060 How to Warm Up Your Podcast Guest

Have you ever had a dud of an interview? You know, your guest is dry as dust and half way through the interview you’re wonder why you ever thought they’d be good for your show?

Do you watch late night talk shows and wonder why every guest (even the not so famous ones) are so good at being interviewed? You could chalk it up to the qualified host but the better bet is that the folks behind the scenes are doing their job.

Here’s the inside secret to a avoiding duds and pulling out a great interview everytime - the warm-up interview.

This is something that happens in radio and television all the time. It’s actually someone’s job to warm up the guest before they go on air. This person checks the facts, figures out which stories and anecdotes are good, and (most importantly for live radio) makes sure they know what they can and can’t say! Plus, the whole process helps to put the guest at ease (and reaffirms their confidence in themselves) so they perform better when they get on air.

If you think about it, it makes perfect sense. We all need to limber up before we get started, right? You always need to stretch a little, get pumped up, and get the lay of the land. We have to figure out where we’re going and feel confident about it before we jump out of the gate.

So, how does this translate to podcasting? In this episode of Just the Tip, I share a few of the things I do before I start a recording session with a guest. I’ll explain why warming up your guest will result in a more natural conversation, great content, and better listening experience for your audience. Oh, and let’s not forget it will reduce the chance of you screwing up and sounding like an idiot.

Plus, I also explain how this little 3 - 5 minute practice can save you soooo much time in editing (and may even save your bacon if you’re connection craps out).

So, stop interviewing cold. Click play to find out how and why you need to warm up your guest a bit before you jump into the recording session.

By the way… if you find you need your bacon saved a lot when it comes to editing, you may need to hire a professional. I can help. I offer custom editing packages for podcasters. Let me take care of the technical stuff so you can focus on the fun stuff like interviewing guests, connecting with your audience, and coming up with gold for the next show.