The MEDIA PROS Show

The MEDIA PROS Show


26. How to prepare for your next podcast interview

August 16, 2021

In episode 4 of this show, I discussed all the reasons podcasts are a great medium for growing your business. Go back and listen to that episode if you missed it.

But podcasts work two ways. You can host your own podcast, which can be great for a number of reasons. In a bonus episode I dropped right after episode 20, I interviewed a podcast host, Dr. Brent Lacey, a physician who has built a financial coaching business through hosting a podcast. Check that one out too if you are considering hosting your own podcast.

Another great use of podcasts to build your practice and business is through being interviewed on different shows.

Not only can a podcast interview be fun - after all, they are usually a lot longer than TV and radio interviews, and you can tell stories and give longer answers - but they can also be good practice as you look to do more media.

Just like every media interview you will do, though, you need to prepare so that interview goes great. In this week's show, I want to give you 6 simple tips to prepare so your next podcast interview goes really well, and maybe you get customers, clients or patients out of it.
Listen to the show.
All podcasts are different. You need to know going in how that podcast usually goes. Is it rapid-fire, back-and-forth questions? Is the tone of the show light-hearted and joking? Does the host let guests sell a product or service at the end or promote themselves during the episode?

Listen to a few episodes before you do the interview - and even before you pitch the show in the first place - to make sure you fit what that host likes to do on his or her show.
Develop your message and talking points.
This is a critical step before any interview, whether it's TV, radio, newspaper, magazine, online publication, or yes, a podcast. I work on it with my one-on-one coaching clients because it makes your interview much, much better. And it's a skill I'm still working on improving myself, even to this day.

You want to go into the podcast with an over-arching message to share with the listener, the one thing they should remember and do. Then you want to have three or four talking points to support the message. These can be statistics, stories, personal experiences, quotes, or soundbites.

Obviously, you aren't going to answer every question with this exact script you create. But you will use it as a guide to what you want to say. Go with the flow and answer the questions the host asks, but when you have the opportunity, you can pivot to your message and one of your talking points.
Have stories to tell.
I'm going to do an entire episode at some point on the power of story. The fact of the matter is that people remember stories, especially if they are told well, much more than they remember facts or statistics.

And since most podcasts are at least 30 minutes long, you have time to give longer answers, and to tell stories.

Tell stories of why you do what you do and why it's important to you. Stories of people who have had problems like the one you're discussing on this podcast, and how they overcame that problem, with your help, of course.

People love stories. The podcast host will love you if you have stories to tell, and so will the listeners.
Show personality.
Again, the length and nature of podcasts lend themselves to a little more fun than you can have on TV or the radio. Enjoy it. If the host asks you personal questions, go with it. Show a lighter side, a funny side. Be willing and able to answer off-the-wall questions.

Over the years, I've been asked about my favorite breakfast cereal, my favorite cartoon, my preferred type of alcohol after a sporting event, my walk-up song, and much more. Have fun. I promise the listeners will enjoy it more than if you are boring and just sti...