I was recently invited to be a guest on the Plant Your Seed podcast. It’s a show where people tell the stories of their journey to a plant-based diet. I’ve enjoyed prior episodes—especially this one with animal sanctuary photographer, Sammantha Fisher—so it was a pretty exciting thing for me to do. It was also my first podcast, which is why I was very nervous.
This conversation taught me that I actually have some things to say. Going in I worried that I’d stumble over my words as I searched for the right statistic or idea. That didn’t happen at all. It turns out when you know something, you know it. I also prepared. The host, Fred Ferris, helped, too, by putting me at ease and asking wonderful questions—having a great conversation, really. What I’m learning more and more is that these shows really rely on a good host. I know people usually tune in for the guests, but without an intelligent and thoughtful person leading the conversation it’s no guarantee they’ll shine as much as they can.
I don’t know if I was a good guest or not, but I did feel great about the experience and my performance. Either way, after the show and in anticipation of future opportunities which may or may not come—I hope they do because I had so much fun!—I tried to learn some tips about how to do the best job you can as a great podcast guest on one of these shows. This is what I found:
- Know what you want to say. This seems obvious, but it’s a good idea to prepare instead of speaking off the top of your head. There’s a reason you’ve been invited to the show, so make sure you deliver. I wrote notes and kept them with me during my conversation so that I could reference them when necessary. Simple bullet points worked well to keep me organized and on track. And I should point out that knowing what you want to say doesn’t mean having a script. Just know your subject and your thesis and let the rest come naturally.
- Listen to a few episodes of the show. You’ll want to understand the style of the show and what’s expected of you—and what you should expect—so do a little homework beforehand and it’ll make curveballs much less likely.
- Be present. My wife does a lot of podcast interviews as part of her My Father’s List project (and where I’ve observed most of these best practices), so we have a space dedicated to it with a good microphone (Blue Yeti) and computer station. Even if it’s just a quiet room away from distractions and noises though, that’ll make a big difference. Oh, and turn your phone off.
- Have some water. Talking at length can dry your mouth out. Keep a glass of water or something else near by to wet your whistle when you need to.
- Share the episode. Make sure you let people know where to find the show. This not only promotes you, but also the podcast. I have a rule that whenever I do a podcast (I know I’ve only done one so far, but this is something I’ll stick to if more opportunities come along) I make sure to leave a review on iTunes. This is another way to show gratitude to the host and the show for them having you on.
As I said, this episode of Plant Your Seed is the only podcast I’ve done so far. But it was a wonderful learning and confidence-building experience. I know adhering to the Tips for Being a Great Podcast Guest above will make the next one even better.
Listen to my episode of Plant Your Seed here.