80: How to Be an Exceptional Podcast Guest with Kelly Glover

Today's podcast episode is all about podcasts. My guest this week is Kelly Glover. She is the founder of the Talent Squad podcast agency. And Kelly is a powerhouse publicist who specializes in booking podcast tours for entrepreneurs, authors and leaders. Kelly is a bona fide talent in the media and talent management industry. So on today's episode, she gives us a behind the scenes look at how you can pitch podcasts and ace your.

Interviews and leverage any of the results.

You need to get your message across now. Editor's note.

We recorded this podcast just as a.

Coronavirus outbreak was starting. We had no idea what a monster this crisis would become. Had I known, Kelly and I probably would have gone down a different path.

Because she has a lot of experience.

As well, especially when it comes to public relations and understanding the media.

However, there is still a lot of.

Value in this episode. So even though we're not speaking directly to the crisis itself, we are speaking.

To the value of a podcast.

Being a guest on one can be incredibly helpful in this time of crisis. Now, I feel that podcasts offer tremendous value for leaders and organizations.

So if you're a leader or a.

Business owner or an entrepreneur, you, you should take advantage and the reach of this medium. Right now there are more than 850,000.

Active podcasts to choose from.

30 million podcasts episodes, opportunities for you to be a guest. And in a time of crisis, what a great medium to get your message out there. So think about becoming a guest. For example, right now, we are in the thick of the coronavirus. I love interviewing guests about their specialty, their subject matter expert, and how they can help you, the listener, get through the coronavirus. Kelly Glover is offering options on how to be a great guest. Now I'm starting to nudge all my clients towards podcasts to use as a media tool for internal and external communication. So I am never surprised when I run into a highly regarded CEO or leader that there is a podcast in the executive mix. So you want to become a great podcast guest? Well, then, take a listen.

Hello Kelly, thank you so much for joining me on the podcast today.

Thank you, Molly. It's a pleasure. I've been busting to speak to you for a very long time.

Oh, you're so nice to say that. And I have to say it's so nice to hear that as well. Tell me about your background and why you have the lilt in your voice.

Oh, it's never been called a lilt before, so you might recognize from the accent. I'm Australian, but don't be fooled. I Actually went to college in Ohio, so I'm a bobcat. I went to high university. I did my internships in Los Angeles, worked in London, but. And I'm back and forth to the States all the time. Two homes. But, yeah, the accent stayed, so. Sound like an Aussie, I suppose.

Oh, it's great. You're my first Aussie on the podcast, so welcome.

Thank you.

Now, your career, I love your bio because not only where you're from, obviously, but you went to school in the US but you really have a typical media career that you started off as a Hollywood intern. You were worked within the entertainment field, then you worked in radio, you had a syndicated radio show, and then now you've transitioned into podcasts. So how do you feel about podcasts as a medium?

Yeah, I'm obsessed with podcasting, but it wasn't always that way. I got into it in 2007, and back then it was radio. You took out the commercials, you took out the music. That was a podcast. And when I started podcasting professionally, I kind of was a bit resentful in the beginning. I'm like, this isn't as good. It's the lesser medium. And then one day it just clicked over. So I was actually years ahead because I started in 2014, I think, and now it's just getting bigger and faster and bigger and faster and bigger and faster. And everybody's coming in, and the change has been unbelievable, especially in the last three years.

Oh, I see it as well. I mean, my podcast, I've been. I've been doing podcasts now for a year and a half and leaps and bounds, just in that short time. What do you say to the person who says, you know, there are too many podcasts to listen to, it's just a trend, it's going to go away.

I say, yes, there's what, 900,000 podcasts? But there's something for everybody. And you will find something that's super niche for you and your audience, because it's not one podcast for everyone. There's a podcast on escalators, there's a podcast on everything. And that's not a joke. There really is. So I think that there's not too many people will find their tribes. There's so many mini tribes.

Oh, absolutely. And I look at it as a micro medium. If you just look at it as a huge medium, of course it's going to be overwhelming. But it is an incredibly effective medium for people who want to communicate so either externally or internally within a company. But I find if there's a CEO that I admired or who's, well, admired. I'm never surprised to hear that there's a podcast in that media mix with that CEO, which is why I wanted to speak with you today. So you're going to share some tips on how to be a great guest on a podcast. And there's so much value in that because I think people are excited to do them. They just don't know how if their brand or their leadership or their personality translates well onto a podcast. And I wanted you to be able to help my listener become more comfortable with the medium.

