Fireman Rob is an inspiring storyteller and impact leader. He is a speaker, trainer, competes in Ironman races in 50 lbs. of firefighter gear, breaks World Records, and delivers bears to children in hospitals. He has worked with Fortune companies, community groups, and colleges, including 3M, US Bank, Southwest Airlines, ATF, Timex, USA Triathlon, and Kraft. His presentations focus on overcoming adversity and discovering purpose. He encourages people to build mental strength and become better leaders.

How can building your voice and creating a successful podcast lead to personal and professional growth?

You know, I think it's so important if you're looking to create a successful podcast, it's so important that it's going to help you to create that voice or that understanding of who you are as a professional, who you want to be. Because when you ask those questions of the individuals that you have come on, or you have a set idea of who you want to come on, it's so valuable to make sure that it aligns with who you are. That's how you're going to get that personal and professional growth is your podcast is a microcosm of who you are as that professional and who you're going to be as that professional. Because your voice is so valuable, if you can use others to be able to not emulate, but actually accentuate that message or your voice, that's what it's all about. It's about creating that successful message that is unique to you.

Creating a successful podcast requires finding your voice, understanding who you are as a professional, and using guests to help you accentuate that message.

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Can you talk about the role that consistency and commitment play in creating a successful podcast?

This is such a critical aspect and when I started out I was here and there with my podcast episodes and really creating what I needed to create. The more that I've gotten into my fourth season, it's so important to have that consistency because it's no different than when you wake up and you want to have cereal every morning. The day that you don't have cereal in the morning kind of frustrates you and maybe you start to now have toast. Same thing applies with your podcast. If you have people that are watching your podcast that are dedicated and each week they know that they're going to get that information or hear that amazing guest, it's so critical for you to stay consistent on that. That consistency and that commitment by you will only help to have your audience or your listeners commit back to what you're doing. That is like that symbiotic relationship when you have a podcast is making sure that you're not just doing it at your convenience, you're doing it to make sure that those listeners get that material that you have on a consistent and committed basis.

It's important for podcasters to stay consistent with their content in order to build a dedicated listener base.

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How can someone balance their vision and goals for their podcast with the feedback and expectations of their audience?

Yeah, this is always a tough one, balancing your vision and goals. I think early on in your podcast, you have to have a real understanding of what your vision and goals are because it's not going to come overnight that you're going to get a few thousand different people coming to your podcast and listening to your podcast. It's going to be something that happens over time. There's so many podcasts out there and really you're trying to get a new message out there or your message that maybe nobody has ever heard before. And so your expectation for the audience is trying to feed and understand which episodes they like the most, trying to feed and understand how they consume it, how many minutes, how long do they listen to your podcast. And so your vision and goals actually have to be put into perspective. I think that's the biggest thing that I can say. You have to be in for the long game or else you're not going to succeed in podcasting. If you're just trying to get numbers right away and by doing the least amount of work, that is not going to work. So make sure that you talk to your audience, make sure you ask for their feedback, but then at the same point, always have your visions and goals aligned with what you are doing.

It's important to have a clear vision and goals when starting a podcast, as it will take time to build an audience. Make sure to ask for feedback from your audience, but always stay true to your vision and goals.

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How can someone go about finding and booking interesting guests for their podcast?

So how can someone go about finding and booking interested guests for their podcasts? You know, I did a lot of my research on LinkedIn as well as just Google searching. Individuals, figure out what your topic, what your framework is going to be, and then research it online. Find people, look up their backstories, look up how they got to where they are. Have they been on other podcasts? Do they have their own podcasts? Those are all great things to find the guests that you want to have. The other thing is when you're starting out, finding the guests that you are comfortable with, that you know really well, and that you can have that conversation with. Because that's what makes podcasts really great. It's like you're stepping into somebody else's conversation, and you're being able to listen to the little tips and tricks and the golden nuggets that they have. So when you're starting out, find those people that you know really well. Find the ones that you know their stories so you can have that great conversation. And as you get to be more comfortable, it's branching out, finding, going on LinkedIn, going on Google and finding the people that really identify with what you want to talk about, with what your podcast, the topic, the mission is all about.

When looking for guests for a podcast, it's best to start with people that you know well and are comfortable talking to. Research their backgrounds on LinkedIn and Google to learn more about them. As your podcast becomes more established you can branch out further by using LinkedIn and Google to look for those who identify with the topic and mission of your podcast.

