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We’ve published quite a few articles on the topic of the podcast interview format. Jim Collison said at times it’s the lazy way to do a show; Robert Crandall believes it’s time to end the podcast interview format; and Richard Davies disagrees with Crandall.
However, one of the most popular shows continues to be an interview podcast. Granted, Joe Rogan brings star power to the table when he interviews his friends and big-name stars for hours on end, but it is an interview-format show.
Hellocast co-founder Brandon Hull believes that the interview format needs to take a step forward. “We should be honest with ourselves about this and acknowledge it’s a craft. It’s not just a matter of showing up and being talkative or asking a lot of questions ad hoc. Interviewing can be learned, to be sure, but it is a craft that can be done well, or poorly.”
Hull said he was writing about the interview format for himself. He also hosts a show where he interviews people. “I’m far better at observation than I am at the art of podcast interviews, myself, and because I’m wanting to get better at podcasting I’ve been paying closer attention to this over the last few months.”
After analyzing the situation, Hull says there are “two missing ingredients in many podcast interviews that makes them very different from the interviews we watch on television or hear on radio. And if we can set aside our pride, we may learn something from them.”
The first missing ingredient is the personality and interview talent of the host. “When I think about the shows that have captivated me from one episode to the next — and this is true with podcasting as much as it is with television and radio — it’s about the host. The guest should always appear to be in the spotlight on a podcast interview. But know this: a great host knows how to leverage their own personality in working with a podcast guest, so the two are working together to produce a great show.”
The second missing ingredient is the prep and grooming of the guest. “There’s another reason we’ve consumed so many celebrity interviews over the decades since television was invented. We love when smart or funny or clever hosts get their guests to bring their ‘A game.’”
Hull says a pre-interview call can go a long way to forging this sort of plan with your guest. If you can’t pull that off, maybe a custom video you send them? Or maybe you bake in extra time prior to the interview beginning to prep your guest?
Hull says we need to work more closely with our guests to bring shows that have personality and differentiation that’s noticeable within five minutes of the show beginning, and definitely throughout.
Read his full column HERE.