How to craft engaging interview questions for your podcast

Inviting guests to join you on your podcast can be an effective way to add variety to your show and reach a wider audience. The guest can bring a new perspective to the table or share insights on a topic that you are not overly familiar with. However, regardless of how interesting or knowledgeable this person might be, it is YOUR job as the host to craft engaging interview questions that will elicit the responses that pull your listeners in.

Put yourself in your listeners’ shoes

Who is it that you expect will be listening to your podcast? How old are they? What do they do for fun? What are they passionate about? Putting yourself in your listeners’ shoes will help you to discover what type of content they would find most compelling. The test for each question that you craft should be “How will my guest’s response intrigue and engage my specific listeners?”

What are you most curious about?

As the podcast host, you will sound most authentic when asking questions that you are truly interested in. If you have any burning questions for your guest, it is likely that your listeners do too! Feel free to add these questions to your list and incorporate them throughout the interview.

What is your guest passionate about?

Do your research beforehand to learn all that you can about your guest and their specific area of interest or expertise that will be discussed on your podcast. This knowledge will help you to anticipate what topics they will get most excited about. Writing questions that incorporate your listeners’ interests and your guest’s passions will result in a flow of conversation that is engaging for everyone involved.

Be prepared to think on your feet

Although you’re coming up with a well thought out list of questions for your guest, you have to be able to improvise and ask meaningful follow-up questions to further the conversation. For each question that you write, anticipate how your guest might answer and jot down a few ways in which you can build off of their responses.

You’re ready to go!

Now that you’re ready to record, why not take advantage of all the amazing features that TalkShoe has to offer podcast hosts like yourself? Bring your guests into our state-of-the-art studio, conveniently located in downtown Toronto’s stackt market! Your guest can’t make it in person? No problem! The TalkShoe platform allows them to easily join the conversation by phone or web.

Start recording with TalkShoe today and take advantage of all these features and more that will help elevate your podcast to the next level and get your voice heard!

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