Yeah.

So I think with when you were saying Molly just then about not being surprised about a CEO that has a podcast, I equate that to if you bump into the CEO in the hallway and you get five to 10 minutes one on one time, that's what it feels like when you listen to a podcast with a leader on the podcast. Now, that CEO of the huge media company or any company whatsoever is not likely to get five minutes with every single person in that organization once a week, once a quarter, once a month, whatever the frequency. But if you can get that person in your ears in a casual setting, an intimate setting where they can be a little bit more of themselves and go deep on a topic instead of surface level on a topic, then that will change your leadership, your business, and your staff.

Kelly, you perfectly illustrated the power of the podcast and why people should look into using it. Oh, perfect transition. Now you have someone that's already bought in there. We're already, we're five minutes into the interview and they're saying, yes, I want to do it. Just in general, I know we're not going to focus too much on it, but let's say someone decides they want to do a podcast, what would be step two?

So step two is the structure, the frequency. So the old who are you talking to and what do you want them to do as a result? Are you talking to your staff as the audience? What do you want them to do? Is it a weekly podcast? Is it a five minute podcast? Is it an interview? When you're highlighting the staff, how are you recording it? Is it on site? So the step two is you know when you want to do it, but what are the actual logistics and frequency? So you can set up a schedule and so people will know when it's coming. But also if it's an internal podcast for an organization, how are you going to protect that and deliver it as well? So the second step is logistics. And I would, if you're the CEO or the leader that wants to speak on it. That's something that you get somebody else to organize. That's not your circus, not your monkeys. Get someone else to take it care of that.

I love that. Yeah.

Yeah.

Okay, so now then let's transition to the other side of it. If they're not doing it on their own, if it's not an internal production, let's say they want to push their brand out externally to be a guest on a podcast. So that's why I wanted to bring you in, tap into your expertise and I want to ask you, you know, how someone can prepare for their time on a podcast. What are some of the things that they can do, some techniques during the interview itself and some of the follow up. So let's about preparing. What would someone think about to prepare for a podcast?

So the first thing is mindset and just know it is a different medium and to manage your expectations. If you're going to be a guest on somebody else's podcast, it is not Good Morning America and they're likely to be an entrepreneur that's doing this as a side, side gig or something in addition to their main medium. So it is going to be different. It's not polished and it's not tailored. It gives you the opportunity to go behind the scenes in a more interesting, intimate setting and you have the opportunity to be conversational and speak longer. So if you are that CEO or leader, this is an opportunity for you to show a completely different side than if you got up in front of a board meeting or in front of an audience. And you've got to go through a slide deck and it's points and it's stats. You can go a different way also. So it's the real you, but it's also value first. And then with regards to preparation, again, it's a different medium. It's not a three step, three minute sound bite TV or radio segment. So the training for this is different. You do need to listen to a full episode, know who the host is, know who the back catalog of guests is. So you can refer to that. But you still need to have your messaging, your talking points, your sound bites, your call to actions, your examples, your stories. So you've got to have your interview arsenal ready to go. And as far as interview techniques, it's a bit this that is that you can draw on for other mediums. So have positives and negatives. You can't always just go in the black or the white. You've got to go in on both sides of that, it's finding common.

What do you mean? What do you mean by positive and negatives?

I think sometimes you have to go counter to the positive opinion and say something. Well, you know what? This is really how it is, because people these days like authenticity and realness. And if you just go rainbows and unicorns, people aren't going to believe you. They're not going to trust you. So you have to say, sometimes go counter, counter to the point. And, you know, it just gives you an opportunity to say the good things and the bad things. It's not all rosy, but it's not all doomsday either.

There are three things I want to unpack there that you said. The first one is the idea of being authentic and raw. And someone just mentioned to me today, we were talking about my podcast, and he said, I like that you give a backstage pass into your life. And I loved that phraseology of it. Like a backstage pass, and it lets people in on the inside. And like you said, I think it's so valuable when you show your real side of you and not just some canned talking point. Correct.

