A podcast interview is exactly what it sounds like – an interview, wherein the host asks questions of a guest, on a podcast episode. They’re one of the most popular formats for a podcast, given that the format of interviewing a different person each episode is an easy way to make sure your podcast is varied and you’re never struggling for content.
Podcast interviews are important because they provide an intimate space to have a conversation with a celebrity, expert in a given field or someone who has an important story to share. As a podcaster, you can create a comfortable, relaxed atmosphere where honest and open conversations can happen with guests. The divide between journalists asking questions and ordinary people sitting at home has vanished, and now it’s our turn to ask our questions and get our voices heard.
An interview show lives and dies by the strength of the interviewer – it’s all on you. So what do you need to do?
Other than the research we discussed above, another important point is to make sure your room is properly set up for recording audio. Make sure you’re not speaking into any walls, that there’s as much insulation as possible (if you don’t have foam insulation, as many cushions and curtains as you can muster will help) and that your microphone is about a fist’s width away from your face.
We can’t stress this enough – if you’re interviewing remotely, make sure to tell your guest how to set up their room too! There’s nothing worse than your audio quality being great, but your guest’s parts sounding like they were recorded on a toaster.
It’s also a good idea to do a test before you actually start the final recording – record some audio of both yourself and your guest to make sure everything works and sounds ok. You don’t want to get to the end of an hour long interview and realise your guest’s mic wasn’t working properly.How do you sound good in a podcast interview?
Technical considerations aside (if that’s what you’re looking for, we have an in-depth guide on how to record podcasts remotely), the trick to sounding professional as an interviewer is to be confident in your questions, while also being entirely open to having your perspective changed. You have to be clearly there to listen to what your guest is saying – if not, your lack of interest will be palpable to your audience. With this in mind – and it perhaps goes without saying – never talk over your guest! Give them the time and space they deserve to answer honestly.
It’s important to research your guest and go into the interview with a good list of questions, but it’s important to strike a balance between this preparation and ensuring that your conversation flows naturally. Make a point of responding to points raised by your guest rather than just waiting for them to finish their answer and asking your next question – it will make for a far more dynamic interview.
This obviously depends on your podcast and who you are interviewing, but if you’re stuck and need some inspiration here’s an example of how you can start a podcast interview:Hello everyone, and welcome to [PODCAST NAME]. This week we have an awesome guest for you. Their name is [GUEST NAME] and I have invited them onto the podcast to talk about [TOPIC]. Before I get them onto the podcast episode, here’s a little bit about them, [GUEST BIO].Hello [GUEST NAME], great to have you on the podcast…With Episode Planning you have access to your guest information (like their name, bio and pronouns), plus private production notes and research links when you’re ready to hit record. You can also dynamically pull in information that your guest has filled out (using the Guest Booking tool) directly into your show notes when you’re ready to publish:
