How To Be A Good Podcast Guest

One of the most under-appreciated skills in podcasting is being a good guest. Whether this is your first time guesting on a podcast, or your 100th, being a guest is as much of a skill as being a host is. In fact, in many ways it’s more difficult. As a host, you have a routine: an intro you do, a standard set of questions, and an outro.

By contrast, if you’re the guest, you’re not set on a comfortable routine. It’s probably your one and only appearance, and you’ve gotta leave a good impression both on the host and their audience. It’s a lot of pressure, and it’s no wonder so many people get nervous guesting on a podcast.

So what does it take for you to be a good podcast guest? In its simplest terms, it means being prepared and doing your homework. Over the past decade of podcast hosting and guesting, I’ve found the following three things to be critical in making sure you’re the best darned podcast guest you can be. Master these, and you’re almost guaranteed to nail any interview.

The reality of the podcasting world is that it’s impossible to keep up with every single podcast. Your host knows this and is probably prepared for you to come in uninitiated. However, that is no reason for you to come in blind. It’s always best to find their show and listen to an episode or two prior to your appearance on their show. Doing this will help you get familiar with the show’s flow and how your host engages with his guests.

Additionally, I recommend getting on the show’s email list. Too often we see shows where the hosts don’t have the time to let their guests know about their upcoming episodes, and being on the email list will ensure you get a notification of your episode’s release the day of its release.

In an ideal world, your host will also provide you with an outline for the show or an overview of what will be discussed. If you don’t get any of that, it never hurts to ask them what they have in mind prior to the recording. Most of the time, the host will either provide you with an outline or give you some idea of what the topic of discussion will be. In either case, make sure you do your homework. I personally recommend pre-answering the questions that are provided in writing. Even if you don’t end up going through the list of questions as provided, you’ll have gone through the process of mentally preparing yourself for the interview, and that process in and of itself can help calm nerves and keep you focused prior to the interview.

You more than likely agreed to be on this podcast because you want to promote yourself. You want your voice to be heard, and the number one way you can self-sabotage this effort is by showing up and not having the stage set for your success.

As more and more podcasts are moving to video, you need to think about your appearance as much as you do how you sound so that you can be set up for a great first impression.

CAMP

Let’s be clear up front: as a guest, the secret to having a good video interview does not mean that you are required to go out and drop thousands of dollars on video production equipment. You’re the guest, and as long as you follow this basic method for lighting and design, you’ll be off to a great start.

So just what is the CAMP method? Quite simply, it stands for:

Composition

Ambient Lighting

Modify Additional Lighting

Podcast!

Composition

The first part of the setup is thinking through how you want to set the camera up. Ideally, find a quiet room where you can sit without any risk of harsh sunlight on you or in the background during the interview. Get comfortable, sit down, and turn on your camera or webcam. Now that you’ve got that on, open up a Zoom session or webcam app preview that will allow you to see the shot you’ve just set up for yourself.

When you position yourself in the shot, you should aim to take up roughly the center third of the image. Make sure that there’s enough space above your head to still see the background, but not so much space that your head only takes up the lower half of the camera or something extreme. This photo below shows the ideal framing for the shot.

Once you’ve got that set up, step out of frame and look at the scene. What’s there that shouldn’t be in frame? What’s missing from the frame? If you’re doing this to represent your business, try and sneak in some company branding into the background and make sure it’ll show up on camera in the final shot.

Some additional things to consider when composing your shot:

• If you’re in a bedroom, do your best to make it look like you’re not in your bedroom… or find another room if possible.
• Make sure your background is free of distractions: cars, kids, and co-workers passing by can be entertaining, but they can also be incredibly distracting for the host and the audience.
• If your only space has a lot of natural light, get a light forecasting app like this one to help you to best schedule your interview at a time when the sun is least likely to interfere with the call.
• Avoid high-trafficked areas of your space both for background distractions and sound.
• If you’re in a private space, make sure that anything that is in the background is intentionally there and not something you would prefer to keep private.
• Nobody likes a messy room. Make sure everything is clean in your background!

Now that we’ve got all of that, we’re going to take this a step further and switch off the lights in the room. This will allow us to consider the next step in the process…

Ambient Lighting

Go back to your screen and study the background. When all the lights are off, what is lit? What isn’t? Are there areas you want to call attention to in the background? Things you might not want to draw attention to? This is where Ambient lighting comes into play.

