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 Amerman.
Nicole Pettes 0:16
And I'm your co host, Nicole Janton. Together, we're sharing the tips and strategies that we and our clients have used to generate seven figures from podcasts guesting, so that you can tap into the true power of your podcast interviews.
Christine Amerman 0:29
Whether you're an entrepreneur who wants to grow your business, a podcast, or who wants to grow your own show, or both. You're in the right place. Welcome to podcast guesting for profit. Welcome back to podcast guessing for profit, excited to be back with you both myself and Nicole today to talk with you about what to do when the host throws you a curve ball during the episode. Recently, Episode 131. To be exact, we spoke about how to prepare for an interview ahead of time when the host doesn't provide those questions for you to write out your answers for you to prepare before you get to the recording. So make sure to check that one out. What we're speaking about today is how to begin to develop the skill of speaking extemporaneously as a guest, this is the term that we use when I was teaching speech. As a professor, where you are comfortable enough with your material, you're prepared, you're confident, and you're able to be spontaneous, because unexpected curveballs from the host can totally throw us into fight or flight, hitting out deer in the headlights, however your nervous system responds to these things. And we want to name those things and tell you how we've dealt with them, how we coach our clients to deal with them, so that you can feel a sense of safety and not only safety, but confidence in your ability to handle those things that will come up. Eventually, the more you do this. So if we can deal with this now outside of a recording setting, then we have a frame of reference to go back to when the inevitable happens. So, Nicole, I remember. And I think you probably can recall it viscerally. Early in your podcast guesting career, you had one of these experiences. Could you describe it for us?
Nicole Pettes 2:53
Yeah, for sure. So in one of my very first ever podcast interviews that I did, I was thrown a big curveball, because when I went on the show, all I had known was that this person wanted to talk to me because I host another pilot podcast called anxious and ambitious, where I talked about anxiety and ambition. So when I went onto the show, I figured, well, they want to talk to me about what they know I talked about, which is anxiety and ambition. So I had prepared some talking points, some stories that I wanted to share, and I was feeling excited and confident. And then as soon as I sit down, they hit record and they say, You know what, Nicole, today, we're going to be talking, I'm so excited, because we're going to be talking to you all about spiritual awakening. And you could just imagine I was a deer in the headlights, like, okay, notes can exit you out, because this is no longer relevant. But I had to pull it together, maintain my composure, and go on to talk about a completely new topic that not only had I not really talked about much to begin with at all period, but also I was just not prepared to talk about on that interview. So it was a big curveball. And Christine, I know you maybe not to the same extent of a completely different topic. But you've been throwing these curveballs too, right?
Christine Amerman 4:10
Oh, my gosh, I'm just I'm really feeling that for you. Like something that you weren't comfortable talking about, that you hadn't really talked about publicly. And that was wildly different than the expert topic that you thought they were bringing you in to speak about it. Hello, the topic of your own podcast. I'm excited to hear from you. And we will get to this everybody like how Nicole handled that in the moment and then what she did to create a plan for the next time something like that might happen. I have two examples to share with you. That really stood out for me. One was pretty early on when I was a guest the first time on entrepreneurs on fire. And at that time, he had yes everybody the same questions. So doing my homework and realizing what a big opportunity this was. And it was my firt it was the biggest podcast I've ever been on by far. And so I, I had a Google Doc with all of my answers typed up, right? This is what that that is how I prepared for this, because I was nervous. And I was thrown off a little bit at the beginning of that recording, because at that time, several years ago, he had asked you to be plugged into a landline for your internet. And so I had to pick up my computer from my desk and like, move it into the living room, where there was, you know, a couch and I was sitting on a couch outside of my normal space, and so that I could be plugged in to the Ethernet cable, and then I was in the basement. And so I needed people to not be in the family room right above me because you could hear all the footsteps and he was like really strict about being in a quiet place. And he would reschedule if you're a minute late. So I'm like already sweating, running into this episode. And then he asked me a question mid interview that was not on the list. And it was a challenging question. And it was like, Well, what would you say to the people who didn't have the experience or didn't get the result of, of what you're talking about Christine, and it was something from my book. I don't remember the specifics. But anyway, I totally froze. And all I was aware of in that moment, was the ticking of the clock, and the sweating of my armpits. And I don't know how long I sat there. No idea. But what I do know is that in the months, between when we recorded that, and when that episode aired, I thought about it probably every day, and wondered how ridiculous and uninformed and the