A podcast is an opportunity to give something different than you can give anywhere else. If you're giving the same thing as you're giving in a blog post, a magazine, a tv, a radio interview, then you're thinking of it in the wrong way. Yes, this is the backstage pass. Use it. The other thing is, you know, just in interviews, you're adjusting your rate of speech. Are you going fast or you're going slow? Take a stand. Don't use qualifiers. But you also need to prove that you're right. And how do you do that? You're backing it up with stats. So those are just the normal interview techniques, I guess. You know, the right brain. Left, left brain.

I love how you think. And the. The one piece, too, that you mentioned right off the. Right off the bat. And I notice that the minute a guest comes on, if they say this within. Within the first 30 seconds, I know it's going to be a good interview. They say something along the lines of, like you did, Kelly, I'm so excited to talk to you. But they refer back to a previous episode. They know your format, they know the cadence of the show. They know who you are. Any guest who does their research, I already know it's going to be a good guest.

Oh, absolutely. I've done it. Sounds like I'm just showing up and I am. But you can better believe I've been on your website, looked at your Back catalog, read all your bios, I've seen all your pictures, I know all your offers, and I would have done that for at least an hour. But I'm not referring to. Oh, and yes, on page two of your bio, blah, blah, blah. But I know that, and it's in my arsenal. So I can come into this interview and be casual, but I've got that backstory and I know who you are.

Yeah, and that is critical because isn't it true, Kelly, can't you tell on interviews, when you listen on podcasts, when someone just isn't fully in it, or they haven't prepared, or they don't quite understand the host and the format of the show, it's off kilter.

Oh, it's. It's like you're standing in a sunny day wearing a raincoat and umbrella. It just doesn't feel right and you feel like an idiot. But also the elements of a interviewer were saying, it's right brain, left brain, you've got to give something for everyone. Yes, it's an audio medium, but you've got to have your top line concept. Then you've got to have the explainer use those metaphors, use those stories, put in the case studies, have some quotes, use your language palette. So your casual, your formal, your terms, all those things, and then actionable steps. Podcasts, make no mistake, they're about intimacy, but they're also about learning. And if I leave that episode where I don't feel like I can go off and do something that you've told me and you're the absolute expert, then you failed me and I feel let down and I'm not going into your ecosystem.

Oh, well said. Well said. Let's go down a level. When it comes to being a guest during the show, you're talking about the format, the cadence, what you want to achieve. And I love how that you say in the end there should be some call to action, some actionable item that comes away from the interview, because why else do it otherwise, if there's no reason? What about the person who isn't familiar or comfortable with an interview format? Perhaps it's the first time they sat down in front of a mic. What about the basics? If you have to have a do over, you make a mistake. Does it depend on the host that you find out? Do most allow you to make mistakes and edit? Or should you be fully prepared to speak on cue and have perfectly formed sentences each time?

Okay, there's a number of things in that. First of all, always expect you're going live to tape, which, as you would know, Molly, is a radio term. So expect that nothing is getting edited, but in podcasting, it is pre recorded. And if you do make a mistake, most likely the host will edit it. And the best technique is to just put a little bit of pause in there, restart. And that signifies to the editor where to cut what you've said. You can also have a little bit of a chat in the green room with the host before saying, is it live to tape? What if I make a mistake? And you know, again, we use this language specific to the host if you've had a listen to the show and that way you can know up front what will happen. However, expect it won't get edited. As far as preparing for somebody, that this isn't their medium and they're not used to it. When I deal with my coaching clients, we do practice in private before you go public. Pretty much on any laptop, any phone, there's a bunch of recording devices and there's nothing stopping you from doing three minutes, five minutes, whatever a day, just getting those messages, getting those key points, practicing answering questions. So by the time you do come to that interview, you've nailed it. So you don't have to wait till you get invited on a show or pitch to a show and go on it before you can practice doing that. Interviews. Get your family, get your team member, get a va, hire someone, do a bunch of interviews, give them the questions that you want to be asked and then ask them to ask you questions that you're not expecting so you're used to answering those curveballs. Practice in private before you go public.

I love the idea of practicing with your own recording. You can practice on an iPhone. Just click in your. Put in your headphones and your microphone and practice your answers right there. What a great tip.

