Christine Amerman 0:03
Welcome to podcast guesting for profit, where we bring you the secrets behind what it actually takes to be successful as a podcast guest without being sleazy or salesy. I'm your host, Christine McAllister,
Nicole Pettes 0:17
and I'm your co-host, Nicole Janton. Together, we're sharing the tips and strategies that we in our clients have used to generate seven figures from podcast guesting, so that you can tap into the true power of podcast interviews.
Christine Amerman 0:30
Whether you're an entrepreneur who wants to grow your business, a podcaster, who wants to grow your own show, or both. You're in the right place. Welcome to podcast guesting for profit.
Nicole Pettes 0:47
Hello, and welcome back to podcasting for profit. I'm your host Nicole, and I'm here with my fabulous co host Christine. And today we're going to be talking all about how you can prepare for an interview when the host doesn't provide questions ahead of time. So before we dive in, if you're new here, please don't forget to subscribe or follow the podcast wherever it is that you listen, we're always sharing new and updated podcast guesting tips so that you can be a profitable podcast guest. And if you're back, thank you so much for joining us again, we are so happy that you're here with us today. Now, this is a question that we get asked all the time, which is can I ask the host for questions ahead of time? Can I provide the hosts with questions? Will they give me questions? Right? Can I have this list? And ultimately, we want to feel prepared, right? We'd love to be able to have these questions ahead of time so that we can have our notes prepared. Have our key talking points ready, have our stories ready, or whatever it may be. I have definitely felt this especially when I first got into the podcast guesting world, I was a little bit freaked out about getting put on the spot, potentially answering questions that I didn't know how to answer that I didn't know how I felt about. And with no questions given I was like, how am I going to feel prepared? How am I going to feel safe to actually show up authentically in my voice? Instead of just kind of shaking in my boots about what's this next question going to be. But the truth is, a lot of the time the hosts are not going to provide those questions ahead of the time, a lot of the time these hosts, they want to keep it more conversational, it makes it so much more engaging for the audience. So they may have a few questions prepared. But in general, most of the time, they're not going to give you a list in order of exactly every question that they're going to be asking. So ultimately, the question becomes how can we now feel prepared and comfortable to show up as our authentic self on these podcasts, interviews, even when the host doesn't provide these questions ahead of time. So today, we're going to be giving you some tips so that you can really feel prepared for these interviews, even when the host doesn't provide those questions to you. And ultimately, this is going to come down to proper preparation. Yes, you can still prepare, even if they have not given you the questions, as well as adaptability, right. Some of this is also going to come with practice and gaining that comfort on the mic. But by implementing some of these tips that we're going to walk you through today, you're going to feel a lot more prepared, comfortable, which is going to allow you to be adaptable and present in that moment. Now, Christine, I know that this is something that you are really a rockstar at is just being on the fly and allowing yourself to channel through whatever comes through. So I'd love if you could start us off with how do you think about this when the hosts, you know, show up? They don't give you any questions. How do you look at this?
Christine Amerman 3:41
Yeah, I think like you said, it's most important to understand this is the norm. It is the exception to get questions provided or be asked to provide them yourself. So that is something to really start to understand is that instead of thinking it's going to be most of the time that you're gonna get them, it's gonna be most of the time that you're not. So what can you do to prepare? What can you do to show up feeling as prepped as possible. One thing that you can do is go back to your notes. If you're following our pitch process, you would have already listened to a recent episode. If you haven't, or maybe you were invited, go chew up a few recent episodes and get yourself prepared or re familiarize yourself if you had listened to a while ago. Get in the feeling get in the vibe that is really, really going to help you to understand how this show generally looks feels smells, tastes all other things, right? And you can begin to picture yourself in that guest chair, that guests seat. And perhaps to understand, like some of the things that are really important to them the angles that they typically go with the themes that they typically use beyond what you can tell from, let's say, the description. So you can really respond to what's already being discussed what's out there, assuming that it's an existing show, right? When you listen to past episodes, it really is that easy. And I have seen this bring a whole lot of comfort. Like, I can remember a client who hopped on a coaching call a little bit before an