opposite of expert I was going to sound when that thing came out. And I can remember that this is, this is what I was still drinking alcohol. And I can remember that I was over at like some really close friend's house that night. And like we were drinking wine. And it wasn't until like, I left their house that I sat in the car, and like used liquid courage to listen to that episode. I finally did at the end of the day, they come out like five o'clock that morning, right? So it took a lot for me to listen. And when I did, either the silence had been totally in my head or they had edited out my pause. So you wouldn't ever know if you went back and listened to it, what had happened and the drama that my mind created about it over the next a couple of months. The other example that I have is when I was on the amazing podcast, the unmistakable creative. And the host Srini has an interview process unlike any I've other other host I've ever experienced. And probably 90% of his questions were ones that I have never been asked before in the hundreds of interviews I have done in my career. And he opened the way he opened told me everything I needed to know about how the rest of the interview was gonna go. He opened and said, How did being a firstborn affect the trajectory of your life? Something to that effect? And I was like, no what. So he had done enough research on me to find out that I was a firstborn, right? And then create a whole list of questions which made for an incredible, truly unique one off interview, right? And threw me right up onto my tippy toes where I stayed for the rest of that episode. So those are two examples that really stand out, in my mind. So you've heard some of our episodes, or some of our experiences here. And these episodes that really, really threw curveballs. What I want to do, briefly is for us to talk a little bit about like what we know now for strategies you can use in the moment to deal with them. And the biggest one that I'll kick us off with is taking a deep breath. You can allow silence, they can edit it out. Silence is something that most of us are terrible about. Allowing even in regular conversations, but here, take a moment to recenter yourself. Close your eyes if you need to take a deep breath and ponder it and let that answer come up. From within you, rather than feeling like you just have to spit ball it until you can put a coherent sentence together. What else would you add? Nicole? What's been helpful for you?
Nicole Pettes 10:12
Well, that very first one I can really resonate with, because I remember when they threw that curveball at me, and they said, Okay, so now tell us a little bit about yourself, tell us about your awakening journey. I all, you know, I felt like a horse and a race, I was just on a hamster wheel trying to say as many words as I can, because I forgot this key thing of really taking a deep breath. So find a way to get grounded, be in the moment, just come back into the now because this can send us into a little bit of a fight or flight, which can cause that, a little bit of jabbering, maybe rambling, so you want to avoid that. So remember, take that deep breath. And something else that's really helped me is embracing that. This is actually a benefit, not a problem. If somebody throws a curveball at you, this is an opportunity to share unique insights, something that you haven't maybe thought about, and this can actually result in creating one of the best episodes that you've ever had. So embrace it as an opportunity, instead of as a problem. Oh,
Christine Amerman 11:16
my gosh, yes, I could not agree more. And here's the other thing to remember. Vulnerability is memorable. And so is authenticity. I mean, those are two core values by which we both I think, live our lives. And authenticity is such it's a core value of our company, and the way that we live and lead and work with our clients, right? So you want to bring your authentic self. And that includes probably bumping up against your perfectionism. If you've ever had it, you probably have, right if you're listening to this, and you resonate with us, bumping up against a fear of failure of looking wrong and being judged. Right. So this is actually an opportunity to work with those things. And, and move through them, right and develop new neural pathways, and be honest, and just say, you know, I don't I don't have a great answer for that, or I'm not really sure. That's not my area of expertise. Right? That's okay. That is actually okay. People will respect you more for being honest, than for trying to make something up. Because guess what they can feel that you're making it up, they can feel that you don't actually believe it, but you haven't actually integrated it. And that creates cognitive dissonance in their brain, even if they don't understand why. So honesty builds trust, and we know you need to know like and trust in order for people to follow you off of that episode, and into your world and become clients.
Nicole Pettes 13:04
Yeah, exactly. So you know, be honest, be in the moment and be curious. Ultimately, if this they're throwing you a curveball that you don't know about, you could even ask a clarifying question or ask the host for their opinion, whatever it is that you need to do to stay engaged. So this is really going to be more natural for you if you have a holistic strategy. So I'd love to invite you if you haven't already to come join our free Facebook group podcast guessing for profit. We'll drop the link in the show notes that you can come join us there. And when you do, have you experienced a curveball, let us know we'd love to hear it. Reach out and let's start a conversation around this because we can't be the only ones who have had experiences like this
Christine Amerman 14:01
here's to living your life with passion