It’s okay to have notes!
Nobody expects you to memorise everything, especially when you are introducing your guests or sponsors. In fact Garry Vee famously writes his guest intros ahead of time and then recites them from Notes on his podcast. This is great way to get through the formalities and straight into the juicy conversation. A well-planned intro for your guest also shows you have gone to some effort and is usually greeted with a smile!
Talk to your guest
Generally guests agree to a podcast because they have something to gain. Maybe they want to talk about the services their business offers or perhaps they have a book to sell. Maybe they just want to build their presence online.
It’s important you understand this before the episode so that your guest gets their value.
Have a conversation with your guest ahead of time and find out the type of things they wish to discuss and also anything they do not want to discuss. E.g. politics, personal matters etc. This will help to guide you on the day and avoid any nasty surprises or awkward moments.
Research your guests… or don’t
It’s definitely important to research your guests. You definitely should look into what they are currently doing and what they intend to promote.
Equally, it is possible to over-research which can cause you to ask irrelevant questions or make false assumptions.
In most cases it will be fairly clear what your guest wants to talk about. Allow them to guide the conversation and ask interesting open-ended questions. Think about the value for your audience as well as the value for your guest.
Record “as live”
When you hit record try to think of your podcast as a live production. A conversation with one take.
Nothing will vex your guests more than re-taking your introduction 7 times and this also kills the natural flow of chat.
Hit go and pretend you’re live on TV. You can always cut out any really bad moments but you will find this method works to create something great!
It doesn’t have to be perfect
You are recording a podcast, not a promo video. “Erms” and “uhhs” happen in long-form conversation and you will find them in any big production podcasts like Russel Brand’s Under The Skin etc.
Don’t worry about these moments, keep the conversation flowing and most importantly don’t stop and say “shall we do that bit again?”.
Stopping your show for a retake completely kills the flow and makes everyone feel hyper-aware of the microphones and cameras.
A natural conversation has mistakes and so should your podcast.
Let conversation flow
Whilst it’s fine to have notes (I encourage it) it’s equally important to let conversation flow. Some hosts are far too quick to kill a conversation because they are focused on getting to their next question.
Let the conversation run and you will most likely find natural entry points for all of your questions.
The more the conversation flows the more natural and easy the episode will be and often people tend to talk about subjects that they want to get out there. So let them.