episode, like was about your record freaking out, like, oh, my gosh, Christine, like, how do I prepare? I don't know what to do, like, how do I show up, like, awesome, ground yourself into some recent episodes as a starting point. And then we're not dealing with this huge, blank space, right, we're dealing with something known an actual entity that has a history, and that has a feeling and that has sort of a, like, a personality of its own, that you get to contribute to, rather than having to start from scratch is the beautiful thing about being a guest is that you are entering someone else's stage. And you get to create this beautiful, like, back and forth dance together, instead of having to, you know, walk out alone in sheer terror, and try to figure out how to read the room, which is essentially probably what your mind and your nervous system is responding to is that fear of just being naked, alone on a stage in front of a bunch of people who are going to judge you and potentially throw things at you, right? So none of that's going to happen. But for many of us, that's that's the core fear, right? And so understanding that and understanding, okay, that's what's really going on. Why don't I familiarize myself with what has been spoken before, can be super, super helpful. And then specifically, within that, sometimes there are questions that the host asks every guest. And sometimes they're going to tell you that in like pre email conversations, or pre conversations through email, or whatever, and sometimes they're not. Sometimes they're just not. And so it's up to you to prepare, remember, again, this is their stage, it's their process. And you are going to wind up with this amazing, amazing alga algorithm proof asset out of this appearance. So it's worth a listen, you can listen it to x, when you would normally listen to podcasts or audiobooks or whatever, and jot down or make yourself a voice memo. Is there a question that they open with? Is there a question that they always close with? Right? This is something that we help our clients with a lot is how do you prepare for those questions, you know, are coming, right, even if it's only one or two. And that way, you can create some sense of like, safety and security for yourself that you have at least those answers prepared. Now, when it comes to outlining things sort of, vaguely, I know you have an amazing systems brain, Nicole, so how do you take something that is kind of vague? Like, here's the conversation, here are the themes, here's the way it normally goes, and turn it into enough structure that you can properly prepare?
Nicole Pettes 9:03
Yeah, that's a great question. Now, first of all, I would say a good thing to think about is building on those common questions. What are the most likely things that people are going to ask? Right? It might not even be something that you always hear a lot of the time hosts will end their, their podcast with the same question every time. Right? So that's one thing. But overall, there's going to be general themes that hosts tend to ask about. So what are these core themes that they're going to be asking around, maybe it's your story, maybe it's part of your IP, right? Maybe it's around some of these topics if you sent them a pitch ahead of time, some of these expert topics that you've already laid out for them. So it's really key to have these few core messages in place or key talking points that you could speak to during the interview. And this is going to allow you to stay focused and on track no matter what gets sent your way because essentially, you're prepared for any question that the host sends to. So this is going to allow you to, you know, feel safe, feel clearer, allowed to be more authentic. And so one way that we advise our clients on doing this is getting clear on what are your core messages? What are your expert topics? And then how can you speak about these in a way that's going to feel aligned with the audience and meet them where they're at? Right? So you may have heard us speak about stories that silently sell. This is a huge part about those expert topics is how can you weave in stories that are going to demonstrate and illustrate your core messages? Because stories are remembered and processed so much more than just, you know, stating what it is that you do, for example, so having some of these ideas of what are my topics that I can commonly speak to what are my most powerful stories, this is going to help you feel prepared, because now you have things to pull from, right? If you're somebody who's extra nervous, maybe you have those sticky notes on the side of your laptop, so that if you draw a blank, now you have things that you can go to. Now, this is a lot different than having a keynote, I'm not saying you know, write down a whole keynote speech of exactly what you want to say. So that no matter what the host asks you, you can insert portion of your keynote, that's not the case. But this is about having that preparedness of different ideas that you could speak about so that you're able to actually answer that question and be adaptable in the conversation. And so that's really just a strategy side of it. But some of this actually just comes down to the energy, how you're showing up how your voice is being how you're listening. So could you speak to that a bit, Christine?
