Interview podcasts are an incredible tool for self development - here’s why.
TL;DR:
- Podcasting can help you develop soft skills like building rapport, maintaining good conversations, and storytelling
- The more you do interview podcasts, the better you’ll get at skills like cold outreach, introducing yourself, maintaining conversations, and more.
We’ve discussed the different ways you can monetize a podcast, but monetization isn’t the only benefit of having a podcast. There are a number of benefits that are hard to measure that come with having a podcast, particularly an interview based podcast. In this article we’ll cover some of these benefits.
Cold Outreach
In order to get guests on your show that will truly elevate podcast, you’ll have to reach beyond your existing network. You do this with cold outreach. Whether that’s sending a cold email, sending a DM through a social profile, or introducing yourself at a conference, you’ll have to get comfortable stepping outside of your comfort zone and making the ask.
As you do more and more cold outreach and land bigger and bigger guests you’ll refine your pitch and get better at the cold outreach process in general.
This is a skill that comes in handy in all businesses - getting a stranger to take action is a skill that’s universal.
Building Rapport
When conducting an interview you have a few minutes before you start recording to build rapport with the guest. This is your time to connect with the guest so they feel comfortable sharing with you. Having a podcast forces you to get really good at building this rapport quickly.
If you’re struggling with this there are really just two aspects you need to nail down:
- Your own introduction - who you are, what you do, what your podcast is about, who your listeners are
- Connecting with the guest - do some research beforehand and find some common ground you can connect with the person on before starting the questions.
As with all the benefits here, the more you do this the better you’ll get. When I first started I really struggled with explaining who I was and who the listeners of the podcast were. I didn’t know who was listening and I wasn’t sure how to position myself. As I got more data and had more conversations with listeners I now can give my guests really good context before we start recording.
The context of who you are and who your listeners are doesn’t just make them feel more comfortable because they know who they’re talking to, it also helps them give answers that will actually provide value to you and your audience.
Getting Good At Conversations
There’s a lot that goes into having conversations in podcasts. In a regular conversation lulls aren’t that big of a deal. You can change the topic and no one will really mind much. However, in a podcast recording you can’t veer too much off topic. Not only that but you also have to manage the flow and energy of the conversation.
Sometimes your guests will bring the heat and you won’t have to do much, you basically just have to ask some good questions and your guests will do the rest. With other guests they may be a little bit more reserved or just won’t have as engaging of a style when they speak. With these guests you have to think about the audience and make sure they’re not losing interest. This requires jumping in and adding in a joke or a story, or offering your own perspective on the topic.
With podcasts you’re not doing a regular journalist interview, you’re co-creating the episode with the guest. The audience is coming for you more than they’re coming for the guest. For a more detailed explanation of this concept, check out our interview with Jordan Harbinger.
After doing a number of interviews you’ll find yourself better at normal conversations with the people in your life as well. You’ll ask better questions that make them feel like you’re really listening and thinking about what they’re saying, you’ll be better at telling stories, and you’ll have less lulls in your conversations.
Whether you’re in and interview, trying to close a sale, or just meeting new people, this is a skill that will help you leave a lasting impression on the people you meet. People remember how you made them feel and having a good conversation leaves a person feeling heard and valued.
Personal Branding
Interviewing industry experts is a shortcut for building authority in a niche. Not only do you get to pick the brains of leaders in your space and get to learn directly from them, but people will start to associate you as one of them because you’re talking to them.
On the branding deep dive podcast we’ve had the opportunity to host a number of branding experts, and the more branding experts we have on, the more we get inbound requests to have other branding experts on.
The benefit of having a strong personal brand is that you can charge a premium for working with you and you’ll start getting inbound leads. People that come to you because they want to work with you instead of you having to do outreach or advertising.