone is, or how big picture orientated they are, that the content you deliver is hitting all of those preferences. Now the format system goes a little bit like this. You always start with the what, what you are going to be talking about. And you might want to give a little bit of a brief overview about what it's going to be. Then you go into the why. So this is getting people to understand why this particular topic is important, how it might affect their lives currently, what it is that you need to implement in order to get the results that you want. The next section is about the how. People don't need to know the practicalities of how to get results until they have bought in to why it is important. So if you're rushing in in delivering your content, particularly on a podcast, to give people all of the action steps before they fully understand what it is that they need to do and what impact it's going to have for their life or their business, there's no way that they're going to absorb those steps. So the what section becomes really crucial to start with, to bring people into understanding what this particular episode is all about so they know why they're listening. And then when you come to the why and then you come to the how, this is where you can give people actionable steps. And when we talk about delivering value, it's the how that actually gives people those major takeaways. But you don't want to leave it there. You don't want to leave it hanging at the how. You want to make sure that you're framing this with the what ifs. So you want to use this opportunity in whatever you're talking about with the what if you don't take the action steps. What if you don't implement the why? And kind of future paint that dark version of if they don't take your advice and then also use the what ifs to brightly paint the future if they do implement the advice that you're talking about. And this actually, this comparison between the dark future and the bright future can actually be that moment of inspiration for someone realizing why and how they want to change. And then the final thing, which becomes really important for those of us who are running podcasts for inspiration, motivation and for business. This is when you deliver the whens. This is when it goes from a format system to a Pentagon system. So in the when, it is very often, well, when should they take that action? Well, now, because there's a consequence to them not implementing this particular piece of advice in their life or in their business. So when you're delivering that when, you're all going to want to think about the fact that not only are you motivating them to take a particular action, but this is an ideal opportunity to then layer on your call to action. Now, the call to action you want to make as clear as possible and as aligned as possible with what you've been talking about in your show. So, yes, you might have a generic call to action that you use over and over again, particularly in your outro. But you do want to think about this call to action that you're mentioning in your podcast episode as something intrinsic to the topic you've been talking about. Now, at this point, after you've done that call to action, we are not finished. We're not finished with the takeaways. We're not finished with the wrapping up with a call to action. What you then want to do is to recap what you've been through. Recap what you talked about, bullet point, what you talked about, why it was important, how they can take action and when they should do it. So it gives you another chance to recap as a business owner that call to action. And in doing this, you have then really beautifully framed your whole episode by starting with the old adage that goes, I can't remember the exact phrasing, but along the lines of you tell people what you're going to tell them, you tell them what you're going to tell them, and then you tell them what you told them. Now, in doing this, you are repeating your messages, demonstrating your expertise, and you have not only warmed people up with that introduction element, but you've taken them and deepened them, and then you've consolidated at the end. Now, if you follow this format for pretty much any podcast interview or episode that you do, particularly if you're a guest on someone else's show, it's worth running through. Have you got a model? Have you got a shape for this episode that you want to run through? If you're a host, running through this general shape, it's a very loose shape with your guest before you go live, it's going to give you both much more of an understanding about what those takeaways are going to be. Now having this structure still allows you to have a really great, real, authentic conversation, but it gives you a structure that actually allows freedom within it. And one of the things that I've found that through using this is that because if I'm interviewing someone, both myself and my guest, we know, we understand this is the shape, this is what we're driving towards. When those moments happen where we do go off on a tangent, it's very easy for both of us to know that we're coming back to what really matters, to what the content is about, because we started with a very firm structure. So the reason I've been talking about this is that I've come across quite a few podcasts lately where they're lovely conversations to listen to, but where are they going? And I felt very strongly that the people involved on both sides of the table have no idea where this conversation is going to go. And yes, I am a big believer that we want to have real, authentic, natural conversations, but there has to be a point to it. There has to be a takeaway or a learning for your listeners. And I think using the idea of the format or the Pentagon system can really help you with that. So I'm going to just recap for you that we're talking about how to get maximum listener engagement and maximum takeaways for your listeners so that your each episode is useful and valuable and giving value to your listeners. The way that I recommend you do that is you start your show with the what. There is nothing worse than listening to a podcast episode where it takes them a good five minutes to even let you know what you're going to be talking about today, what they're going to be talking about. The sooner you can tell people this is the topic up for discussion today, this is what you're going to get from today. People are bought in when they are time poor to giving you their valuable eyes, ears and attention. So tell them the what, then tell them the why, why this makes a difference, why they should listen, why it matters to them. And then you're going to go into the how, the practical steps, the takeaways, the walk through, the maybe one to five things you should do, the actual implementable stuff. Then you're going into the what ifs, the painting the future, what happens if you didn't do this or you don't do this and what happens if you do. And then finally, you have the when, which is about taking action, and then you have the recap. So I hope that that's been really interesting. And if you're watching or listening today, I would like to tell you about the Podcast Mastermind, where we will be sharing with you not only how to grow your visibility, how to become an authority figure online and in person, but also how to make sure that the back end of your podcast, the back end of your business is really effective for warming up, nurturing and selling to people. We cover how to launch, we cover how to make sure that you do stand out as that expert in your field. And one of the amazing things that we're doing on this particular mastermind, which makes it unique to any other in the world, is that we will be sprinkling across over the top of all of that, how to make sure that your podcast, whether you're just getting started or you have one that's up and running, is increasing its downloads, increasing the community off the back end of it, and you are learning to monetize and grow your audience using this incredible platform. One of the most amazing bonuses that we are going to be offering is for you to become a co-author of a business book. We will be making sure that the message you share in your podcast is backed up by your chapter inside this book. It's going to be a great strategy book, a business book full of really great tips. This is not your standard collaboration book where it is a sob story and kind of mini memoirs. This is going to be actionable steps that you deliver in a high quality book that demonstrates exactly what it is you do on your podcast and what you do in your business. So I would love for you to come and find out about the Podcast Mastermind. It is unique. It is one of a kind. It is for people who really want to stand out from the crowd and be excellent at what they do, making the most of the fastest growing platform in the world. So if you would like to find out about that, then please head over to annaparkernaples.co.uk forward slash mastermind. And I will make sure wherever you're watching this video that you can find that link and come over and make an inquiry to book a call and apply to take part for 2021. That's it for me for today. I hope you found this useful all about how you can plan the episode structure of your podcast for maximum effect for your audience. Thank you for listening to Entrepreneurs Get Visible. To get your free checklist on how to raise your profile and to find out about our community, go to annaparkernaples.co.uk forward slash Get Visible.