Have you ever noticed how a Q & A is printed on line or in a magazine? The questions are in bold and the answers are in regular type, aren’t they? Plus, the questions are usually short. Remembering this can help you avoid two big mistakes that many podcasters make when doing interviews.
First, let’s look at why printed questions are in bold. They need to be read, that’s why! They offer the skeleton structure for the Q & A. If your questions are weak and your voice trails off at the ends of sentences, they aren’t doing their job of holding the interview together. In a printed Q & A you don’t see the ink getting paler and paler as it comes to the end of the sentence do you? Then don’t let your voice do that. I tell my clients to make the last word of their question as strong as the first word.
The next big mistake you
can make in an interview is to try and show off how much you know in your questions. A Q & A is not about you. It’s about your guest. Put your ego aside and ask direct, simple questions that will get the best answer out of your guest. I often think of good interview questions as being like jabs in boxing. They should be forceful and direct and hit the exact spot that will get the best answer from the guest.
So next time you’re doing a Q & A on your podcast, keep the questions simple and direct, and be sure your voice is strong as you ask your questions. That’s the winning combination!
