Thanks to my PR guru Luana Ribeira, I’ve been a guest on around 30 podcasts this year.

In terms of the hosts, most have been very good. Probably the most enjoyable show to be a guest on was Juliette Stapleton, but there’s been a good number of other great hosts too.

But…there’s been some that stank. Meaning: a lower quality show, and a worse listener experience.

Here’s 6 things the best podcast hosts did that IMO made the show miles better:

1. GIVE CLEAR ARRANGEMENTS

Not just on times, but also tell me if the podcast is audio only or video too (so I know whether or not I can get away with my disgusting ‘bed hair’ and 3 day old clothes).

Don’t expect me to dial into a US phone number from the UK. Have a nice easy Zoom link (or similar) I can use.

And…actually turn up!

2. CONFIDENT

The 5 minute ‘pre chat’ before you hit record makes all the difference.

If you’re upbeat, enthusiastic and take charge of the conversation, it makes your guests feel at ease. As opposed to being nervous and awkward.

3. DON’T TALK TOO MUCH

When you’re interviewing someone, the guest is the star, not you.

Too many times I’ve been sat there silently for 5 mins+ at a time while the host goes off some self-indulgent rant.

Don’t invite me on your podcast if you want to do all the talking.

4. A FLUID STRUCTURE

Some hosts have a list of 10 questions they absolutely have to ask. The following chat ensues:

“Hey Richard, what do you think about X?”
“Well, <long answer>.”
“AWESOME! What do you think about Y?”
“Well, <long answer>.”
“AWESOME! What do you think about Z?”
“Well, <long answer>.”
“AWESOME! What do you think about…”

And I’m like ‘were you even listening to my answers?’

The best conversations are the ones where it feels like 2 friends chatting. Friends don’t talk like this. They comment on what each other is saying and the thread goes wherever it wants.

Eg, let’s say I talked about pain points in answer to a question of yours. You might say ‘interesting how you mentioned pain points just there – if a marketer doesn’t use pain points, what should they do instead?’

Now it’s more like a real conversation, instead of a forced interaction.

5. A NORMAL PERSON

You’re not ‘fake enthusiastic’ yelling ‘AWESOME, AMAZING!’ to everything I say.

But you’re not bored and lifeless either.

Again, 2 friends chatting naturally.

Which leads me on to…

6. NO ‘CRAZY’ QUESTIONS

‘What was your first car?’
‘A 1992 Honda Civic.”
‘AMAZING! What’s your favourite type of wine?’
‘Sigh…red.’
‘WOW, THAT’S INCREDIBLE! If you were an owl, what kind would you be?’
‘Er…what?’

I always find ‘quickfire 300 questions in 60 seconds’ kind of stuff annoying.

But that one might just be me.

What podcast experiences/tips/stories do you have? (From the point of view of either the host or guest.) 

P.S.: I’m sharing an irrelevant image of myself with this post, because that’s what influencers do.