Yeah, and that's something that I've done again. I was a radio announcer. I've done more than 5,000 hours on air, syndicated radio show. And when I got back into podcasting and doing interviews myself, you can better believe I don't even know what it's called. It's on my Mac. It's a picture of like four faces. Whatever the recording thing is. Let me roll it. Photo booth. I just click on, press record, put it down, and then I just practice talking to myself because it does take a while to get back into it. And this is from somebody who's done thousands of hours live on air, multiple shows at the same time. I still needed to get back on that bike and have A bit of a practice. And by the time I got to that interview, I felt like I knew what I was doing and I was fine. The other trick in podcasting it is, you know, on your computer at home, your laptop usually, so you can have that Google Doc up there, you can have a cheat sheet, no one can see you, and you can have those points there that you can refer to. No one will ever know. And it just makes you feel that little bit comfortable. So you can have that stat, you can have that case study, you can have what you're going to talk about, and you can feel confident that you will nail your message, have the little bit of a backup, but still be conversational.

I love that tip. In my media relations training, like media training, when I'm a big advocate for radio, I never want people to forget radio, but I tell them that unlike television, you can just tape talking points up there. You can have your computer up there, but of course, for a podcast, you can do the same. That's a great tip. Kelly, I have to ask you, did you call it a green room?

Oh, yeah. You know on TV how they have the green room before you go in there, when you have it and we did it, you go on. Oftentimes, even if it is a prerecorded interview that is audio only, the host will meet you on camera before just for a little bit of a meet and greet. If it's by Zoom or what, Skype, whatever the recording medium is. So that's a little bit of a chat that you have with the host privately before you go on air. And that's a. What is your audience want? What are you expecting? How much time have you got? Is it a hard stop? And yeah, so it's the pre chat. So think of it like the Tonight show or one of those night shows in the little room where the celebrities go before they go on stage.

Consider that term swiped. I am using that from here on out. What a. What a great way to explain it. We're going to meet in the green room. I love that, Kelly. Yeah, it's fabulous. Okay, so now is there any. What's one tip that you could give to someone to get rid of nerves, to shake their nerves before they start the interview?

Speak like no one's listening. When I used to do a syndicated radio show to hundreds of thousands of people, I would just pretend that nobody was listening and I could do it. And it just gets you over that nerds. Maybe all those people are listening, maybe no one's listening. So just. You're speaking to one person. That's why podcasts are actually great for introverts. Because, Molly, it's you and me. I'm. I'm in my home. You're in your home. I've got all my tech set up, which is amazing. But I am just speaking to you. It just happens that lots of people are listening in. It's one to one.

Oh, that's a, that is a great way to look at it because no one's going to be staring at you and it just gives you a time to be calm and just to speak into a mic. Like one to one.

Like.

Like you said at the very beginning, you're walking down a hall and you're speaking to an employee or a friend of yours and you're just sharing information.

Yeah. If I was walking down Facebook and I got five minutes privately with Mark Zuckerberg and I'm an employee, that's going to change exactly how I work for that organization. And the way he treats me, speaks to me, what he tells me, and that's what a podcast is. It is such an opportunity that is unparalleled in business I and leadership. I'm lost for words and I never am. Absolutely.

I'm the same. Almost every leader I speak to, if I'm working on a communication plan with them or even a crisis plan, I always put a podcast into the mix because it is that great. It could be a one way conversation too, where you're transmitting out information to people and they can hear it on their phone, they can hear it on a walk, they can hear it in the office. It really is a tremendous medium. Now how about once the podcast is recorded and let's say you're a guest on a podcast, what can do with the content once it becomes published? What should they do as being a great guest after the show?

Okay, so this is the other thing. The interview is not the end. Remember that the interview is not the end. If you're a guest on somebody else's podcast, you then need to promote leverage and repurpose that. So when that goes live, you better believe you should be tagging the host. You should be putting the hashtags, you should be sharing it out so everybody can see it. Because if you do that, you're more likely to get a re guest appearance on that show. They will appreciate that. And it's implicit in your being a guest on that show that you will do your pull your weight and promote it. The other thing is you can repurpose that so you can take what Quotes. Did you say put that on Instagram, Pull that. Put it in an article, put it in a blog post, save it for later, put it in your social queue. You can make, you can take a transcript of it and then pull the information and turn it into other things. Put it on your press page. You can put it in the signature of your email. You can turn one podcast interview you as a guest into 30 pieces of content. So easily make it a tweet. And you can don't forget this, the before and the after as well. We're talking about Green Room. There's nothing stopping you from doing a hey, I'm going on Molly's podcast. It's coming out soon. Just recorded the podcast. The podcast is released. There's so many opportunities push that content and it's evergreen. So and you know, oh, there's Kelly, there's Kelly, there's Kelly. There's. Once you've been on a lot of podcasts, you're everywhere. People may see you on four before they decide to listen to you on one.

