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**(By Richard Davies) **Despite many recent efforts to debunk Malcolm Gladwell’s famous “10,000 Hour Rule,” there is a good deal of truth to what he says.
The New Yorker writer, author, and podcaster claimed that the key to success in any field is simply a matter of practicing a specific task for 20 hours a week for 10 years. In other words, bloody hard work for a sustained period of time can make you really good at almost anything.
“Achievement is talent plus preparation,” Gladwell wrote in his bestselling book Outliers.
Oprah Winfrey, who has spent way more than 10,000 hours on the craft of interviewing, agrees. Her biggest frustration with young people today, she told a British magazine editor, is that “they think that success is supposed to happen” right away. “They think that there isn’t a process to it. They think that they are supposed to come out of college and have their brand.”
After more than 40 years of doing radio, print, and podcast interviews, I’m generally on the side of my fellow media vets.
But they’re not 100% right.
Shortcuts can be taken to improve the odds that your podcast interview is excellent, exciting, and of true interest to your listeners. Experience is important, but true curiosity, attitude, and empathy are vital.
I come to each podcast recording prepared, but ready to pivot; always aware that no matter how much research has been done, or how many questions are written on a briefing sheet, the conversation could fly off in a completely unexpected, wonderful new direction.
That is the joy of interviewing. Spontaneity, humor, and passion are your best friends.
Yes, of course podcast producers should think of the story arc of each episode. And they should prepare ahead of time. But if essential follow-up questions lead you down a brand new path, be prepared to tear up your script.
In addition to the art of pivot and prep, another way to improve your odds of hitting the audio jackpot is the pre-interview.
This does NOT mean a set of email exchanges with your podcast guests in the days or hours before shows are recorded.
Instead, pick up the phone and talk to them for at least 15 minutes. Listen to what they’re passionate about. How easily do they laugh? Do they like being interrupted? Give them a sense of who you are, so that when the interview begins you’re more friends than strangers.
Once in a while, Malcolm Gladwell’s rule is wrong.
That’s the thing with laws of human nature. There are almost always exceptions. Just because you do something all the time doesn’t necessarily mean that you are really good at it.
For many years, I listened to the lunchtime host of a daily public radio show. He often had great guests who were either in the news or had just written an interesting book.
Sadly, the guy was a dismal interviewer and a show-off, who tried to impress listeners with his knowledge and personal experience. He often sounded bored as he read the questions prepared for him by a team of producers on his over-staffed show. He rarely asked follow-up questions and instead stuck with the list in front of him.
The guy didn’t pivot. And while his producers probably did their homework in spades, it was no substitute for enthusiasm and empathy.
With those fresh ingredients, even an amateur with a soft voice and a less-than-dynamic personality can cook up a great podcast interview.
Richard Davies is a podcast coach and consultant. His firm, DaviesContent, formats, produces, and hosts podcasts.