How A 98-Year-Old LDS Church Leader Helped Me Understand What’s Wrong With Podcasting (By Some Podcasters)

Last updated on October 9, 2022

Why I’m pulling back from a couple of podcasters

Listen to this article:

Intro

I’m not a religious man. I believe in a higher power but reject the idea that ANY man, book, or church of man can even comprehend what we refer to as God, much less teach his word. 

With that said, I do think there’s a lot of truth in man’s religion of God but that’s belief – the primary bases of religion. Hopefully, you can understand how my belief doesn’t exactly conflict with any religion, it just doesn’t support it. 

This short article is my take on what’s wrong with podcasting and how many podcasters get a little whacked out with huge egos and out of proportion self-importance. It’s like a celebrity giving their political opinion – just because they reach more ears doesn’t give it value in any real sense of the word.

Enough about me and my belief

I’m a prepper. I know, I’m having a hard time getting away from the “me” topic but stay with me a second. I’m a member of a few prepper communities (NOT Facebook groups or anything like that) and this morning one of my prepper buddy’s shared a video with the following text:

​Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints consider the president of the Church (who currently is Russell M. Nelson) to be a living prophet. if you are curious to know what he has recently said about the current events we are facing you can read his talk at the following link.

This piece isn’t about the religious video – It’s about the speaker

I watched the video. I found value in it – in a couple of ways. Like I said, I might not attend Church and I have no idea if there’s a prophet alive today or ever was one, other than maybe Jesus but we’re getting back into the realm of belief.

The sermon was great, in my opinion. There’s me and my opinion again but check the name of this blog. 😉

The man was fantastic as a speaker. I doubt many would argue that point, regardless of what they feel about the message.

Russell M. Nelson is 98 years old and seems to have the cognitive ability of a forty-year-old. He’s a Korea-era Army veteran and a retired surgeon.

Dr. ​Nelson is the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and has been since 1998.

What makes Russell M. Nelson a great speaker?

I’m really not qualified to define what makes a ‘great speaker’ but I can tell you what makes someone easy to listen to for me, personally. Sure, he’s well-spoken, speaks clearly, and knows his topic. He clearly has a sense of humor and knows how to tell a story.

Most public speakers will tell you that the last trait I included is key to great speaking, as well as branding, marketing, etc. Telling your story is the key to success when it comes to things like this.

What hit home with me, as far as that single video, what helped me understand why I’m pulling back from a couple of podcasters that I never missed a single episode for years was the tone.

Why I’m pulling back from a couple of podcasters

​​It’s All About Tone!

Dr. Russell M. Nelson Sr. may be giving a public sermon but he’s being listened to by millions of people. Can you imagine the influence this man is burdened with? How did he gain the trust of so many that even consider him a modern-day prophet?

Sure, you can’t go around telling lies and expect people to continue believing you, that’s something our government needs to learn. Negative press notwithstanding.

What makes this man so impressive to me, again, as a one-time listener, is I 100% felt he was talking to me. I don’t mean me personally, I mean as opposed to talking AT me.

Podcasters – Stop talking AT your listeners

I’m not willing to call anyone out personally. I’ll just say, with success in any field comes the natural tendency to feel superior to those that haven’t achieved that level of success. 

One podcaster, in particular, has even gone out of his way to say he’s not like that. And action-wise, as far as what he shares about his life on the podcast, he is correct.

But when listening, I find myself turning down the volume until I end up just deleting the episode. Now I start listening with an ear on his tone rather than the message to see if I’m going to even bother listening. Eventually, I will end up unsubscribing. 

Finishing Up What’s Wrong With Podcasting

Maybe I’m just getting old. I recognize that might come into play, changes in attitude and all. “Those youngsters and their loud music.” LOL

I find it funny and a little ironic that it took a sermon I enjoyed from a religious leader to help me understand that I don’t like being preached at. No matter the podcaster’s expertise, no matter their reputation, and no matter if they’re right as gold, no one wants to be preached at.

If you’re a podcaster, please talk to us. Tell us a story. Teach us your wisdom. But for God’s sake, let the experts do the sermons because you suck at it. 

To be clear, I’m not referring to a religious sermon, it’s topics like politics, personal responsibility, growth, finance, you name it, they have a loud and arrogant lecture for you.

Here are the famous last words of every podcaster that fades into irrelevance,

If they don’t like what I have to say, they can find another podcast.

Again, it’s not about the message sir, it’s about that massive head you’ve allowed to control your mouth.

I’m done, Brian

PS: (Yes, blog posts can have postscripts, there are no rules) If you’re looking for a great example of a religious man that is also a popular podcaster and has managed to stay humble and true, look no further than Todd Sepulveda of the Ready Your Future podcast.