MARGARET AND THE MECHANICAL VOICE

Margaret Sullivan pulled her coat tighter around her as she walked toward Symphony Hall.
The air was crisp, and soft flakes of snow drifted down, melting the moment they touched the pavement.

She paused outside the grand building, reading the invitation in her hand.

"You are cordially invited to witness a remarkable experiment in sound.
An evening with the distinguished contralto Christine Miller."

She wasn’t sure why she had come.
It wasn’t as if she were a devoted concertgoer, and the night was cold.
But the ticket had been free, handed to her by a gentleman outside a music shop.
He had spoken in hushed, excited tones, saying that this would be an event to remember.

Now, brushing the snow from her coat, she stepped inside.

She found a seat near the middle of the auditorium.
The hall was filled with music lovers, elegantly dressed men and women murmuring in anticipation.
Then, the lights dimmed, and Christine Miller stepped onto the stage.
Margaret let herself be carried by the sound.

And then, without warning, Miller stopped singing.

But the music continued.

Margaret sat forward, confused. Was this still Christine Miller’s voice, or had something else taken over?

The audience was silent now, straining to hear the difference.

EXPANDING YOUR STORYTELLING PALLETTE

Margaret’s reaction wasn’t unique.
The audience at the Tone Test wasn’t incapable of hearing differences between live and recorded sound.
They simply hadn’t been trained to listen for them.

And that’s the key takeaway: we only recognize what we’ve trained ourselves to notice.

Think of it like food.
If the only place you ever eat is McDonald’s, then your definition of a great meal is a Big Mac.
But the moment you try home-cooked Mexican food, an aromatic Indian curry, or an elegant French dish, your sense of taste expands.
You start to notice the richness of different spices, the balance of flavors, the depth of textures.

The same goes for audio storytelling.

If you only ever listen to one kind of show - whether it’s interview-based podcasts, long-form narrative radio, or tightly edited news pieces - you limit your ability to recognize new creative possibilities.
But the moment you branch out, your instincts sharpen.
You start to notice pacing, use of silence, music placement, narrative structure.

And once something inspires you, the next step is to ask: “How did they do that?”

STEAL FROM THE BEST

Every great artist steals.
Not in a lazy, copy-paste way, but by understanding what makes great storytelling work and weaving those lessons into their own style.

This isn’t just true in audio storytelling.
it’s how creativity works in every field.

• Musicians constantly build on each other’s work.
  The Rolling Stones were heavily inspired by blues legends like Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf.
  The Beatles borrowed ideas from Chuck Berry. Hip-hop was built on sampling;
  the art of taking existing sounds and flipping them into something new.

• Artists do it too. Picasso famously said, “Good artists copy; great artists steal.”
  Renaissance painters studied and imitated each other’s techniques.

• Architects borrow elements from historical styles and reinterpret them for modern use.
  The Eiffel Tower was inspired by ironwork techniques that had been evolving for decades before Gustave Eiffel pushed them to new heights.

Stealing ideas and making them your own isn’t just accepted; it’s encouraged.
So why should it be any different for audio storytelling?

Here’s how to start:

• Listen outside your comfort zone.
  
  If you mostly do interviews, try long-form radio.
  If you specialize in long-form radio, explore radio drama.
  Find something wildly different from your own work.

• Analyze the work of great producers.
  
  Why does This American Life feel so intimate?
  What makes Radiolab so immersive?
  How does Planet Money keep their stories moving so effortlessly?
  Listen not just for content, but for craft.
  How does Twenty Thousand Hertz create such rich, immersive soundscapes?
  
  Listen not just for content, but for craft.

• Steal like an artist.
  
  Notice techniques that make an impact;
  how a show transitions between segments;
  how they use silence, how they weave in music.
  
  Try those techniques in your own work.
  Over time, your style will emerge.

• Listen critically to your own work.
  
  Step away from a project and return to it later.
  Once you have other great pieces in your head, does your work still hold up?
  Is the story engaging?
  Does it sound interesting?
  What would your listeners think?

• Be curious about how others do it.
  
  Find behind-the-scenes insights.
  Listen to Sound School Podcast by Rob Rosenthal.
  Talk to other producers.
  
  Audio people are some of the nicest people in the world.
  They’re often happy to share.
  
  

The more you listen - intentionally, critically - the more you’ll grow.

Hear the difference?

As Margaret stepped back outside Symphony Hall, the snow was still falling.

She watched the way it moved. Sometimes drifting, sometimes swirling in the wind, sometimes heavy and wet, clinging to her coat.

It was all just snow, wasn’t it? Or was it?

In Greenland, the Inuit languages have many different words for snow.
What we simply call snow, they recognize as soft snow, crusted snow, drifting snow, powdery snow, melting snow; each with a distinct name, each carrying a different meaning.

Why?
Because they’ve trained themselves to see the nuances.

It’s the same with audio.
At first, a well-mixed story, a beautifully layered soundscape, or a subtle use of silence might not stand out to you.
But once you train your ear, you start noticing the fine details that make great audio truly great.

And once you start hearing those nuances, you’ll never listen the same way again.

It is intuitive, easy to use, and FAST when it comes to editing, and at the end of the day, I am able to produce 23 hours of quality radio content every week. Don’t let the simple controls fool you.

Hindenburg PRO for storytellers

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