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There is an art to conducting a great podcast interview and when I started podcasting late in 2018, I definitely was not an artist. But the more interviews I conducted, the more I mastered the technique. So in an effort to help you avoid the mistakes I made, here are 5 tips to conducting a great podcast interview.
1. Get to the content quickly.
Sure, introducing your guest is a necessity, but don't spend too much time on a lengthy introduction. Ultimately your audience is there because of you and the great content you consistently provide. If you trust this guest enough to have on your podcast, your audience with trust them as well. Establish their authority and then get to the reason they are there. Your audience will appreciate getting acquainted with them as their story plays out through the interview.2. Ask good questions.
What do I consider a good question? Well, that's a good question and I'm glad you asked! A good question elicits a response requiring more than a one-word answer. It demonstrates you have done your research to learn more about your guest and shows genuine interest in their story. And a good question gets beyond the facts to the passion inside the person. (Pro tip: Some of the best questions end with periods rather than question marks.)3. Be a good listener.
Good questions come from being a good listener. And being a good listener is not just about hearing the words that your guest is saying, but taking them in, processing them and, if necessary, being ready to ask follow up questions. To be honest, this could be one of the most difficult skills to master as a podcaster and quite possibly one of the reasons many podcasts don't make it past their 7th episode. But the good news is you can practice this skill almost anywhere -- in school, at home, in the board room and around the dinner table. Lean in, listen to what people are saying and ask them about it later. You will be amazed at how much more they are willing to share.
4. Guide the conversation.
As the host and interviewer it is your responsibility to your guest and your audience to drive the conversation. But no matter how carefully you plan the route during pre-production, you know that any story, any follow up question and especially any conflicting agenda can take it right off the rails. When that happens it's hard to get back on track but there's no one better suited to do so than you. Sometimes it takes a subtle nudge in the right direction and other times it requires an abrupt stop and a new question to refocus, but don't be afraid to guide the conversation to deliver the content your audience expects.5. Have a clear destination.
The best way to guide the interview is to know your destination. When you know where you're headed you will be more equipped to reroute when the detours occur. Your clarity of direction also communicates a level of professionalism that gives your guest and your audience confidence that where you are taking them is worth the investment of their time.Truth be told, even after four years of podcasting, I still remind myself of these five tips each and every time I prepare for another interview. Fortunately I also have the privilege of learning from other veteran podcasters I interview for my latest project, Good Podcasting. So, as a bonus tip, let me offer one of the best things I've heard from a guest so far as it relates to being a good interviewer. It came from my very first guest on the show, Harry Cunningham, host of the goodMRKT Live! podcast. In that interview he shared that as a podcast host he's learned it's "better to be interested than interesting." In other words, it's better to be genuinely interested in what your guest has to share than to use their stories as a springboard to highlight your own.
What are your best tips for conducting great interviews? Share them in the comments below and let's help each each other grow as podcasters.