Oh, absolutely. And Kelly, I'm so, I'm so happy that you had mentioned that second piece of it because it's really not just the sum you're on a podcast, it's the parts that matter. And the second part as a host, I know. So I'm a host and a guest. If I invite someone onto the podcast and then I never hear from them again and they don't share it or they, they don't amplify it on their own, then it kind of peters out the guests who understand that second piece of it. That social amplification, I find that directly translates into the feedback that I get on the show that people will tell me either online or if I meet them in person. I loved this podcast. Podcast with so and so. And here's the reason why. So it, it is a direct correlation. The people that put a little bit of effort into it, not only do people see it and hear it, but it impacts them. They get something from that podcast and.

It'S also an opportunity to mention that you've been on that podcast in other mediums. If you're doing a speech, you can say, oh, I was on X podcast and spoke about this. So that is a really giving way to cross promote that you've been on somebody else's podcast while telling the audience that you're a guest on a podcast, which also le leverages you as a media expert in your field. There's just so much, there's so many layers. It's not I want to go on a podcast and chat to the people. It's so much more than that. And don't forget the relationship building part of the program. If you're a guest on someone's podcast, sometimes the host is more of the target than the audience is because there's a lot of opportunities with that one on one relationship. You may get access to somebody you wouldn't normally get access to. And the relationship can often be more beneficial than the listeners.

I agree with you 100%, Kelly. And speaking of leveraging and cross promotion, tell my listeners about your business. Specifically, what do you do?

So the talent squad is a podcast guest booking agency and we book podcast tours for entrepreneurs. So you don't have to be on a podcast every week of your life to be able to get benefit from it. Sometimes you want a batch. You might want to do 12 interviews, that's absolutely fine. Don't believe anybody that tells you you have to do them forever and ever and ever and ever. But you do need to do a reasonable amount to get the most benefit from it. So you can do a podcast tour, whether that's with us as an agency or you have a team, you have a VA, or you want to pitch yourself. There's a lot of ways that you can do this and test it out, but you do need to give yourself a reasonable amount before you decide if it works or if it doesn't.

Yeah. And your, your website and the business that you have is so incredible. Like sometimes I wish I could split myself into a hundred pieces and have different businesses that I think would be so much fun and the town squad would be one of them. And I hear, I hear from your, from your colleagues a lot with your guests. So you do an amazing job, but you also offer a senior level service, don't you?

Yeah. So because I have a media background, 20 years I've been a radio host, I've worked for talent agencies. I've also been a producer of podcasts, branded mid six figure branded podcasts. So I get it from all, all the angles. So I think if you are hiring an agency, look for what their expertise is or if you are taking it in house and getting a virtual assistant, someone from your team. If you're doing it self, just be mindful of how you're pitching because it will damage your brand if you don't do it in a professional way. So just make sure you know how to pitch yourself because that is also part of your brand as well.

Oh, good words. And if you can't pitch yourself, then certainly the talent squad can help you. Kelly Glover thank you so so much for spending the time speaking with me and educating the listeners on my favorite medium, podcasting.

Thank you Molly. It's been an absolute pleasure podcast.

So are you convinced that you should be a guest? If you answered yes, then I have another resource for you. The Response Kit. Right now it is hitting a critical need in a group of communicators and business owners, people who run organizations and the kit itself. The community is growing. Each week I am adding resources to help communication efforts. Things like press release templates, social media tips, wireframes for websites, how to write a statement, how to draft a statement for your CEO or leader. Also, there is a Slack community where people are chatting every single day, supporting each other and sharing information on how to communicate during the time of COVID 19. Now the COVID 19 Communicators Response Kit is turning into a much bigger kit. So responsekit.com is going to be a toolkit resources to help anyone respond in a time of crisis. It's moved from my website so it's located@responsekit.com so many of you know that not every issue leads to a crisis, but every issue needs a response to Prevent a crisis. ResponseKit.com right now head on over there to give you some of the tools that you need to help prepare you in your response for a crisis or if you are in the middle of a crisis.

Thanks so much for listening.

We'll speak to you again next week. Bye for now.

Sam.