How to Edit a Podcast Like a Pro

Written By Brandyn mitchell

Even the best speakers make mistakes, pause awkwardly, or have background noise creep into their recordings.

Editing helps:

  • Remove distractions

  • Tighten up conversations

  • Improve sound quality

  • Create a better listener experience

  • Build a professional brand image

Whether you’re just starting out or looking to refine your skills, these podcast editing techniques will elevate your episodes.

1. Choose the Right Editing Software

Your editing software (also called a Digital Audio Workstation or DAW) is your toolbox. Popular options include:

  • Audacity (Free)

  • GarageBand (Free, Included with Apple Macs)

  • Adobe Premier Pro (Paid, professional)

  • Descript (Easy editing through text)

    My Personal Favorite:

  • RØDECaster Duo (Most Expensive, but it’s an all in one Solution)

    • For the past six years, I’ve been podcasting using the RØDECaster Duo. It’s incredibly simple — I just plug in my microphones, press record, and I’m ready to go. Once I’m done, I remove the SD card, connect it to my computer, and import the recordings directly into Premiere Pro for editing.

2. Always Start with a Good Recording

Editing can only do so much. Start with a high-quality recording by:

  • Using a good microphone and use a Pop Filter

    • There are plenty of mics that will work for podcasting, my favorite are the Shure SM7B and the Rode PodMic

    • Pop Filters are needed on most microphones (except the SM7B which has one built in), essentially it reduces the harshness of P’s and B’s and takes out those harsh pops.

  • Recording in a quiet space

    • An echo or a reverby room is hard to fix

  • Monitoring your levels (avoid peaking)

    • Peaking will sound like distortion, almost like you’re going through a megaphone. If you are peaking you can’t fix it, so turn down you audio a bit. It’s easier to fix a quiet recording than to fix an overly loud one.

  • If All Else Fails… AI

    • Adobe created this amazing AI software that cleans up your audio. You can literally record on a cell phone and have usable audio by running it through this website. This has saved me countless times!

3. Cut Out Filler Words and Awkward Pauses

  • Common fillers like "um," "uh," and "you know" can distract listeners. Don’t feel pressured to remove every single one, but cutting the excess will tighten your pacing.

  • Tip: Add audio fades on awkward edits

    • sometimes it’s difficult to make a seamless cut, one way to make the edit sound less pronounce is to add a quick fade to the cut.

4. Balance the Audio Levels

Consistency is key. Make sure:

  • Voices are at similar volumes

  • Music and effects aren’t overpowering the dialogue

    • For most podcast, I would say not to use music at all.

  • Loud peaks are reduced, and quiet sections are boosted

    • Sometime we whisper or say things too quietly. What I do is I make a cut of the part I want louder and just boost that specific sentence or phrase. But make sure to watch your audio meter to make sure you’re not getting too loud. Usually only 3+ to 6+ dB is all you need to make a large difference.

  • Using a compressor plugin can automate some of this process.

    • Compressors are probably the scariest part of audio, here’s my settings:

      • Threshold -18dB (Change this to take only 3-12 dB max from loud parts of your audio, the compressor shouldn’t always be going.)

      • Ratio 3

      • Attack 3

      • Release 150

      • Makeup 9dB (This can change too depending on how loud you recording already is. For my, I take all my audio an normalize it to -1 dB.)

5. Eliminate Annoying Noise

Hums, Loud Low end, or loud “s” sounds will annoy everyone. Try this:

  • EQ adjustments

    • I personally take -6dB from 31Hz and -3 from 63Hz, there’s nothing more annoying than a low end that is too loud.

  • NoiseGate

    • All DAWs come standard with this, I have my settings set to -

      • Threshold -38dB (adjust this and make sure you’re not cutting out your “s” sounds or that it’s not cutting out the first part of your audio.)

      • Attack 3ms

      • Release 150ms

      • Hold 5ms

    • NoiseGates have been a game changer. I set mine just to enough to catch most of the quiet breaths and to eliminate room noise when the speaker is quiet.

  • Noise reduction plugins (available in Audacity, Adobe Audition, etc.)

    • Premier Pro has a good Noise Reduction plugin. I personally would only use this feature if the audio is really bad. This is a last ditch effort.

6. If You’re Going to Add Music… Do It Right

  • Keep intro and outro music short and punchy

    • I don’t like wasting my listeners time, I keep it right at the intro, right when my guest start talking and then I add outro music as my guest are closing out the episode.

  • Lower background music ("bed music") so it doesn’t overpower talking

    • If you use bed music, Keep it quiet. I usually have my bedmusic at around -36dB average on the meter.

  • Use sound effects sparingly to enhance storytelling, not distract

    • SFX can obviously get annoying if overused.

    • If your podcast shoots video has well, create an edit for the SFX that have a visual element and created an audio only version for your audio only listeners.

  • Always make sure you have the rights to any music or effects you use.

    • I always have to read to the fine print, some music has more rights than others.

    • Storyblocks has the widest range of music rights and that have a great catalogue.

    • Epidemic Sound has a better collection of music BUT the rights aren’t as good. For example you can’t use it in ads.

7. Conversational Edits Are the Best

Think of your edit like telling a story:

  • Cut Pauses but don’t cut too much

    • Sometimes it’s okay to have a pause or silence. It’s okay to be quiet.

    • Some podcasts get overwhelming by never having a pause for the listener to actually think about what they just heard.

  • Your Audio edits should sound natural.

    • Don’t race into the next paragraph and cut immediately to the next audio clip. A little pause can go a long way.

8. Export Correctly

When you’re happy with the edit:

  • Add a limiter

    • On the master track, ad a limiter set to -1dB. This will prevent/reduce clipping if there is any.

  • Export in .mp3 format for easy distribution

  • Set the bitrate to 256kbps or higher for clear sound without huge file sizes

Final Thoughts: Podcast Editing Is a Skill That Grows Over Time

The more you edit, the faster and better you'll become. Start simple — focus on clarity, pacing, and sound quality. As you gain confidence, you can experiment with creative techniques like dynamic storytelling, immersive sound design, and advanced effects.

If you ever feel overwhelmed or want to level up your podcast’s sound, 24Collective is here to help — Start Creating Viral Content Today!

Brandyn mitchell
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