Dear Reader,
For many years a close friend of mine hosted a weekly 3-hour segment for a radio show called The International Capitalist. With an international audience in the 10’s of thousands, he interviewed people from all over the world. People called in from Dubai to China when he was on the air. It is with his advice on live broadcasting that I would like to start this blog. It is centered primarily around radio interviews, but many of the skills are universal for all interviews as a whole.
Q: What makes a good interviewer?
A good interview starts with genuine interest. The best interviewers are the interviewers that truly are curious about the world and have a passion to learn.
During my friend’s time on the show, many guests he had interviewed would claim afterwords that he was the “Best interview they ever had.”
Why? He wanted to be there and learn about what they had to say.
If the guest had written a book, he read the book. If he hadn’t read it, how could he claim to be interested and pose even the most basic of questions about its topic?
Many people on talk shows ask dumb puffball questions. Questions that they know the author will have an answer to or questions with little to no depth.
A good rule of thumb for an interview:
If a question can come to your head just from looking at the proverbial cover of this authors book, it’s probably a bad in-depth question.
Q: What makes a good interviewee?
Just as the number one rule for an interviewer must be that they are passionate, so too does this apply for the interviewee. Even the smartest man in the world will if he is unmotivated, unpassionate, or shy will make for a poor interview.
When trying to assess who you will interview (especially for a live format) you must screen your clients ahead of time, even if you are sure that they are going to be hits. Once you are live and the show is on, if you picked the wrong person to interview it’s too late.
One time the radio show The American Entrepreneur (The host program of The International Capitalist) had the founder of Craigslist on as a guest. Naturally, the host of The American Entrepreneur thought that the founder of this international company would be a great interview and once they initially booked him they didn’t talk until the show.
This proved to be a substantial error.
The founder was one of the most disinterested and hushed up guests in the history of the show. He refused to talk about the business at all and would only give one-word answers to any questions they had as hosts. Eventually, he was thanked for his time and the show moved on to a new segment. Never take anything for granted in the interview world. Do your research.
Last but not least: Have Fun!
An interview should be a great time for all involved. If the host and interviewee are having fun then the audience will be having fun too.
In summary:
• Both the interviewer and interviewee must be passionate, motivated, and ready to talk.
• The interviewer must have “done their homework” by reading up on the topic they are about to discuss.
• In live media never assume someone will be a good live interview. Always verify beforehand.
• Have fun and both you and your audience will have a better time.
Catch you on the flip side.
-The Author