Ambient lighting is low-level lighting that enhances the background’s appearance. This should not be bright or overly-distracting. Just simple lighting enhancements that better enhance your background. This can be accomplished easily by using existing floor lamps or desk lamps placed strategically in the background. It can splash an entire wall or just sections of furniture. All that matters is that it isn’t so bright that it takes over the camera shot.

It’s worth noting that this does not mean you need to go out and buy custom LED lights and background kits. There’s a good chance you’ve already got enough lights where you are to cover ambient lighting, and, frankly, quite often the window light is enough. However, adding a simple lamp light in the back can also do wonders for a scene.

Modify Additional Light

Depending on your room setup, this is where you can choose how you want to add to the ambient lighting. Again, in the interest of not adding a lot of additional costs, most of what is suggested here can be accomplished by simply turning on the lights. In a standard 3-point lighting setup, you have the Key Light, Fill Light (our Ambient Lighting), and a secondary light/ hair light.

For the sake of simplicity, what we’re looking for is a Key light. If you’ve got an “interview light” like a ring light or other key light panel, then turn that on next. If you’re just working with the room itself, switch on the lights that are closest to you first. Take a look at your scene now. Without you in it, did that light make a difference? Sit back in front of the camera. How does the background look now? If you’re the brightest thing on camera and the background looks dark, you’ll want to reduce how much light you’re getting from your key light (if possible). If you can’t modify the key light, work on the ambient lighting and get it brighter. In short, just work until you’ve got a nice contrast between light and dark in the shot.

Your final shot should have you popping out of the background. Once this look is completed, it’s time to move on to the most important bit… Podcasting!

Podcast!

If it’s about time to record, then this is the point at which we make sure we’re prepared. We’ve done our homework, and we’ve got a nice space to record in. If your audio is already set up and good to go, then you can just dive right into the interview.

If you haven’t set up your audio yet, then let’s take a minute to make sure you’re going to sound as good as you look.

Headphones

Headphones are important because without them you can have speaker bleed (where the speaker’s audio is picked up on your mic). This can be distracting to the host (they hear the echo of their own voice as they talk), and ultimately it makes editing difficult at best for the post-production team. Headphones also ensure that you can record the interview without having to rely on noise cancellation software which will further degrade the quality of audio.

Microphone

A USB microphone is always an added bonus as a guest. It signifies to the host that you are an experienced guest, and it’s the top way you can ensure that you sound good on the final recording. Of course, this is also a terrible rabbit trail to follow into “what’s best?” and “what to get?” so for that reason, we’ve created a Podcast Gear Guide that covers microphones (and headphones) based on your budget. The good news with a mic is that if you don’t have one, can’t afford one, or don’t want the hassle, you’ll be fine so long as you follow the next step.

A Quiet Place

Finding a quiet place to record is very important. Ideally, you want a room that won’t have any audible or visual distractions, good lighting (if you’re recording video), and low reverb/echo. Avoid being in a perfectly square room if at all possible. A quiet place also means removing distractions, so make sure that your phone is on silent and that any other potential external distractions (like kids or pets or delivery people) are mitigated prior to the recording time.

Test Your Gear

Lastly, if you decide to go out and buy all new gear for this interview, be sure you test your equipment and know how it all works before the interview. Nothing is quite as embarrassing as having a nice, new, shiny piece of gear that ruins an otherwise smooth interview because you can’t operate it properly.

Speaking of being embarrassed and frustrated, also make sure you also test your Internet speed prior to the interview to ensure you have enough to handle a virtual call. Today’s podcast recording setups are getting more and more advanced, and require more and more bandwidth to record with. So make sure you are on the up-and-up before you record the interview. 

PRO TIP: When recording the interview, it is recommended to reduce the interview window to a small size and position it as close to the camera lens as possible. This helps ensure eye contact during the call.

Being a good guest means being a supportive guest after the interview is over. When you see yourself getting tagged on social media for a podcast interview you did, be sure to comment, like, and repost that content. After all, you went on the podcast to promote yourself and/or your work. You are squandering the opportunity if you don’t share the episode that features you.

Even if you don’t feel like you did a good job, the fact that the podcast is out and public is a testament to the fact that they think you’re worthy of having your content published. Trust them and take a few moments to share it with your social network. In doing so, you’ll promote yourself and help the show you were on become more visible to the world.

As a bonus, here’s a video I did a while back that succinctly goes over the points covered here (and then some). If you’re looking for the “reader’s digest” version of this article, it’s a good watch.

We hope that these tips will help you make the most of your time on the podcast you’re guesting on. Being a guest ain’t easy, but if you follow these recommendations, you’ll be a guest who will be remembered for years to come.