Yes, September 30th is International Podcast Day. Who knew?
It’s made me reflect that: a lot of us are podcasters now. Since Covid, a lot of people have started podcasting, video podcasting, hosting webinars, guesting on webinars, vlogging, hosting online masterclasses, and interviewing other people to add value to those masterclasses (eg colleagues / contacts / experts etc). We’ve all become interviewers and presenters – but are we any good at it?
Can can we all BE GOOD INTERVIEWERS? It’s just asking questions, right? And hopefully listening to the answers. So – we just need to be able to (1) speak, (2) listen, and (3) say goodbye at the end?
Well, there’s a bit more to it than that. And I don’t mean to say that only trained, experienced broadcasters like myself can do it. It just takes a bit of training, practice and knowhow. There are rules, techniques, habits that work – and those that don’t.
I have recently been delivering my “Interviewing Skills” and “Podcasting to Build Your Brand” training courses (online and in-person – they’re one-to-one sessions, or groups). They have a really valuable interactive element, ie the trainee interviews me (!) which makes a change, as I usually do the interviewing) and we playback, watch it bacjk and give feedback. Depending on what the trainee needs, I pretend to be really dull and long-winded (I know, hard to believe) and they have to zhuzh/sparkle me up, by what they say. And they need to interrupt (in a nice way) to stop me from droning on.
I see the internet defines ‘good listeners’ as:
- They’re fully present. …
- They don’t listen to respond. …
- They react in the moment. …
- They don’t have an agenda. …
- They don’t jump to give advice. …
- They never interrupt. ..
But of course – we’re not there just to listen. This isn’t therapy. We hosts / podcasters have to shape the discussion, keep it on track, keep it moving, stop it stultifying – and keep it interesting for the viewer/listener.
There’s LOTS to say about being a good interviewer or podcaster. Get in touch to book a session (via MS Teams or in person) one-to-one or in groups (I recently had 700+ people sign up to one of my webinars). info@sarahlockett.co.uk