Christine Amerman 11:41
Yeah, I definitely recommend that you do something that we even taught when I was a professor teaching speech that is often taught in general communications courses, which is to match someone else's energy. Right. So we have a stage here. And we also have the reality that it is a one on one conversation on this stage. So the way that you are going to come across most effectively to the listeners of that one on one conversation is by matching the energy, the tone, the vibe of that podcast, rather than trying to, you know, come in, let's like, let's say with your keynote speaker jumping around energy, if you're being hosted by somebody who is more calm, who is quieter, who is more laid back, right? Just think about the contrast that that listener would be feeling in their ear, if they're used to this calm, host. And then all of a sudden, you jump in and the volume has to be adjusted, right, like that's a pretty strong pattern interrupt. So to be kind to their ears to be kind to, to be kind to their editor even right, who may or may not adjust for those things. And mainly, to show that you are willing to meet the host where they are and enter the conversation that they've already been having and continue it and add value to it. Match how they show up. And if you're listening to this, you probably are pretty intuitive, empathic person. So you this may come naturally to you. Or it may be something that it's easy for you to activate. Speaking of activating, also practice actively listening to the questions that you're asked. Right? I, you've probably heard the statistics about how most of us are just sitting there waiting for our chance to respond anytime someone else is talking. And we're not actually listening. And this is a real chance for you to shine. Because creating a real conversation rather than trying to bring your talking points to someone else's attempts to create a real conversation, right? There's a huge difference in tone there. I know that this is something that you've experienced. Nicole, could you speak to that a
Nicole Pettes 14:25
little bit? Yeah. So I've actually experienced this as a podcast host before in answering a question and then seeing the guest actually glanced to their other screen where they had their keynote speech or whatever notes they had prepared. And they started talking about something which Yeah, was very insightful, but had nothing to do with the question that I asked. And so as the host, and even for the listeners, this can become a little bit frustrating because they're like, Hey, she asked that. I'm really curious to know that answer. And now you're talking about something completely different. So a lot of this is meeting the listeners where they're at having them here feel like you know, and understand where it is that they're at what they're dealing with. And you're not going to be able to actively do that if you're not even present in the moment not actually answering the question.
Christine Amerman 15:16
Exactly, exactly. Please, like, don't do that. Right. And then I know that something that you have really practiced, because this has been a, an amazing growth edge for you showing up in this type of visibility, is getting yourself energetically ready. And, and moving through those nerves. So how do you do that?
Nicole Pettes 15:47
That's a great question. And you're so right, this is definitely something that I felt, especially at the beginning, I was like, no worrying about the podcast appearance days before it even occurred, and then getting on and being like, I'm gonna have to wear dark colors, because I know I'm gonna be sweating up the storm over here worrying. And the problem is, as well as when you're nervous and you show up, you naturally get out of breath, you speak so much faster. It's harder for people that understand you. And it's harder to be present to listen and answer those questions. Because all of these thoughts, and all of these feelings are going through your body. So this is going to look different for everyone. But I would encourage every single podcast guest to have some sort of calming grounding process that they do leading up to the appearances even right before to get into the moment. So this might even look as simple as you know, taking a few deep breaths before you start the interview. Or it might be going outside feeling grounded before you get into this digital space, right getting back into the earth. And for me, what this has really come down to is clearing away old stuff that was holding me back from really being who I am. So doing that deeper work to figure out who am I what is my story getting into your heart because people can feel when you're sharing from your heart versus when you're sharing from your head. So there's lots that's going to go into this, we should definitely do a deeper dive into the energetics on a later conversation, Christine, but just as a, you know, surface level idea to help you feel prepared is how can you make yourself feel calm, because that calmness is going to transfer into the listeners, it's going to actually increase their like no interest for you. Because it helps them to feel that you're a lot more certain in what you're saying. So this could be the make or break point for your podcast interviews. So really, how can you you know, get into this present moment, have that calmness, so you can shine as your real authentic self, not your scared self who's trying to maybe put on a mask to fit into the situation?
Christine Amerman 17:50
Yeah, exactly. And And lastly, strategically go in knowing what your call to action is going to be. Right that call to action that aligns with the podcast theme that you believe going in would be most helpful for their audience. Because as you probably know, most hosts ask at the end of the interview where the listeners can learn more about you. And this is something that you can definitely prepare ahead of time, we have an episode all about calls to action that you can go and listen to. That is one very tangible strategy and that you can get prepare yourself with ahead of time, as well as some of these others that we've mentioned that cover both the energetics, the mindset, and the strategy. What what is most important for you to understand is that going in with a feeling prepared, right? That comes out of that strategy is what's most important, that allows you just show up with confidence in any scenario, even when you don't have the questions ahead of time. Right. So think about how a, a speaker would prepare for the stage they would prepare, they would not walk on stage and just do improv. Right? And be off the cuff about it, they would prepare. And so while the preparation for a podcast interview is different, there is still preparation required beyond Well, I'm good at conversation, so I think I'll just wing it, right? Repair and if you need some help preparing, you can grab our free small pod big profit training to start or continue developing your podcast guesting strategy so you can feel prepared to attract clients attract audience, all of these things make a move toward making a profit from any Podcast appearance regardless of the size and to do that in a way that feels good and ethical and like a win win. And if you want to grab that training you can grab it at life with passion.com/profit. That's life with passion.com/profit. Thank you for joining us today for this episode of podcast guessing for profit and we'll see you next week
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