Podcast interviews are the most popular podcasting format, and they account for 30.6% of the market share. With the right guest and the best interview techniques, your audience gets valuable insight, and it can genuinely be one of the most compelling ways to engage your listeners.
Conducting a great podcast interview, however, is no easy feat. It requires plenty of thought and preparation to make sure there is meaningful conversation.
So we’ve put together this guide to impart the best tips for ensuring a professional, seamless, engaging interview, whether you’re a seasoned podcaster or just starting out.
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Podcast Interview Preparation Advice
A podcast interview can’t really be done on the fly, unless you are an old hand with a ton of practice and know the guest really well. For a professional interview with a great conversational flow and some direction, proper preparation is needed.
You have to understand your guest, plan thoughtful questions, and be technically prepared to conduct a successful interview.
Guest Research
The best podcast interviews have personalized questions rather than generic ones. Your listeners can google the mundane details of a person, but you want to give them a deeper insight and offer something more than their Wikipedia can share.
It is important to research your guest’s background, work, and interests beforehand to use as a sounding board for question preparation.
You can check their social media and recent projects to see where you can branch out and watch their past interviews, honing in on their perspectives and expertise.
How to Structure Questions
Nothing will shut an interview down faster than yes-or-no questions. So be sure to keep your questions open-ended ones. Ultimately, you want the room to encourage storytelling.
Of course, it’s important to keep your guest at ease to start with a few warm-up questions before you dive deep.
You should prepare a flexible list of questions to allow for natural discussions to unfold.
Podcast Environment Preparation
A professional podcast interview needs to run smoothly, technically speaking, so you should also prepare your environment.
Make sure your microphones, headphones, and recording software are all tested before conducting your interviews. Clear audio quality is paramount.
If you are live streaming or interviewing remotely, you also need to consider your connection and network capabilities to prevent disruptions and technical issues.
Keeping Your Guest Engaged
Natural, enjoyable conversations spawn organically when guests are kept engaged.
This means creating a comfortable atmosphere and actively listening throughout to make sure the back-and-forth is authentic.
The Importance of Listening Actively
If you appear disinterested or non-genuine, then your guest simply isn’t going to open up.
Keeping your guests engaged boils down to your level of engagement with them.
Maintain good eye contact and encourage them to speak with nonverbal language such as head nods and smiles; you can also use verbal affirmations without interrupting.
Make sure your responses are thoughtful and show you have listened and understood by paraphrasing their key points. Remember to ask follow-up questions.
Personal Storytelling
Personal anecdotes are more captivating for your listeners, so encourage storytelling, rather than just asking for opinions.
This can be done by prompting your guest with questions along the lines of “Can you share an experience where ‘that’ was the case?”
Creating The Right Atmosphere
As we already glossed over, you need to keep things light and casual to begin with and make sure your guest relaxes.
Once they feel comfortable enough, they will be willing to share, and then you can steer the conversation toward your main topics.
How to Handle Awkward Silences: Keeping Conversations Flowing
Regardless of the preparations or your experience interviewing, sometimes, a conversation might stall.
Backup Questions
It is a good idea to prepare backup questions to pivot the conversation elsewhere if your initial ones are falling short or the conversation feels flat.
When the chat begins to lull, you can take the discussion in a new direction by transitioning to a related topic or asking something specific about your guest’s background.
Bridging Statements for Less Talkative Guests
If you find yourself faced with a guest who gives short responses, then encourage them to elaborate with bridging statements.
Responding to their short answers with statements such as “That’s so interesting – tell me more about that”, or “How did that affect your perspective?” can help keep the conversation flowing.
Share Your Insights
The main focus should, ideally, always be on your guest. However, if the conversation isn’t going anywhere, you can avoid a deafening silence by sharing your own relevant anecdotes and insight.
This can reignite the discussion; it gives breathing space, making a Q&A session feel less like an interrogation.
Technical & Post-Production Tips
Unless you are braving a live stream, then there are also post-interview considerations to ensure a professional, smooth podcast interview that goes beyond the captured conversation.
High-Quality Capture
The importance of investing in the right equipment for high-quality audio, such as a decent microphone and headphones, can’t be stressed enough.
Always record in an adequately soundproofed space and make sure your guests do the same if they are interviewing remotely. The latter will also require that both parties have a reliable internet connection.
Post-Production Editing
You can refine the interview in post-production by editing out any long pauses, “erm,” filler words, coughs, etc.
You should also enhance the audio by equalizing the volume and using noise-reduction tools to help make sure the audio is the best it can be.
Tools for Securing Remote Interviews
If you are recording remotely, then remember that security and privacy also need prioritizing.
A VPN can keep you safe from potential cyber threats when accessing platforms. For a first hand-experience to see how a VPN can help ensure a lag-free, secure connection, try a VPN download.
Conclusion
Podcast interviews are a popular format, but only if they are engaging throughout.
Creating an interview that doesn’t fall flat requires a blend of preparation, authentic engagement, and technical proficiency.
Start by researching your guest and planning open-ended questions that foster natural conversation.
Make sure your equipment is up to scratch, and hone your active listening skills to ensure compelling content that your audience can relate to.
Armed with today’s pro tips, you can refine your interview skills and create a podcast that stands out.
Smith