THE IMPORTANCE OF PODCASTS: LEARNING THAT FITS AROUND WORK

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to listen to a 30-minute podcast, but how difficult it can feel to find 30 minutes for learning?

That presents an interesting opportunity for L&D. Most employees aren't short of things they could learn. They're short of uninterrupted time in which to learn them.

Podcasts can help. They give organisations another way to bring learning into the working day, without asking people to sit in front of another screen.

The importance of podcasts in learning

There is something wonderfully simple about audio. Put on your headphones, press play and listen. You can do it while travelling, walking or making a cup of tea.

But convenience alone doesn't make something good learning. A podcast needs to have a purpose. It needs to be designed around what the learner should think, understand or do differently afterwards.

There is some interesting evidence here. A 2024 study from the Hasso Plattner Institute at the University of Potsdam looked at podcasts within online courses. It found that podcasts could provide additional learning as effectively as videos and, in one six-week cybersecurity course involving more than 1,500 learners, an additional podcast increased learning outcomes by up to 7.9%.

That doesn't mean we should replace every course with a podcast. It means audio deserves a place in the learning solutions toolkit.

Podcasts bring people into the learning

Imagine you're developing leadership training. You could explain what good leadership looks like. Or you could let learners hear two experienced managers discussing the mistakes they made when they first became leaders.

The second approach gives you something different. Tone of voice matters. Pauses matter. Hearing somebody say, "I got this completely wrong" can make an idea feel more real than reading the same point on a screen.

This is where podcasts can complement face-to-face and digital learning particularly well. Before a workshop, learners might hear someone tell a story that introduces the subject. Afterwards, a short episode could revisit the key ideas and explore how somebody has applied them at work.

Research from UCL offers an interesting example. A study involving medical students found that podcasts used alongside quiz questions before lectures were associated with better short and medium-term knowledge retention. Importantly, simply listening wasn't enough to produce the same result. The combination of content and active questions appeared to matter.

That's an important lesson for instructional designers. The podcast shouldn't have to do all the work.

Don't turn a document into a podcast

We've probably all experienced digital learning that feels like a document placed on a screen. Podcasts can suffer from exactly the same problem.

Reading a 20-page policy into a microphone doesn't suddenly make it engaging.

Good learning podcasts are written for the ear. They use conversation, questions, examples and stories. They give the listener a reason to wonder what comes next. Storytelling is particularly useful because stories help us make sense of information through people, challenges and change, rather than presenting information as a collection of disconnected facts.

This might mean interviewing an expert rather than asking them to write an article. It could mean letting employees tell their own stories. Or it could involve creating a fictional situation that unfolds across several short episodes.

Podcasts can make learning easier to access

For organisations with large, busy or dispersed workforces, that flexibility matters. Not everybody works at a desk. Not everybody can attend the same workshop. And not every subject needs a full eLearning development project.

A podcast can form one part of a wider employee learning and development experience. It might introduce an idea before face-to-face learning, reinforce it afterwards or keep an important conversation going over several weeks.

At Popcorn, we believe the format should follow the learning need. Our approach combines learning needs analysis, instructional design, engaging content and evaluation, rather than choosing a format simply because it is fashionable.

The importance of podcasts: start with the learner

So, should you create a learning podcast?

Start with a different question: when and how would our people actually use it?

If your learners spend their days away from desks, travel regularly or need ideas they can revisit in their own time, audio could be a valuable part of your corporate training solutions.

Just don't make a podcast because everyone else has one.

Make one because, for your learners and the problem you're trying to solve, listening makes sense.

Frequently asked questions

Are podcasts effective for learning?

They can be. Research suggests podcasts can support learning, particularly when combined with activities such as questions and retrieval practice. Their effectiveness still depends on good instructional design and a clear learning purpose.

Should podcasts replace eLearning or face-to-face training?

Usually not. Podcasts can work particularly well alongside other learning formats, for example before a workshop, between learning activities or as reinforcement afterwards.

How long should a learning podcast be?

There is no perfect length. It should be long enough to achieve its purpose and no longer. A focused ten-minute conversation can be more useful than a 45-minute episode filled with information the learner doesn't need.