3 Ways to Help Your Guests Feel Comfortable and Confident

Join Lindsey and I as we answer a listener's question about how to make a guest feel comfortable during an interview. We'll share simple steps to reduce nerves, improve answers, and make guests excited to share the final episode. 

If you have questions about your next guest interview, reach out to us on the Podcaster Success team by email support@buzzsprout.com. 

Keep podcasting!

Transcript

Welcome To Podcasting Q&A

Cara Pacetti 0:00

Welcome to Podcasting Q&A, brought to you by the people at Buzz Sprout. I'm your host, Cara Pacetti, and I'm bringing you the best tips and strategies to keep you podcasting with confidence. One of the things I love about Podcasting Q&A is that this podcast is literally built on your questions. So if you have questions, this is the place to ask. At any time during this episode, you can click the send us a text link in the show notes, and we can tackle your question on our next episode. I know there are a lot of experienced podcasters who listen to this show. So I welcome all the hard questions. Bring them on. Let's get them answered together. With that, I'd like to read today's listener question. It says, How do I help my podcast guest feel comfortable? This is so important to acknowledge and to spend some time answering because, in all honesty, your guest can really make or break your episode. A relaxed guest is a great guest, and a great guest makes for a great episode. So today I'm going to share a few simple steps that you can take to change the overall outcome of your guest interview. To help me answer this question, I have brought on a teammate, Lindsey from our podcaster success team is joining me. Her experiences as a guest on other podcasts is really going to give us a great perspective of that role. So, Lindsey, thank you so much for joining me for today's episode.

Lindsey Perez 1:28

Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me back.

Set Clear Guest Expectations

Cara Pacetti 1:31

Yes, I am excited. This is gonna be a fun one. So the first step in all of this is to really set expectations and communicate those expectations with your guest. One of the biggest reasons for a guest to be nervous is facing the unknown. Would you agree with that, Lindsey?

Lindsey Perez 1:46

Yes, the unknown is really hard. It's nerve-wracking to go on an episode.

Cara Pacetti 1:50

Absolutely. I feel like, I mean, I guess it's like watching a movie or anything. You're watching these people and they do it so effortlessly, and then you throw those headphones on and get behind that mic and all of a sudden, right?

Lindsey Perez 2:00

All of a sudden it's on you. I remember my first time going as a guest on an episode and just really being kind of scared of the unknown, but also being excited to be there. So it's very helpful if you're able to kind of talk to your guests ahead of time and let them know exactly what to expect. So one of the things that was super helpful for me is that ahead of time, you sent over an outline of exactly kind of what we were going to be discussing in this episode. So it really gave me an idea of what to expect, what topics to really kind of fine-tune my knowledge on, and things that we can kind of talk about during that episode.

Cara Pacetti 2:33

For sure. And for this episode, it's a little more conversational. So it's a lot of back and forth. But for other episodes, when it's strictly an interview, it might be beneficial to actually outline those questions that you're going to be asking your guest. And that way they can formulate answers if they read it ahead of time. And so I agree, setting those expectations and really communicating that with your guests can make them feel comfortable. And there's already so many unknowns when it comes to the technical aspect of it. So at least the content, they are confident in what they're gonna share. Another expectation you want to set is how long is the interview going to take. So, for example, these podcasting Q&A episodes are fairly short, and Lindsey and I are talkers, and so we have to really reel that in in order to keep the episode the length that we want. Now, I don't recommend cutting out good content for the sake of length. If the episode is good, then keep all of that really great content. But if your guest is coming in with the expectation of these episodes are a little shorter, then they can formulate their answers to match that time.

Lindsey Perez 3:37

Yes, I think that having the questions ahead of time, I know some people think, well, I don't want them to just read off an answer. I don't want it to sound robotic, but I honestly think that it gives them an opportunity to really go deeper with the subject and with the topic, and that might even give you better content.

Cara Pacetti 3:51

For sure, Lindsey. That is such a great point. And in addition to sending those questions ahead of time, it also wouldn't hurt to send your guest a few of your most recent episodes as examples. Let them hear what the overall vibe of the podcast is, kind of how other guests have answered questions in the past. And that again just really eliminates that unknown, which can be super scary.

Lindsey Perez 4:13

I think that's great. That's a really great point. I think that providing them with the episodes just in a quick email or sending it over in a text, however, you are communicating with them, that way they don't have to take time out of their day to go find your podcast, try and find an episode that they think maybe is similar to them. They just get that information up front. You can send them the episodes that you feel really great about. And that way they can really get a vibe for your podcast.

