Once you’ve scheduled an interview with your guest, you need to make a pre-interview checklist. It’s important to be prepared in order to have the best interview possible. Below are some tips on how to best create a pre-interview checklist for your B2B podcast.
Research Your Guest
While you probably did a fair amount of research when first choosing your guest, this round of research should focus on what your specific audience would like to know. Investigate their work in order to avoid asking about basic information. If your guest is promoting something like a book or seminar, read/listen to it! This gives you the opportunity to skip basic information and dig deeper into the analysis of their work. It may be tempting to focus on everything unique and interesting about your guest, but remember: you only have so long to talk to them. Again, your audience’s interests should drive the conversation.
Contact Guest
It may be helpful to send your guest a pre-interview survey. This could include questions about pronouns, name pronunciation, why they are most qualified to talk about the topic, and more. It’s also helpful to include information about the format of your podcast and what your audience expects. Not only do you gain crucial information about your guest that you won’t have to go over during the show, but your guest also knows what to expect during the interview.
Compile Question List
It’s important to know generally what you want to talk about with your guest. Write a list of a few questions you definitely want to ask. Don’t script every part of the conversation, but this list provides a guideline. It’s also helpful to send this list to your guest about a week in advance. This allows them to get a sense of what the conversation will be about and prepare some answers.
Social Media
Don’t forget to post about your upcoming interview on your social media. Write a post like “Can’t wait to talk to [name] about [topic]” and include relevant hashtags. This gets your audience excited about upcoming episodes and lets them know what to expect. Encourage your guest to post something similar in order to let their followers know about their appearances on other shows.
Minimize Distractions
Shortly before the interview, make sure all potential distractions are taken care of. Inform everyone in your office that you have an important interview scheduled and you cannot be contacted. You could even tape a sign to your door that says “Interview in Process” to show passersby that you aren’t available. Put your phone and computer notifications on silent. Ensure that you are able to give your full and undivided attention towards your guest!