How To Interview Someone on a Podcast

In episode seventeen of Podcasts Suck, Sebastian Rusk discusses the importance of interviewing someone on a podcast and shares tips on how to do it effectively. He addresses common mistakes made by podcast hosts and aims to improve the overall quality of podcast interviews.

TIMESTAMPS

[00:05:44] How to Structure an Episode.

[00:10:07] Backstory and Present-Day Journey.

[00:13:19] Interviewing Skills

In this episode, Sebastian Rusk emphasizes the importance of creating a comfortable and relaxed environment for the guest, which ultimately enhances the listening experience for the audience. They acknowledge that interviewing someone on a podcast is a common question they receive and express a desire to address the issue of inadequate hosting skills.

In addition, to make the guest feel at ease, Sebastian introduces the "Larry King 80-20 rule," where the guest should do 80% of the talking while the host only speaks 20% of the time. He advises asking questions, showing genuine interest, and using phrases like "Really, that's interesting" and "Tell me a little bit more about that" to encourage the guest to share more. Through this, it can create an engaging and enjoyable listening experience for the audience.

QUOTES:

• “There are far too many podcast hosts out there making it all about them. I want to preface this episode. by making it explicitly clear that your job as a podcast host is to ask questions, ask a few more questions, and then button it up.”
• "So if you find yourself talking over your guests or taking what their response is and comparing it to your own experience, don't do that."
• “The only people that appreciate tangents are the people that are in the conversation because they're part of that conversation."
• “Be present in the conversation, be present with how you're communicating and the questions that you're answering and asking. Have a little bit of an outline in front of you.”

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SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS

