A guest could be your dad, your mother-in-law, your best friend, or the man on the street. It could also be the friend of a friend who can get you on the phone with your favorite author, actor, or athlete, but now you have a second party to worry about. Regardless of who your guests are, even if they're the fastest of friends, working completely outline-free is no longer an option. Pull together a few questions, organize a direction and tempo for your podcast, and leave yourself some breathing room for impromptu or interesting off-topic tangents to emerge.
Welcoming in-studio guests
Removing the "technical difficulties" element usually means either taking the show to the guests or bringing the guests to the show. This kind of interview not only is the most fun to do, but also gives you direct contact with the subject so you can observe body language, facial expressions, and reactions to questions and answers.
When you have guests visit your facilities, which if you're a podcaster will probably be your house, make them feel at home. Offer them something to drink. Offer to take them on a tour of your humble abode. Introduce them to your family. The point is to be polite. You don't have to cook dinner for them, but offering a hint of hospitality, be it a glass of water, is a nice touch.
If you're having in-studio interviews, it's also a good idea to get your home and yourself ready to receive guests. Sure, Tee has recorded quite a few podcasts in his pajamas, but because he's reading a book for his podcast, he's allowed. If fantasy and science fiction authors Terry Brooks and Catherine Asaro ever come over to his house for an interview, don't think he'd be greeting them in his Joe Boxer jammies with his Guinness slippers keeping his feet warm.
Okay, maybe he would greet them wearing the Guinness slippers, but he would be bathed and dressed and have his teeth brushed and hair combed. The key word here is guest. Treat them as such. Be cool, be pleasant, be nice. And if you're a guest on someone else's podcast, the same rules apply. Don't prop your feet up on the furniture, don't demand hospitality, and don't be a jerk during the interview.
The in-studio visit is an audition for both guest and host. If the guest is abrasive, abusive, and just plain rude, chances are the guest will never be invited back, no matter how well the previous interview goes. If a host asks unapproved questions, continues to pry into personal matters that have nothing to do with the interview, or seems determined to take over the interview spotlight as if trying to impress the guest, said guest may never return, even if extended an invitation.
Meeting guests on their own turf
Be cool, be pleasant, be nice. These same rules apply when you take your podcast on the road. You are now practicing — for the lack of a better term — guerilla journalism, ambushing unsuspecting people on the street with questions that may not strike you as hard and probing but could be to people who don't expect them.
A good approach in getting good interviews is to ask permission of your guests, be they passers-by or experts and authorities in the general vicinity, to interview them. Shoving a microphone in someone's face and blurting out a question is hardly a great way to introduce yourself and your podcast to the world. If the guest you wish to interview has a handler or liaison, it's good protocol to follow the suggestions and advice of the guest's staff.
 | When interviewing people on the street or in the moment, there are some easy ways to identify yourself. Michael Butler of the Rock and Roll Geek Show uses a mic cube (the classic cube that usually has a logo identifying a network, a show, or an organization affiliated with the interviewer) around his microphone. There is also the simple greeting, "Hi, do I have your permission to record this for a podcast?" (Be prepared to explain what a podcast is, or you could always fudge it and say "broadcast." Keep the greeting simple!) |
 | Be sure to test and check your equipment. You are now out of the controlled environment of your home studio; you have to deal with surrounding ambient noise and how well your interview is recording in the midst of uncontrolled background variables. Set up your equipment; power up your laptop, mixing board, and mics; and record a few words. Then play back your tests and set your levels accordingly. When you have your setup running, you're ready to get your interviews. |
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