Podcasting connects people who have a message with people who want to hear it. Yet, how can coaches take advantage of creating and hosting a podcast for their own coaching businesses?

In Part 3, you'll discover how to incorporate elements of your coaching personality into a podcast so you connect with listeners.

Here are some tips on how to build rapport with your listeners so that your coaching style comes through:

1. If you're funny, be funny. Nothing can get listeners to tune in to your podcast week after week than to hear witty and humourous remarks. Even if you target executives, don't be afraid to let your fun side show through.

2. Include personal details. This doesn't mean that you reveal you darkest secret or a list of your cardinal sins. Instead, offer your listeners a taste of who you are by talking about the weather in your area, your thoughts on a major news story, a funny encounter you had with a business associate or the great time you had at a family dinner. Be careful what you reveal about yourself, but on the flipside, don't be afraid to let your human side show through.

3. Don't read from a script. It's okay to have bullet points written down, but don't read word for word from a document. Your listeners will be able to sense this and you'll end up sounding boring. Try your best to be conversational and you can really only do this without the presence of notes.

4. Be controversial, be witty, just don't be boring. Podcoaching is a form of entertainment and while you should be nice to your clients, that niceness will come across as boring while you're podcoaching. Don't be shy about taking an unpopular position on a topic in your podcast. Having an opinion will shake your listeners and get them to subscribe to your podcast.

5. Use music, but not copyrighted music. Jazz up your podcast with some music. Add it to your intro, your outro and everything in between. Just remember not to use copyrighted music. Even that tune you love from ABBA that you recently bought from iTunes is copyrighted music, so don't use it. Instead, type in royalty-free music in your favourite search engine and you'll be able to buy tunes that sound similar to the sound you're looking for at a low price.

No matter who your target audience is, when you podcoach, it's important to use a bit of personality to spice it up. In Part 4, we'll look the reasons why focusing on your target market's pain points in your podcast will make you more successful then just winging it.

2006 Leesa R. Barnes. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

Leesa Barnes

An Internet maverick with a solid technology background, Leesa Barnes helps businesses use podcasting to drive search engine traffic to their website and build profitable relationships with their customers.

She is co-author of Jump Start Your Podcast and she comments on podcast optimization techniques in her blog and podcast called Podonomics.

Leesa spent the last 12-years in the Information Technology field, most recently at Sun Microsystems. With tech-savvy and street smarts working in her favor, Leesa quickly mastered the secret to quick, effective marketing on the Web and used this information to launch Savia Lane, her most successful web venture to date.

Through Savia Lane, Leesa has afforded women entrepreneurs the resources, confidence and technological tools needed to take their expertise into the Web arena and start making money on their own terms.

Leesa is a podcaster, speaker and author and in her spare time, she officiates basketball games, watches Battlestar Galactica and plays with new technology gadgets. Her favourite season of the year is winter because of her 9-year obsession with skiing.