Tips for pulling off a GREAT “interview” podcast

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If you’re going to publish an interview style show, you’ve got to do something to stand apart from the crowd. Anyone can interview - but not everyone can interview WELL.

The KEY to a great interview show is that the host is a truly GREAT interviewer. 

The good news is that it's not something you have to be born with, you can learn the skills you need.

4 techniques that will serve you well as a host (interviewer)

#1 - Ask guests for stories to illustrate what they tell you (listeners love stories)

This one is self-explanatory. The more stories you can get your guest to tell, the more interesting and engaging your conversation will be.

It's vital that you remember this because it's easy to get caught up in the Q - A - Q - A of a typical interview.

#2 - Follow up questions are key. 

As your guest answers your question, listen for opportunities to ask follow up questions that reveal how they felt, how they handled a difficulty, how they processed a difficult decision. 

These follow up questions help you go deeper and mine information other interviewers miss.

#3 - Let silence do the work for you.

Once a guest has responded to your initial question, wait. Don't fill the silence.

Let it hang for 3, 4, 5 seconds or more. 

90% of guests will fill that silence with additional information that they otherwise may not have shared. Some of the best parts of interviews come in these responses.

#4 - Repeat the last 5 to 6 words of their response as a question. 

Imagine your guest wraps up a response by saying, "... and it's a vital security flaw when that happens?" 

You respond to their statement with, "A vital security flaw when that happens?" 

They will go into description mode to clarify the point even further, providing additional information you would have missed if you hadn't asked for more.

A resource you'll LOVE

I learned most of these and a lot more from a podcast series called "The Turnaround." 

Jesse Thorn, a great interviewer himself - interviews famous interviewers, about interviewing. Larry King, Terry Gross, Katie Couric, Dick Cavett, Mark Maron, Ira Glass, and more. 

Listen to as many of these episodes as you can. 

Listen again.

Take notes.

You'll love it!

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Who IS this guy?

Carey Green is the founder of Podcast Fast Track (a full-service podcast production company focused on serving small businesses and entrepreneurs) and Narrativly (a full-service narrative podcast service creating hand-crafted podcasts for influencers, brands, and C-suite execs).

He's a retired Pastor (who can't really retire - his own daily devotional podcast is proof of that). As of 12/2019 it's hitting over 26,000 downloads per day.