How to Set the Stage for a Successful Podcast Interview: Building Trust and Connection with Your Guests

In this episode of Wonder Boldly, host Christine Santos kicks off a brand-new series designed to help podcasters master the art of interviewing. Whether you’re just getting started or looking to elevate your show’s quality, this episode dives into one of the most important first steps, setting the stage for a great guest experience.

Christine shares practical, behind-the-scenes strategies that every podcast host should implement before hitting record. From gathering the right guest information to making your guest feel truly welcome and prepared, she shows you how small, thoughtful details can transform your interview from ordinary to unforgettable.

You’ll also learn why pre-interview preparation isn’t just about logistics, it’s about partnership. Christine explains how creating a simple guest intake form helps you capture key information, promote your guest’s business effectively, and build long-term relationships that extend beyond the mic.

Plus, Christine shares a powerful reminder for all hosts: asking your guests to rate and review your show is not only okay, it’s mutually beneficial. Discover how to make it easy (and natural) for guests to support your show while feeling appreciated and included in the process.

If you’re ready to elevate your interview process and create a more professional, guest-centered podcasting experience, this episode is your essential starting point.

Episode Highlights

• Why preparation builds guest confidence and better interviews
 • The importance of guest intake forms and what to include
 • How to ask your guests to rate and review - the right way
 • Turning guest interviews into lasting partnerships
 • Christine’s personal insight on learning to receive as a host

Connect with Christine

DM Christine on Instagram @ChristineBSantos to grab her free Podcast Guest Intake Form Template and start building a smoother, more impactful interview process today.

Transcript

Christine Santos: [00:00:00] Hello, hello, hello and welcome to another episode of Wonder Boldly. Today on the podcast, I wanna talk about interviewing. So if you are a podcast host and you have guests on your show, there are so many things we need to think about. To set the right stage to make them feel welcome and to give our [00:01:00] listeners an amazing episode.

 there's so much to talk about here. I'm not gonna cover it all in this one episode. I'm gonna give us bite size episodes and come back next week to learn more about how to have a successful podcast interview. today I'm gonna start at the top and that is setting the stage so that you have all the information you need about your guests and your guest knows what to expect.

 For Wonder Boldly, my podcast, we send out a form and it captures all this information that we want to know about our guests, that we want our guests to feel like they are a participant in how this. Episode is going to be marketed, it is going to, be the end result for them to get more clients, for them to get more eyes on their business.

And in doing that, it's a true partnership, right? So if you're [00:02:00] having a guest on your show, you can certainly go to their website, check them out, get all the information about them, but you want to know how they want to be represented, how they want their information to be shared on the episode.

Right? So you might be thinking to yourself, well Christine, they've got their website out there. I can easily grab that information. And that's absolutely true. Again, the idea is this is a partnership. You're having a guest on your podcast. It's just like having a guest in your home, You wanna set the stage, you clean, maybe you're preparing a meal.

You want them to feel welcome, respected, and you want them to feel really comfortable. So that is one of the first things we wanna do. We want them to be able to supply us with information that is going to make them feel comfortable, make them feel respected, and really have a exciting and fun [00:03:00] episode.

I do have, a template if you would like the template. DM me on Instagram. That's really the best place to get in touch with me, and I'm happy to send you my template. Okay. Please, please, please, please ask your guests to rate and review your show.

That is so important. As podcasters, we know how important that is, and everybody has good intentions. We ask people to rate and review and. Everybody is busy. They have these good intentions to do that, and still it doesn't get done We've all been there. I'm guilty of it too. Sometimes I'm like, oh my gosh, I forgot to rate and review somebody's show and I'll go out and do that.

 Make it really easy for them. So ask them prior to them coming on the show. A really good step for them is to listen to a couple of the episodes so they know what to expect. They know your interview style. And they know how [00:04:00] other guests have shown up on the show. And what that does is that allows them the ability then to rate and review the show.

So in that form that I talked about, and again, you can grab the template. You can DM me on Instagram at Christine B. Santos, and in there you can include links to a couple of your episodes So again, they get a feel for how you interview, how other people, um, present themselves on the show and then they can rate and.

So please make sure to do that. Please make sure to ask your guests to do that. They want to help you. You're helping them. You're getting their word out. You're getting their, their business out into the world, having them on your podcast. This is a relationship. having a guest on your podcast and they want to help you.

You know, one of my coaches said to me the other day. Um, that you know how much you like to give Christine. Well, [00:05:00] people also like to give and receiving is a real skill as well because I am a people pleaser and I do have a hard time with receiving. So we were talking about that and it's so true, allowing your guest to give back to you by simply doing a review of your show.

That is so powerful for you and it gives them that opportunity to really thank you and give back to you. afford them that opportunity. Okay, so now you've got the form, now they've rated and reviewed your show and now. You are gonna set the stage and when they join, we're going to hit record and we are gonna start our interview.

come back next week and we will talk more about interviewing your guests on your podcast. If you found this helpful at all, please share it with another podcaster, even somebody who's thinking about [00:06:00] podcasting. Share it please and, and please. Take a moment to rate and review the show, I would so, so appreciate it.

 Until next time, continue to wonder boldly I.