How To Be a Good Podcast Guest
How To Be a Good Podcast Guest
Having been a survivor of a few podcast interviews and now hosting my own show, I have a few ideas about how to be a good podcast guest. Perhaps rule one is to be noteworthy. That goes without saying. If you don’t have an interesting narrative or viewpoint, no one is going to want to listen to you wax poetic. Thankfully that is not an issue for any of the audience here, because of course, you all are notable. Above and beyond that, there are a few steps you can take to make any appearance sound and feel much better.
Here are some suggestions.
Come Prepared
Nothing is worse than a guest who has something great to say but because of technical issues, can’t be heard. Trust me. I have made this mistake before. I have grumbled under my breath when hosts have asked me to forego my Apple earbuds and use a more professional MIC.
And I was wrong. There are so many great cheap microphones out there that it is silly not to have one. Especially if you think you might be on more than one podcast. Spend the money.
Being a good podcast guest also means recording in a quiet location where there is a good internet/phone connection. Shitty audio definitely lessons the enjoyment of listening to an episode. Don’t foist this on your hosts. Granted, sometimes it is impossible. If you are recording live or at a meeting, there may be little control over extraneous noise.
Know Thyself
You are being featured for a reason. There is something captivating about your narrative. You must be able to speak eloquently about your own origin story. You should mentally prepare both a long form soliloquy as well as a short form elevator pitch.
Although you don’t want this to sound rehearsed, it is important that you can speak fluently about who you are and why you are being interviewed. This is not only about being a good podcast guest but also presenting yourself to others in a public forum.
Expect this to be one of the first questions you are asked.
Know The Podcast
Perform a little due diligence. Listen to a few podcast episodes and see if there are any opening or closing questions that the host always asks. Be prepared to answer these. Know the “hot Seat” questions and how you would answer them.
Learn why you are being asked on the show. If you are an expert in the van life but the hosts want the show to be about your side business, you have to adjust to their expectations. You have to imagine that they have an arc for the episode and must let them guide and direct you.
Being a good podcast guest also means listening carefully to each of the hosts questions. Don’t just answer with a simple yes or no. You will be expected to explain your positions and give detail when indicated.
However, don’t just talk to talk. When you are finished answering each question, don’t feel like you have to go off topic or add more words that are not necessary. if the hosts want to delve further, they will direct you.
Final Thoughts
Podcasts are fun and a great chance for people to hear about you and your opinions. The fact that you are being asked to participate means that the hosts think that you will be a good podcast guest.
You can live up to these expectations with a few simple steps. Come prepared. Know thyself. Know the podcast.
And a star will be born.
Great advice for podcast guests about coming prepared and not responding with monosyllables! I do a lot of telephone audio and video interviews for Medscape.com and ReachMD.com. Preparation, a quiet room, a prepared guest, and the proper equipment all add up to a high quality podcast. For those who don’t yet have a microphone, I would highly recommend the one I use, the Samson Meteor Mic, which plugs into the computer via USB and sits on the desk. It’s available on Amazon for about $50, so isn’t an investment requiring a meeting with your financial advisor! There are articles on the internet that discuss the “top ten mics” for podcasting for those who want to take a more comprehensive approach to purchasing a mic.
MICs are so cheap nowadays.
As now a veteran of 2 podcast episodes (one of them being on your great one) I can say that this is incredibly wise advice.
I do think that it is the host of the podcast that has the greatest burden of making things move smoothly. I think you did an excellent job of keeping my particular podcast with 3 other panelists on point and with good flow. If the host can make the environment more like a casual conversation, it really makes the guests relax and I feel elevates the level of the podcast.
I think a podcast is quite a challenge for the host as there is far more preparation to be done (research on each guest, questions in mind to ask, etc). The guest just has to speak on something that they are already familiar with and renowned for (the reason they got invited for that particular topic). So kudos on your What’s Up Next series of podcasts, I think you have done an excellent job.
There is definitely prep involved in being a host. You have to try to bring out the opinions of your guest and created an arc.
You can check your mic and location quality by making a youtube video beforehand. You can just keep it private and erase it when done. I use the OBS Studio free software to make screen capture video and publish in the .mp4 format. I use a Logitech headset since it keeps the mic correctly positioned and no feedback.
I found the podcast a format little daunting since I’m more comfortable with a keyboard and the leisure of collecting my thoughts before responding, but the experience was well done by Doc G and Paul. I came to realize though I’m proliferative in the FIRE community I don’t “talk” about fire to anyone, but only think about it and write about it, a little different expertise.
I think that was part of the magic of your episode. Is getting people who are prolific commenters and writers and forcing them to speak.
Knowing the podcast is very important. I was at a meeting once and they were doing podcasts out of a little booth. A friend of mine who has a podcast saw me walking by as he came out of the booth and told the guy he just did the podcast with that he should “get this guy, he’s great!” So they asked if I wanted to do a podcast. The booth was labeled for a bank, so I thought debt would be a good topic for them, so I said yes. But I knew nothing about them or their podcast. I told them we could pull from my second book, The Doctors Guide to Eliminating Debt. He thought that was a good topic. We sat down in the booth with some very impressive recording equipment and mics. The recording engineer counted us down. 3….2…..1 and waved his finger to tell us we were on the air. Then we both just looked at each other in radio silence. We each thought that we were being interviewed by the other person. I thought they were interviewing me about debt. They thought I had a podcast and would interview them about debt and they would give me the MP3 of the interview to use for my podcast. They didn’t have a podcast! They had set up the booth for the convenience of podcasters at the event so that this company could be on a lot of different podcasts. I also didn’t have a podcast. I took the lead and hosted a podcast on the fly. It definitely pays to be familiar with the podcast you are on. I hope I don’t make that mistake again. They did send me the MP3 of the podcast, but I haven’t listened to it yet.
Dr. Cory S. Fawcett
Prescription for Financial Success
That’s a great story!
This is a timely read 😉
Can’t wait.
I’m going to echo Deanna and say that this is a timely read. Thank you for the tips. I hope to utilize these in your podcast and any future ones I participate in. Thanks again 🙂
You’ll be great!