"Every morning I wake up and I think this might be a big day in my guest's life. 'Cause either they're not used to doing interviews or because they have a new book or a new movie. And it's important for them to present their best self — their best public self. And if I blow it, that means they've blown it. And also, I have listeners who are gonna be tuning in. And if they tune in and they're bored and disappointed, I'm letting them down and I'll have that many fewer listeners. So there's a lot at stake all the way around. So even if I'm not like in the mood to do an interview and host the show, it's like I'll get in the mood." - Terry Gross, from NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour
If you've read my previous two blog posts 6 Steps to Prepare for a Suburb Guest Interview Role on a Podcast and 5 Reasons To Skip Canned Podcast Interview Questions you know that I'm a little bit obsessed with Linda Holmes' interview with Terry Gross on Pop Culture Happy Hour. What's more meta than a podcast interview about conducting podcast interviews with one of the best podcast hosts around? Nothing! And the above quote really resonated with me.
As leaders and podcast hosts you need to show up as your best self in order for others to show up as theirs.
Pre-interview Your Guests
The first step to showcasing your guests' brilliance is to set the tone, energy, and environment of your podcast before you even get to the interview. One terrific way to get on the same page with your podcast guest, before the actual interview recording session, is to have a pre-interview phone call or email exchange with them. Make sure you tell them the premise of your show, and guide them towards past episodes that will get them familiarized with it. You can talk through themes, questions, and share how much of the interview will be edited down. Set up a Google Form for your guest that includes preliminary questions, space to write a host read bio and any specific events or items that should be mentioned. Make sure to ask for your guests' preferred pronouns and a phonetic pronunciation of their name. All of these details will set you on the right path, help you to build trust with your guest before they even come on the show, and make them feel more at ease in their own preparation process.
Build comfort and familiarity
Back to Pop Culture Happy Hour. Linda Holmes asked Terry this question:
How do you build comfort and familiarity when interviewing famous people?
Terry Gross: I think the best way of doing it is by showing that you know and care about the work through the questions that you ask, because if you start fawning all over them, it's not the best way of making them comfortable. And if you just start showing off, that's not going to make them comfortable either. But if you can honestly reflect in the conversation you have that you care about the work and you're trying to make it interesting and exciting for the listeners who might not know their work or for the listeners who already love their work, then I think that's what's going to win their confidence.
No matter your interview style, a genuine passion must shine through or your guest and your audience will catch on to you. You are the connector between your listeners and your guests, so make sure you are bringing them together through meaningful conversation.
Create a Story Snapshot
When conducting your interview, use open-ended questions and personal narrative prompts to elicit stories from your guest. And with all of your pre-interview work, research, and passion for what your guest has to offer, you can guide them in the direction of certain stories that will best highlight who they are. When your guest is in full story mode, give them chance to share their story without interruption. Once they’ve shared, follow-up with a Story Snapshot — one takeaway that you are left with once the story is over — that you can share with your guest during the interview.
Imagine that you are taking a photo of the story. That lasting image is your Story Snapshot. It can be an emotional takeaway, a descriptive takeaway, or a snapshot of how you connected to the story. By sharing the Story Snapshot with your guest you are giving them a sense of how you connect to them and their story. By sharing this experience in the final edit of your episode, you are helping each listener create their own Story Snapshots (and a deeper connection to your guest). The more connected your listeners feel, the more likely they will return for future episodes of your podcast. In the podcast, How to Own the Room, host Viv Groskop often shares these Story Snapshots with her listener in a post-interview host segment. This is another great way to ensure you are illuminating your guests' expertise and artistry.
For a wonderful example of conducting a podcast interview in a way that showcases all of the guest's superpowers, check out the Nora Tells All episode of By the Book. By the Book is a podcast hosted by Kristen Meinzer and Jolenta Greenberg. The premise: they choose one self-help book to live their life by for two weeks and then report back to each other and their audience on how things panned out. And in between seasons they feature bonus episodes with interviews relating to the show in some way.
For this episode, Jolenta and Kristen interview their show's producer Nora Ritchie. Full disclosure: Nora is a good friend of mine! But friendship aside, I feel like this episode showcases so much of who Nora is as a person beyond her job title. In addition to being a podcast producer, Nora is a musician and the hosts found a way to showcase this side of her in a super simple way. The hosts clearly know a lot about her, but manage to ask questions that lead to what feels like brand new information. And you are left with a beautiful Story Snapshot of who Nora is, a a deeper sense of connection to the podcast as a whole.
Are you a podcast host looking to improve the way you conduct interviews?
Level up your interview technique and your opening and closing monologues? TMAS offers three ways to work on your personal narrative.
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