Improving your interview skills as a podcast host is a necessary practice. Creating a successful podcast involves more than just producing great content. A great host is also essential for drawing listeners in, keeping them hooked, and encouraging them to tune in again. To do that, you need strong interviewing skills. If you are wanting to improve your podcast interview skills keep reading.
This article will give you the tips you need to develop your own interview style and produce high-quality interviews. It covers everything from finding guests to pre-interview preparation and follow-up after an interview. Read on to find out more…
What do people listen to podcasts for?
There are many reasons why people listen to podcasts. However, the most important one is that they are a great source of information. A 2022 study by Truelist reported that podcast listener statistics for the US indicate that 74% of all listeners tune in to learn new things. Interviewing experts, thought leaders, and other inspiring personalities offers listeners an insight into their lives, thoughts, and ideas. This can be anything from productivity tips to political discourse. People also listen to podcasts to be entertained. Whether you’re interviewing comedians, authors, or actors, there is fun and humor to be found in all forms of podcasting.
Finally, many people listen to podcasts for a sense of community. A good podcast will ask the listener to become a part of a community around a certain topic. These listeners often want to share their thoughts and experiences with others who are also following the show. Improving your podcast interviewing skills as a host can help you engage your guests and your listeners.
Improve your interviewing skills: Pre-interview prep
Before you start to interview anyone, you need to prepare as much as possible. The first step of this process is researching your guest. You should familiarize yourself with their work, past episodes, and any online presence they have. This will help you to understand their style and how they interact with others. Doing this will also help you to plan your own questions more effectively. You should also consider where the interview will be hosted. If you plan to use a service like Anchor, you can record the interview directly.
However, If you’re planning on renting a studio to record, you’ll want to contact them in advance to book a time slot. Plan for at least a few days of lead time to give yourself enough time to prepare. If you’re scheduling a phone interview, you may be able to get away with much less lead time.
Improve your interviewing skills: Learn to listen
As the interviewer, you’re the person in control of the conversation. However, being a good listener is one of the best ways to improve your interviewing skills. This means that you give your guest the attention they deserve. It also means that you don’t dominate the conversation or interrupt them. Instead, listen closely to what your guest has to say. This will help you to ask more relevant questions, gain a better understanding of their work, and build a stronger relationship with your guest. If you find that you have a hard time being a good listener, try to think back to a time when someone was really listening to you. What does that feel like? How can you create that experience for your guest? Try to tune out any distractions, stay focused on the conversation, and use your nonverbal communication to show your guest that you’re engaged with what they’re saying.
Improve your interviewing skills: Ask great questions
There’s an old saying that you can always tell how interested someone is in what you’re saying by how good their questions are. This is especially true when it comes to the art of interviewing. If you want to make your guests feel comfortable and keep your audience engaged, you need to ask excellent questions. When preparing for an interview, think of it like a game of chess. You want to win, but you also want to make it a fun experience for your guest and your audience. To do this, you need to ask questions that are relevant to your guest and their work. To get started with finding questions, you can use a few different methods. First, you can use your guest’s bio to generate questions. This will help you to gain a better understanding of your guest. Next, you can use Google to find common questions around your topic. This will help you to engage with your audience. Finally, you can use a tool like Trello to create a board where you can keep track of your research and questions.
Improve your interviewing skills: Know your subject matter
It’s important that you know your subject matter. This not only applies to your interview questions but also to your guests’ answers. This may seem obvious, but it happens a lot. While the interview is ongoing, you should always be taking notes. These notes should be detailed enough to jog your memory later and be used as a source for your post-interview editing. Your notes should include things like page numbers and quotes. This will help you to better understand your guest’s work and make connections between topics that you may not have seen before. It will also make it easier to edit your transcript and create a more cohesive show.
Improve your interview skills: Establish a rapport
A great way to establish a rapport and build trust with your guest is to build some humor into your interview. Break the ice with a joke or funny question. Interviewing is a very serious thing, but you can always add in a little bit of humor. This can help put your guest at ease. You can also help to build a rapport by asking your guest questions about their work, their life, and what they do when they aren’t working. This will help you to understand your guest’s work more deeply and also get them talking. The more your guests talk, the easier it will be to establish that rapport you’re looking for.
There’s a reason why podcasts are among the most popular forms of media: they’re an incredibly effective way to share information and entertain an audience. To create a successful podcast, though, you can’t just press “record” and hope for the best. By working on improving your interviewing skills you can increase the value of your show’s content.