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Can you talk about the importance of storytelling and engaging your audience in a podcast?

I think as with anything that you do when you're trying to convey a message or convey impact, storytelling is huge because that means that you were actually there or that person was there and that's how they have that mission or that message and why that's important. Engaging the audience in a podcast, you want to have them feel like they're in a private conversation between you and the guest. That is such a huge aspect that I've heard from so many of my audience members is that it's so fun to be able to listen when it's not just a question answer kind of thing. It's playing off of what they're talking about. Think about when you talk to your friends, when you talk to your family, when you talk to somebody you've never talked to before. How does that conversation go? You're not researching every little thing that they have. You want to research enough to be able to start that conversation and then from that, draw what you need to have to continue that conversation, really dive deeper into who they are. That's going to make your guests feel better and that at the same point is going to have your audience really draw into what that podcast is all about.

When engaging an audience in a podcast, it is important to have conversations that feel like they are between two people, rather than a question and answer format. You should research enough to start the conversation but be able to draw out more information to keep the conversation going. This will make both the guest and the audience feel more connected to the podcast.

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How can someone find their unique voice and perspective as a podcaster?

You know, when I started my podcast, it was one of those things I wanted to hear other people's voices and perspectives on mindset. I wanted to see how these high achievers, how they got to where they are because a lot of times we just look at them and say, oh my gosh, they got to this point because they were already going to get there or they had all the materials set out for them. And a lot of times that's not the case. And hearing the backstories, hearing the challenges, hearing the failures that they had, but at the same point, how they built themselves to be what they are. That's what I wanted to have my unique voice and perspective be on podcasts. And to find yours, it's really going after what I always talk about your passion. It's always going after what you're going to be passionate about because when you're talking to somebody, when you're asking them questions, people can really hear through your voice, what you're excited about and what you're just going through the motions in. And I think that is the key when you're doing a podcast is that if you're doing the audio part, you have to have something that you enjoy that somebody that you're intrigued about to be able to make it something that is long lasting. I'm on my fourth year and I'm not going to stop it. I love what I'm doing and I love being able to have my unique voice, but also others' unique voices and perspectives beyond the podcast.

When I started my podcast, I was looking to hear the stories of high achievers and how they got to where they are. To find your own podcast voice, you need to be passionate about your topic and be able to make it something that is long lasting.

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What advice do you have for someone who wants to start their own podcast but doesn't know where to begin?

I think if you're going to start your own podcast, but you don't know where to begin, I think the first place that you need to begin is why. Why do you want to start the podcast? Not because it's catchy or it's trending. You have to have a passion behind what you're doing in the podcast world of who you're going to interview, why you're interviewing them, and what is it about those people that you're going to interview that align with what you believe? What is your message? So really, I think the first step in creating a podcast is who are you and what is the message that you want to deliver to people? Because that is going to be a great basis, a great jumping off point to begin that podcast and look for guests that are going to align exactly with the messaging that you want to deliver to that audience.

The first step in creating a podcast is to determine who you are and what message you want to deliver. Find guests that align with that message to create the perfect podcast.

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Can you share a bit about your own experience creating and producing podcasts?

So sharing a little bit about creating the Forged in the Fires podcast with Fireman Rob, it was really a passion play that I wanted to be able to bring in other people and bring in their impact and their stories that really helped correlate to what I was talking about those seven catalysts and how that is actually true to most lives and the experience of creating it was really it was a trial and error there's a lot of different platforms out there for me for my audio I use Audacity that is one of the things I use for my audio platform and then now they have Spotify for podcasters which used to be Anchor that's what I use to be able to produce it and then you also have your images that you have to produce so it's it's really a trial and error it's what you want to look like it's what you want to sound like there's also a great thing called Fiverr that you can have somebody do your intro and outro for you so there's a lot of great aspects in which you can utilize to be able to start it and then from there you have to craft it into who you are and what you want your message and mission to be for your podcast

Creating the Forged in the Fires podcast with Fireman Rob was a passion project that I wanted to do to bring in other people's stories and experiences. The process involved trial-and-error of different platforms like Audacity and Spotify for Podcasters, as well as creating images for the podcast. Additionally, services like Fiverr can be used to create intros and outros. Ultimately, you have to craft it into your own message and mission for your podcast.

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Building your voice to make a podcast

Robert Verhelst