If you look at the major TV interviewers, you'll notice something quite quickly.
They're not sloppy.
They're not crappy.
And there's something that marks them out from the average interviewer that you hear on most podcasts.
All the interviewers seem to have a set of questions.
And an agenda. A TV interviewer will almost never show up and just ask random questions. And often, these interviews last less than five minutes.
If it were one hour, the presenters would have extremely detailed questions, so that the interview followed a structure. That's because they're professionals. And not only are they professionals, but they're smart enough to know that only a crappy interviewer would show up without being prepared.
So what's involved in the preparation of the podcast interview outline?
Here are the three core stages in any interview. Think of it as a good dinner. 🙂
Stage 1
Starters
- Introduction of the show
- Introduction of the guest
- Introduction and description of concept
Stage 2
Main Course
- Agenda of three main topics being covered that day.
- Topic 1: Name of topic.
- Topic 2: Name of topic.
- Topic 3: Name of topic.
Stage 3
Dessert
- Summary: Summary of the three topics covered
- Credits: Where the guest's contact details are given to the audience.
- Sign Off
That's it. And of course, you have to remember to be the interviewer. Not start telling your own stories, because reallllly…there's only so much time. Let the interviewee speak. You're just the person asking the questions and following a thread.
And of course, following the outline above. 🙂
That's your job as an interviewer.—To make sure you don't end up being known as a ‘crappy interviewer.'
Next Step: Have you listened to The “Three-Month Vacation” Podcast as yet?
I made two vows when I started up Psychotactics back in 2002. The first was that I’d always get paid in advance and the second was that work wouldn’t control my life. And yes, I decided to take three months off every year. Find out how I do that—The Three Month Vacation Podcast
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