How to prepare to conduct your first podcast interview

Are you thinking about doing your first podcast? We don’t blame you – the industry is booming.

There were over 464 million podcast listeners worldwide in 2023 and expected to increase to 504.9 million by 2024. 

Below is a complete guide to get you ready for your initial podcast show.

Research Your Guest

Research, research, research – it’s essential. Thorough research is the basis of successful podcast interviews. Find out as much as possible about your guest before the interview. Go deep into your guest’s background information, working experience (career highlights), hobbies, recent projects, and pretty much anything else you can think about them.

Check their profiles on various social media sites, read through some of their interviews in magazines, and listen to them speak elsewhere. There’s so much in-depth research you can do. Familiarising yourself with the journey and perspectives of your guests will allow you to have more of a conversation rather than an interrogation because you already know the information; you just want them to open up about it for the podcast.

This investigation can also protect against repetition or trivial questions that might cause monotony for the listener and the respondent. The last thing you want is for your podcast to be boring. You must put in the effort to make the questions as good and as juicy as possible.

Prepare Your Questions

Keep your questions open-ended. Be prepared to dig further into any remarks made by your guest during the conversation. It’s also sensible to rank your questions according to priority so that even if things go astray during the talk, the most important subjects are touched by them.

Another important thing to bear in mind is that your questions are not set in stone. Some of the best moments during an interview are not the ‘finely prepared’ moments, but the moments when interviewers and interviewees stray from the main topic. 

When people are interviewing sports stars, they often gravitate towards trending topics like transfers or the classic, ‘How did you prepare for this game/match/race?’ When they’re interviewing VIPs on the red carpets, they tend to focus on appearances: what (or who) they’re wearing, how long it took them to get ready… But the most memorable moments come when we go off-piste. 

Let’s say you’re interviewing a game developer working at a big, industry-leading studio; don’t focus exclusively on the development process or the ins and outs of creating a chart-topping triple-A title. Dig deep into what elements make their approach unique – their background, whether they got their start as an intern or developing new slots on mobile, and how their journey influences their creative processes today. Players will look at their work from a new vantage point from that point on, spotting those influences.

Remember when that comedian admitted to being a non-believer in pro dancers’ dancing skills, or when that presenter/racing car enthusiast started divulging his weird and wonderful dreams? These are the moments that make us laugh or cry, and they are completely natural, urged on by off-the-cusp question-asking that doesn’t follow a list. Just remember, things will naturally go astray, and always follow the conversation, not your predetermined questions. 

Set Up Your Equipment

Having the right equipment is essential for a professional-sounding podcast. Ensure you have a quality microphone, headphones, and recording software. Test your equipment well in advance of the interview to avoid any technical glitches on the day. Imagine if you recorded all of the podcast and the mics weren’t connected? There’s no second chance with this.

Create a quiet and comfortable space for recording. A room with minimal disturbances can help minimise background noise during recordings. You don’t need a professional recording studio, just a quiet room. Use soundproofing materials or a pop filter to improve audio quality as well. The importance of good audio cannot be overemphasised. It’ll affect the listener experience massively, making your podcast sound more enjoyable and professional.

Practise Active Listening

Do not interrupt your guests. Let them finish speaking before you put forward your next question. This act is a sign of respect and allows for more elaborate insights and stories. And it’s just good manners. Active listening will make you respond more naturally and facilitate the smooth flow of conversation.

The worst thing you can do is not be an active listener. And whatever you do, try to ensure you’re always looking at the guests and not down at a paper or prompts. Podcasts look so much better when interviewers know the questions already or can skip prompts and go with the flow of a conversation.

Preparing for your first podcast interview involves a lot – the podcast industry is becoming so massive that you must do something to stand out. And to stand out, you have to put in the maximum effort. What’s your podcast about, and how can you best prepare? 

Happy podcasting!

Photo: useproof.com