There are a lot of different styles of podcasters but the most successful ones are just conversational and unscripted. You can also see other podcasts that have scripted out every single word and it sounds like something out of a drama serial.
There is no perfect way to do a podcast but I do believe that for most people most of the time it is going to be easier to talk in an unscripted way. That is why my podcasts are not scripted either. However, I would not just say things off the top of my head or make up stuff on the spot. I talk about stuff that I have deep rooted knowledge about. I talk about a field in which I have worked for more than 3 decades. But it is not structured in the sense that I have written out every word and memorized it or that I am reading a script. I am just thinking and talking in real time.
That prospect can be nerve wracking for many people who have never done that but that is the beauty of broadcasting. If you do not like something that you have created, you can simply hit delete and start over.
Another reason why I favour unscripted podcasts or just using a few notes is because I find that for most people in most organisations, if you tell yourself that you are not going to start recording until you have a finished script, you will never end up finishing the script in the first place. You will spend so much time writing, rewriting, editing, and reviewing it that you will run out of all your time. That’s why I am a big fan of simple talking points in a very conversational manner as if you are talking to one person across the room.