Normalize and Compress?

I have been reading a lot about normalizing and compressing.

Is there any benefit of normalizing audio and then compressing it? Or is it almost pointless to do so or can it help my audio to do both?

Thanks in advance!

Normalizing and amplifying are the same thing. Normalize got the better name. Turn the volume up or down once per show.

can it help my audio to do both

What’s your audio and what are you helping it to do?

Koz

It’s for a podcast. Recording my voice directly into audacity. First I’m setting the gain, then doing noise reduction, then normalize and then compression.

After I normalize, which is the same as amplify as you say, would it then be a good idea to compress the audio?

Using a blue yeti.

Thanks!

LevelSpeech2.NY is an Audacity-plugin which is a compressor (& limiter) designed for speech.

Would I just install this plug in and it will automatically do the work for me? No need to apply it in any way?

Audacity plugins (& other effects) are not automatic: not applied in real-time.
Once the plugin is installed it appears on the Audacity effects menu. You then have to apply it like any other effect …
LevelSpeech2 demo (default settings).gif