Instagram: Instagram.com/PodcastsSUCK

Facebook: Facebook.com/srusk

LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/sebastianrusk/

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Transcript

Sebastian Rusk00:02 - 17:21
Welcome to Podcast Suck, a podcast about starting a podcast, where we dive headfirst into the wild, wacky, and sometimes frustrating world of podcasting. If you've ever sat down with a microphone, hit record, and thought, what on earth am I doing? Or if you're just curious about the magic behind your favorite shows, then you're in the right place. Get ready for laughs, insights, and a whole lot of what not to do advice as we embark on this podcasting journey together. Let's dive in. What's happening, everybody. Welcome back to the show. Welcome to the show. I've been trying to go live as much as possible for, uh, the podcast suck podcast because, well, I've been told by friends for quite some time, going live is quite lucrative because it gives you an additional piece of content. So, after much deliberation and figuring out which solution's going to work the best, we've settled with our friends over at Ecamm Live. This is a Mac-based software that goes on your Mac. And yeah, here we are. I don't know if we're really live or not. I think we are. We've done this once or twice before, and it actually went live. So what I wanna talk to you about today is how to interview somebody on a podcast. You may be thinking, of course I know how to interview Sebastian, interview someone, Sebastian, but that's not always the case. And the reason that I talk about this topic is that I get asked about it quite frequently. Number one, number two, I feel extremely motivated and responsible to actually do something about all of the bad podcast hosts out there. Meaning, There's a lot of people that just are not doing the podcast interview thing correctly. Well, what do you mean, Sebastian? I'm glad you asked. There are far too many podcast hosts out there making it all about them. I want to preface this episode. by making it explicitly clear that your job as a podcast host is to ask questions, ask a few more questions, and then button it up. That's right. Lock it up. What do you mean? I'm the host. Should I be talking? Yes, but not too much. And not about yourself. Far too many podcast hosts are asking a question, the guest will answer that question and then the host will automatically go back to them associating a time or situation that it happened to them, for example. So tell us more about how you started your business. Well, I started my business doing this. I started my business doing that. And then everything just fell into place. Really? It's funny you say that because when I started my business, everything kind of fell into place too. I remember when I very, you understand, The podcast host's job is to ask questions and to get that answer out of your guest. That's the goal of the podcast episode. So if you find yourself talking over your guests or taking what their response is and comparing it to your own experience, don't do that. Well, how long should this interview be? I'd say 30 to 45 minutes max. Well, Joe Rogan goes two or three hours. We are not Joe Rogan. He is what we call an anomaly. And so the rules don't really apply because he can do whatever he wants as the number one podcaster in 85 countries, maybe 90. So 45 minutes max on the interview. I'd say 30 to 45. My show is 20 to 25 short, sweet to the point. I don't want to waste people's time sitting there for an hour asking questions. Now in-person interviews a little bit different because the person came into the location. You're having a conversation, not uncommon to go an hour or so. If you go over an hour, you need to split that episode up into two parts. Okay. So the interview style that I prefer that I recommend that I talk about frequently comes from a rule that I learned from the great Larry King. And that is the 80 20 rule. 80% of the time you should be talking, excuse me, 80% of the time your guests should be talking 20% of the time you should be talking one more time. 80% of the time your guests should be talking 20% of the time you should be talking. Does that make sense? That means that you are there to welcome everyone to the show. Obviously welcome your guests to the show and get right into the conversation. Speaking of Rogan, he's phenomenal at that. He doesn't have anything all scripted out. It's a very casual conversation that he just starts. Hey, what's going on? It's good to see you. He had the rock on last week. Hey man, good to see you. Finally get you on the show. They worked out for three hours with a bunch of, uh, the world's top comedians and chatted about the three hour workout and the cold plunge and all that kind of just eased into the conversation. Now I do not recommend freestyling your podcast interview. You need to have some sort of structure, which brings me to the next thing I want to talk about, which is how you structure. or, or put together an outline rather for the podcast episode. So you have a general idea, just take out a clean sheet of paper. It doesn't have to be complicated, right? The episode number, the title of the episode, your guest name, and then four to six things that you want to talk about. Those could be questions. Those could be topics. It at least gives you something in front of you to keep you on track. to prevent you from the look squirrel moment or what were we talking about? Or we went off on a tangent. Listen, the only people that appreciate tangents are the people that are in the conversation because they're part of that conversation. When someone's listening to a podcast episode and they want to hear information from your guest or the topic of the podcast episode, you want to stay on track and give them that just that. which is valuable information for them to consume and listen to and learn from your guest. I can't emphasize this enough, and I'm not going to give any examples. DM me and I'll send you a few examples of notable names, large celebrities, high profile names, terrible at what they do as a podcast host. Terrible. They were either overexpressing their emotions, very angry. What are you so mad about? Or back to the original point that I talked about. When you ask your guests a question, they answer that question and then you immediately associate it with you and tell your side of the story of exactly how something comparable happened. There's nothing more annoying than, I don't know if you've experienced that or not, but it is rampant in the world of podcast interviews. Next thing I highly suggest that you do not do is wing it. That's why I'm talking about putting together an outline. Don't just think that you're Rogan and you can just hit record and roll with it and see exactly where it goes. Have some sort of structure. Let me give you an example on beyond the story. My original podcast, I've got two now, which is insanity. I don't recommend that. It's a whole nother episode. I'm beyond the story. It's a pretty simple structure. Hey, Bob, welcome to the show. It's great to have you here. Sure is. And I usually associate where we first connected. And then I say, Bob, why don't you, why don't you for context, why don't you help our listeners better understand a little bit more about you and your backstory and what really brought you to present day with what you're doing. And that allows them that opens the door for your guest to set the tone and really take your listeners. back a little bit and help them better understand a little bit more about the guest. What this also prevents is you having to say, my guest on the show today is Bob and Bob created his underwater basket weaving company well over 25 years ago and has a, has had a massive amount of success. Bob has won that award and this award Bob's done this and Bob's done that. And Bob is amazing. And Bob, Bob, Bob, Bob, Bob, Bob, Bob, Bob, Bob, You're talking about Bob. Bob's not talking about Bob. It doesn't land the same way. So if you do like a pre bumper of the episode and it's a short little clip introducing your guest, cool. Maybe expand on, have your guests expand on their