6 Ways to be a better podcast guest

6 Ways to be a better podcast guest
Audience
6 Ways to be a better podcast guest

Feb 17 2022 | 00:05:31

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Episode 0 February 17, 2022 00:05:31

Hosted By

Stuart Barefoot

Show Notes

Chances are, if you're listening to this episode, you produce a podcast. There's a 90% chance that podcast is an interview show. There's a 50% chance you've had a guest on said show that made you exhale a gigantic w-t-f was that when the conversation stopped.

We've all had that guest. They sounded good on paper, but when you hit record, the whole vibe fell flat.

So, the mission for today: share this episode with your potential guest. Because, dear guest, my friend the podcaster here wants the best show possible.

Here are 6 ways to be a better podcast guest.

Number 1: Do some research

Spend some time researching the podcast you're going to be on. Listen to an episode that catches your eye. Read the show notes from the guest interview before you. Heck, download the transcripts and breeze through how our podcaster frames questions.

Anything is better than nothing at all. Especially if you were one of those guests that used a booking agency to get you on the show.

Number 2: Bring the energy but not too much

Be excited to share your story or lesson or moment.

You don't have to over emphasize everything, or even feel like you're putting on a performance. Working off of the energy of the host is key, match them to where they are in _their_ performance.

We don't want answers to silently fade out. It's like eating the empty calories of a bagel. I'll probably get some hate mail for that, but the idea is to deliver on your promise. We're all sharing this precious time together.

Number 3: Say no to AirPods

Never. Use. Airpods. On. A. Podcast. Interview. Ever.

If you plan on appearing across more podcasts, which by the way is great for your brand, invest in a decent USB microphone. The Samson Q2u is a great 60-80 microphone that plugs in via USB.

Number 4: Good lighting for video

Look, I won't tell you to invest in a Mirrorless camera that plugs into usb through a HDMI converter or has native USB-C streaming support, just check your lighting.

You might be anchored to your laptop webcam or one fixed to the center of an iMac, and that's okay, just make sure we can see you. Not too dark, not blown out, play with the lighting in your room if our podcaster is indeed using video.

Bonus points: Buy a USB webcam and a cheap desktop monopod mount to find the best permanent angle. And why not? We're all on web calls these days.

Number 5: Value

Stick to delivering value for the audience.

Give them your best stuff, not your best backstory. Even if our friendly podcaster isn't doing their job to will it out of you, just know, that's what the audience wants. Your expert opinion, action, or take on the subject matter they are there for.

And FYI, I'm strictly thinking about the typical b2b interview show here. Other genre's of shows might require a different softskill or emotion. Your mileage may vary.

Bonus number 6: A call to action

Hey, you're in this for you too right?

Have a solid call to action. Where can you send people after you appear on a podcast? Can you give them more information? A way to connect? A place to learn more about you or your brand.

Come equipped with a URL or a download to extend the relationship. Its best for everyone.

I could go on with more tips and tricks to be a better guest, but these six ideas lay a solid foundation that put you on the path to being a better guest on a podcast -- especially if this is your first time.

Back to you podcaster: want to make sure this gets across to your guest? Aside from sharing this episode with them, start scheduling pre-interviews. It's like stretching before a 3 mile run. You'll be better off you did!

Okay, it's outro time.

View Full Transcript

Episode Transcript

Speaker 0 00:00:00 Welcome back to audience. A Casos original experience broadcasting from the center of your audio universe, where the most creative podcasters come find their home at Castillo's dot com. Press play right here in your podcast player every week. It's like a cheat sheet for marketing monetizing and growing your podcasts. So good. You'll want to share castles.com/audience with your closest friends. Okay. Audience starts now how to be a better podcast guest. Hey there, listener chances are, if you're listening to this episode, you produce a podcast. There's a 90% chance that podcast is an interview show. There's a 50% chance you've had a guest on said, show that made you exhale. A gigantic WTF was that when the conversation stopped, we've all had that guest. They sounded good on paper, but when you hit record, the whole vibe fell flat. So the mission today share this episode with your potential guests. Speaker 0 00:00:54 Because dear guest, my friend, the podcaster here wants the best show possible. Here are six ways to be a better podcast guest. Number one, do some research, spend some time researching the podcast. You're going to be on listen to an episode that catches your eye. Read the show notes from the guest interview before you heck download the transcripts and breeze through how our podcast are frames that are questions. Anything is better than nothing at all. Especially if you were one of those guests that use the booking agency to get on the show. Number two, bring the energy, but not too much energy. Be excited to share your story lesson or your moment. You don't have to overemphasize everything or even feel like you're putting on a performance. Working off the energy of the host is key. Match them to where they're at in their performance. Speaker 0 00:01:45 We don't want answers to silently fade out. It's like eating the empty calories of a bagel. I'll be getting some hate mail on that comment, but the idea is to deliver on your promise. We're all here sharing this precious time together. Number three, say no to AirPods, never use AirPods on a podcast interview ever, never, ever. If you plan on appearing across more podcasts throughout your career, which by the way is great for your brand. Invest in a decent USB microphone. The Samson Q2 U is a great 60 to $80 microphone that plugs in via USB. It's really straightforward and sounds really good. Number four, good lighting for video. Look, I won't tell you to invest in a mirrorless camera that plugs into USB through an HTMI converter or has native USBC streaming support. Just check on your lighting. You might be anchored to your laptop, webcam or one fixed in the center of your iMac and that's okay. Speaker 0 00:02:48 Just make sure we can see you not too dark, not blown out. Play with the lighting in your room. If our podcaster is indeed recording video and bonus points by a USB webcam in a cheap desktop monopod Mount to find the best permanent angle for all video calls and why not. We're on web calls all the time. These days, number five value stick to delivering value for the audience. Give them your best stuff. Not your best long drawn out backstory. Even if our friendly podcasts are, isn't doing their job to pull it out of you just know that what the audience wants is value your expert opinion, action or take on subject matter that they're there for. It's why they clicked play to begin with. And FYI, I'm strictly talking about your typical B2B interview show here. Other genres of shows might require a different soft skill or emotion. Speaker 0 00:03:41 Your mileage may vary and bonus number six, a call to action. Hey, you're in this for you to right. Have a solid call to action where you can send people after you appear on a podcast. Can you give them more information, a way to connect a place to learn more about you or your brand come equipped with a URL or a download to extend that relationship it's best for everyone. I could go on with more tips and tricks to be a better guest, but these six ideas lay a solid foundation that put you on the path to being a better guest on a podcast, especially if this is your first time. Now back to you, podcaster, want to make sure this gets across to your guests. Well, aside from sharing this episode with them start scheduling pre-interviews it's like stretching before a three mile run. Speaker 0 00:04:29 You'll be better off that you did. Okay. Quick episode today. It's outro time. Hey there listener it's Matt, before you go, I want to offer you the aspiring podcast or two special items. Number one, if you haven't started a podcast yet, or you want to find a better podcast hosting company, start here at Castillo's use our coupon code audience 20 that's audience two zero. When you sign up for a new account@castles.com, start a podcast like the one you just heard or about gluten-free muffins, whatever it is, we'll help you get your podcasts out into the world. Number two, did you know that our academy is free enrolled today for free@academydotcasos.com. Get access to our courses, videos and templates all for free. Thanks for listening to the audience podcast today. We hope we're helping you become a better podcaster. All that's left for you to do is share this episode on social media. Bye for now.

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