Lessons from Jordan Harbinger, a podcaster that gets over 10 million monthly downloads.

TL;DR:

• In podcasts your audience comes to the podcast for you the host, not necessarily the guest.
• You’re co creating the episode with the guest, you’re not a reporter asking a list of questions.
• Prepare by actually reading the book or consuming the guest’s content and finding subtext and asking the questions that people are thinking but aren’t asking.
• During the interview build rapport before you start recording, manage the flow of energy during the conversation, and make sure to add your own stories/jokes/lessons when relevant.
• After the interview thank them for coming on and follow up every once in a while when it makes sense.

On the outside, hosting a podcast seems easy. You just have to come up with questions and ask the guest, right?

Well if you want to have a mediocre podcast, sure that’s enough. But if you want want to get the best insights out of your guests you have to do a lot more work. You have to do research on the guest, make the guest feel comfortable talking to you, ask deep questions that get them going, manage the flow of energy, be mindful of time, all while also add to the conversation yourself.

As Jordan Harbinger shares, “Your personality in a podcast or an interview is entertainment, but its also you as a creator. You’re co creating this podcast. If you don’t have any input, you’re commoditizing your product” (Branding Deep Dive Podcast Episode 60).

Becoming a world class podcaster takes work before, during, and after the interview. In this guide, we’ll walk you through best practices we learned from talking to Jordan Harbinger on how to become a world class podcast host.

Journalist vs Podcast Host

As a podcaster you’re not just asking questions and letting the guest speak. Your guests may do 5 media appearances a week where they’re saying the same exact talking points, as a podcast host if you don’t add to the conversation your interview won’t be any different from the dozens of other interviews the guest has done.

One of the differences between journalists and podcasters is that with journalists the focus is the story or the guest. You don’t want to add too much personality because then people won’t trust the authenticity of the message. With podcasts on the other hand, the audience isn’t tuning in for the guests (with some exceptions if it’s a huge guest), they’re tuning in to you. They don’t want to just hear from the guest but they also want your perspective and your thoughts.

Now that doesn’t mean you don’t give the guest space to talk, what that does mean is that you need to add value to the conversation. The truly great hosts are able to ensure every moment in the podcast is providing value to the audience.