story. Nobody's going to tell their story like your guests can. So let them do that. And then we get into other, parts of the conversation after they've given that backstory, that context brought us to present day. What's the most exciting thing you do when it comes to your business? What's the scariest thing that you do when it comes to your business? What do you hate about your business? What do you like about your business? What do you think about culture? What has culture done for you? What have your employees and team members done for you and your business? These are all questions that help you expand on the topic at hand. If the topic is underwater basket weaving, I want to get to the nuts and bolts of underwater basket weaving with Bob. But first I want to go back, get his backstory, what brought him to present day with what he's doing, why he's doing what he's doing, what problems it solves. What is, what is he excited about? for the upcoming year, upcoming month, whatever it might be. And again, making it all about the guest. You know, my mom used to say to me when I was a kid, if you think you're talking too much, you are, that's a great rule of thumb to have as a podcaster, talking too much. If you have to ask yourself that question, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, you're talking too much. Be present in the conversation, be present with how you're communicating and the questions that you're answering and asking. have a little bit of an outline in front of you. And I say outline very casual, one sheet of paper right in front of you, because what I don't want you to do is script out a laundry list of, okay, next question, Mary, what I'd like that, that, that, that doesn't provide a comfortable laid back yet structured podcast episode. And you want to be able to have that. Now, as you get more seasoned, you get more familiar with the flow of how you do things. But I've been on a couple of podcasts lately, man. I, holy cow. Beam me up, Scotty. It is not a enjoyable experience. Host isn't ready. Doesn't really know what they want to ask the guest. Like the format is just all over the place. Discombobulated. Listen, if you feel all over the place as a podcast host, your guest is going to feel that same thing. And God forbid that what the listener's opinion is. So if you're structured and you're organizing your own mind and it flows, the conversation will flow. If you're at ease, your guest will be at ease. If you're at ease and your guest is at ease, your audience will be at ease listening to the content. I never thought I'd be explaining to somebody how to interview someone on a podcast, but I do get this question asked a lot. And then I also, hear a lot of really bad podcast hosts out there. And I'm like, we need to do something about this. And the only way we're going to do something about it is through awareness, making people aware of the lack thereof, when it comes to podcast hosting skills, this is not a difficult process. A don't make it about you B fall, the Larry King, 80, 20 rule 80% of the time, your guests should be talking 20% of the time you should be talking. asking questions, asking more questions, saying things like, really, that's interesting. Tell me a little bit more about that. Wow. And why did you do that? And do you ever regret doing that? I mean, there's always questions that can go after the question that you've already asked to help you dig deeper into the conversation to make it that much more constructive with your guest, they're going to love it. People love good questions, especially when they're a guest. And they also, your audience loves it because they're getting valuable information. If I pull up a podcast episode that says how to start an underwater basket weaving business, you better believe when I press play, by the time I'm done with that episode, I want to know how to start an underwater basket weaving business. Does that make sense? There's a lot of great examples out there, even past radio individuals and hosts that have done a phenomenal job interviewing people. Howard Stern, very brash and mildly and wildly inappropriate at times. One of the best to ever do it. Ryan Seacrest phenomenal at what he does, although he doesn't do a ton of interviewing. If you watch the interview skills that he has on TV, actually, I take that back. His radio show on air with Ryan Seacrest. Does a great job of answering, asking questions, the right questions. Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever makes it about him. Never, ever. You will never see that happen. Howard Cern sometimes part of the conversation. Now, listen, I understand you want to relate with your guests and sometimes it's appropriate. If the guest is like, and when that happened, I couldn't believe it. Have you ever had that happen to you? And they're asking you the host that same question, then it's warranted. Then it's okay to say, you know what? Yeah, here's what happened to me. And then boom, right back into your guests. Remember 80% of the time your guests are talking 20% of the time you're talking Don't talk over your guests. Do not make it all about you. It's tacky. It doesn't sound, sound well, sound good. It doesn't land well. D all of the above and make sure you have some sort of structure in front of you. Episode number title, the episode and your guest four to six things that you want to talk about. And a little area for notes. This gives you a little outline to follow. So you're not all over the map. Listen, when you're all over the map, your listeners know it, your guests know it. Everyone knows it. So don't be all over the map. but also don't create a 10 page script for your podcast where you sound like you're reading and what page was I on and where am I at? And I'm flipping back and forth and I don't know what's what. Does that make sense? Questions, thoughts, ideas, concerns about this episode or any episodes on podcasts suck. Feel free to shoot me a DM. I hang out on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram at podcast suck, plural two S's at podcast suck. Just let me know you listen to the show. You got some questions about podcasting. I am here to help. I do respond to every single one of you. Lovely people, YouTube, you're watching this right now. Comment below. I definitely respond to all of you. Lovely people over there on YouTube. I hope you're leaving this episode knowing at least one or two things that you did not know about interviewing somebody on a podcast that you did not know before you press play. That's a tongue twister. You see, I thought I knew what I was saying and then ended up with a little bit of a tongue twister, but we're going to be all right here, ladies and gentlemen, we're going to be all right. If you're just now starting a podcast in the very, very, very beginning, early stages, I highly recommend you go back to the beginning of this show. Episode one, where I literally unpack step-by-step episode one, episode two, episode three, my entire process that we use here at the podcast launch lab to help folks go from idea to iTunes in 90 days or less with our proven podcast launch solution. Go back to the beginning, listen to all the episodes. Would love it if you leave a review over on Apple. It is how people, new people find the show. Share it with your friends. If you know somebody starting a podcast, you know, somebody owns a business, you're like, this is really useful. Share it. It helps more people learn about the show. All right, friends. Hope you're leaving here. Knowing how to know a little bit more about how to interview somebody. Have a happy Monday. And if we don't go live again this week, gobble, gobble, have a safe and a happy, happy Thanksgiving. Thanks so much for tuning into this episode. We sure do appreciate it. If you haven't done so already, make sure you're subscribed to the show wherever you consume podcasts. It's a way to get updates as new episodes become available. If you feel so inclined, please leave us a review and share the show with someone you know should start a podcast or may already have one. And remember, podcasts suck if you don't have one. Until next time, friends.