Warm Up Before You Record

Cara Pacetti 4:37

Yes. And as we said in the beginning, a relaxed guest is a great guest. So all of that is going to make your guest feel relaxed and prepared to totally rock the interview. One last piece of advice when it comes to communicating expectations with your guest is that you want to remind them before and during the interview that this episode is not live. It can be edited. So even the beginning of this recording, I told Lindsey, finish your thought, say what you need to say. It's okay because I can always make edits, but you don't want to let the fear and shakiness of getting something wrong stop you from sharing your thought. And really, that only happens when an episode is live. If an episode is recorded, then it's not nearly as intimidating. The next piece of advice is to spend some time talking with your guest before hitting record. This is really going to allow your guest, again, to feel comfortable. I've even heard of a podcaster who actually took his guest to breakfast before recording. And actually during their conversation, they kept referring to that conversation they had at breakfast. And so it was kind of funny, but I thought, you know, that was a really great way to make that guest feel truly like a guest, almost as a friend instead of like a formal, scary interview. And so I thought that was a great approach. Sharing a good laugh or even a meal will really help to calm your guests' nerves and just remind them that you are just two real people having a genuine conversation.

Lindsey Perez 6:09

I think that's great. I think if you are able to do that just in proximity, if you're close enough to your guest, I think that is a great idea and a great opportunity to kind of break down those barriers before you start recording. However, I think an alternative, if you were recording maybe long distance, would be to go ahead and pad in some extra time at the beginning of the episode. And you might even throw that in the outline and say, hey, before we start recording, I'd love to just chat for 10 minutes, 15 minutes. Let's catch up on our days. Let's see how things are going. How are you feeling? Might be a great question. Is there anything I can do to help you feel more comfortable during this recording? I know personally that having just those few minutes before you start recording just kind of gives you a minute to connect with the person that you're going to be speaking with during that episode.

Praise Guests After The Interview

Cara Pacetti 6:52

Absolutely. It also provides the perfect opportunity to clear up any questions, maybe that you sent beforehand with your guest. And so you guys can talk that out before ever hitting record. And I just recommend don't move too quickly past this, make it a priority. Um, I know there are podcasters who have unique routines that are set in place, just like the one who took his guest to breakfast. So if you have a routine that you follow that makes your guests super comfortable, Lindsey and I would love to hear that and to be able to share that with other podcasters as we see this question. Send us a message using fan mail and let us know how you make your guest feel comfortable. The last piece in this comes actually after the interview has been recorded. You might feel tempted to skip this part because it's over, the recording is done, and you just want to move on with your day, but this part makes a huge difference. So when you finish recording, I want you to take some time to tell your guests what they did well. Let's face it, the immediate response once the recording is over that most guests feel, especially if this is within their first 10 podcasts that they've ever been a guest on, is they're probably thinking, Did this really go well? Did I do okay? Am I an okay guest? And all of those insecure questions just start popping up. And so for you, as the host who initiated this, who helped plan this, to look at them and say, this was a great recording. And this is how you added value to this recording. You are going to add value for our audience because you answered in this way, or just call out something specific to really speak to those questions and just reassure your guests that they did well. And the beautiful part in all of this is that when your guest feels good about the experience, they are way more likely to share the episode with their friends, with their audience. And of course, that will help your podcast grow naturally, uh, being that podcasts are shared by word of mouth. You want your guests to walk away feeling confident and excited to share this episode with everybody.

Lindsey Perez 8:57

I agree. That part can be so meaningful. I think that can just really, I think, not only just brighten their day, but make them feel more comfortable to share the episode, want to come back, or even speak to others about being guests on your podcast, saying, Hey, I love this. Kara was incredible. She made me feel so just at ease. And I think you would actually really do well on her podcast. And I think that's another great way to just kind of expand your listeners and expand the guests that you have on your podcast.

Cara Pacetti 9:24

I love that. That is so great. I didn't really think about the fact that the guest can actually even recruit more guests because you are such a phenomenal host. It's almost like hosting a dinner party. You know, it was, it was great. I want to go back. You should come too. And so I love that point. That's awesome. So at the end of the day, helping your guests feel comfortable really is simple. It's all about setting clear expectations, keeping it human, and giving your guests some encouragement along the way. Do these things consistently. And not only will your interviews improve, but you'll actually enjoy them a lot more too.

Lindsey Perez 9:56

I agree. Thank you so much for having me again. This was amazing. Um, I think this is a great example of how you treat your guests and how they want to come back. So I want to come back again. I hope you'll have me.

Cara Pacetti 10:07

I know. Second time here with me, Lindsey. I'm so happy that you decided to jump back in and record with us again. And of course, you will be invited back. We'll make that happen. All right. Well, if you have questions about your next guest interview, please reach out to us on the podcaster success team by emailing support@buzzsprout.com. And be sure to join us every Monday to kickstart your week. Thank you so much for listening. And as always, keep podcasting.