Episode 10: Mastering Engaging Interviews for Your Health Podcast Audience

All right, my friends, we are back with another episode. I'm your host, Ray Ireland, and so excited to dive into today's topic around mastering engaging interviews for your health podcast audience. The reason why this is such an important episode is because you want to be able to bring on incredible guests. But if those interviews are falling flat, the issue that you're going to come up against is that there's going to be no buzz about your show. So when you're out and about, people not going to be asking you what's going on with your podcast, who's the next guest that you're having? When does the next episode come out? There's going to be nothing online. It's going to feel like crickets as well, because it's just not stirring up something within your audience. And it's a bummer because I know you guys, these health experts, and you have so much to share. You have an important message, but you got to spice it up. And so this is something that I've learned in a few different ways, but I just know that if you have such an important message to get out there, we gotta really dial this in for you. So that way you can master these super engaging interviews and really let them land in the way that you're imagining they would land. The reason why I'm gonna come to you guys with this episode for today is because I've been interviewing for many years. This started way back when I was doing the Goddess Fest online summit, where I was bringing in different female leaders from around the world. And I noticed the first time I went through this virtual summit, I had my questions all dialed in, the exact ones I wanted to ask for each guest. And the cool thing was, some episodes were amazing. Some of these interviews were so fiery, people would let me know how it really moved them, how it totally transformed their life. It was incredible. But then other ones completely fell flat. And so, of course, I would love to say that it was me that going in and out, but actually what was happening is that I was not a masterful interviewer at the time. And so I was purely relying on my guest to bring the energy to bring the relatability to my audience and my listeners. And so if I had a really great guest that was really good at being interviewed, then that episode shined bright. It was amazing. And then if I didn't, well, then it sunk down and just did not get as many views or as much engagement. So the problem with this is that especially if you're in the health and wellness space, you Actually may really want to bring on a guest that specifically has a lot of information, but they might be coming from a more health or science background space, which you actually get to be the bridge. You get to be the translator. So that's what we're going to talk about today is how to be that bridge. So that way you can use the incredible information and knowledge that you have in your space, but then be able to share it and really entertain people. Or, you know, I love the term edutain people because you're going to be educating them along the way, but you gotta have them hooked in. And so being able to do that, especially when there's a guest involved, there's some nuances. So basically, after years of practicing this, I hosted multiple online summits, in person festivals where I was actually interviewing people live, and then podcast both having my own podcast for many years and watching that grow, but also being a guest on over hundreds of podcasts, I really got to dial in the necessary structures and how to connect more deeply with your emotional intelligence as the podcast host. But also these things, things that I'm going to share on today's episode are things that you should have in the back of your mind if you are being interviewed on someone else's platform as well. But this level of intent of emotional intelligence is going to come into play because you're really engaging with an audience and also a guest that's on the other side of the screen, which can become difficult to connect with when you are in a studio, a production studio, or perhaps even just in your living room or in your office space behind your computer. So that's what we're going to go into today. And again, like a boring interview does unfortunately mean that you are being boring, that you're lacking the engagement with your audience. And so luckily, I've got you all. Let's dive in. So, three easy steps. Don't you love a simple process? Three easy steps that you need to do to master engaging interviews? Of course, these steps can all be expanded upon, but if you literally just keep these three easy steps in mind when you are on either side of an interview, you will see dramatically how much your engagement is going to shift. And so, of course, I'm talking numbers, I'm talking listeners, I'm talking downloads, I'm talking retention rates, but I'm also talking about moving people that are on the other side that need this information so badly that when you actually give it to them and in such a clear and engaging way and an inspiring way, that they take action in their lives. You will start to see messages pouring in. You will start to see that people are stopping you at your coffee shop or on the street as you're walking down a city, because you're going to truly be impacting people, and that's one of the most important things here. So, yes, we're looking to expand the podcast reach, but for this episode specifically, I also want you to really be intentional as you're thinking about how does your podcast relate to these three steps and how can you implement these? I want you to think like, how deep can I go? How deep can I create a relationship with listeners on the other side so that they take action in their lives? And that may mean doing what you're doing, telling them to do for their. Their health and their. Their wellness journey. But that also may mean that they sign up for a call with you, that they get more support, they do your course, they join in your program. All of these things are extremely beneficial for all parties. So it's all about getting the information into the right people's hands. And let's do it in a fun way, right? This is. This is a form of. Of entertainment. This is production. And that's where you can really shine your light, so to say. So here are the three steps that you need to do. Number one, you prep your guest. Number two, you prep yourself. And number three, you prep your audience. Now, let's break that down. Number one, you're prepping your guest with the necessary information for them to show up in their best light to the interview. What I've seen on the receiving side of this is either no information, and as a guest, it's expected of me to do the research and to understand the show and the host and the style of the interview, all of these things, which, honestly, is just pretty overwhelming. I know you all don't have hours upon hours where you're just hanging out and looking for things to research. So you're busy, you're working with your clients, you're doing your thing, you may have your life, your family, all these other things. So if you are a host for a podcast, give your guests this information, do not make them search for it, because the likelihood of them actually doing that research beforehand is pretty rare, unfortunately. So unless you have a huge following, they probably, you know, have heard little snippets here and there. But things that you want to prep your guest with are not only the information around. Here's the link, here's the day, here's the time that we're going to be recording the technicalities, definitely letting your guests know, is their video or not, how long the episode is going to be? The structure of the episode, are we going to do an intro at the beginning? Is there going to be a bio? Does the guest start talking right away, or do they wait for you to bring them into the show, so to speak? So there's all these different kinds of nuances, and this is really where your creative genius gets to shine. Or if you have someone like evolve. Podcasting an executive producer gets to shine in really structuring the feel of what the show is. Do you just come right out the bat and hit your audience with information and dive right in, or is there a bit of a storytelling arc that happens? So let your guests know this so that way they can be with you on the journey. If you even have questions that you know you're going to be asking your guest, prep them ahead of time. Like, there's no reason to just wing it unless you are just winging it. That's totally fine, too. But if you're going to prep yourself, then prep the guest as well. Some other information I love to give my guest, which I honestly, I don't think I've ever had a host actually ask me this, but I always wish they would. And so I started to ask my featured guest or let them know. And I would say, by the way, let your guests know, is this episode going to be recorded and edited or just recorded and syndicated from there? You know, everyone has different styles when it comes to their episode. For me, when I was doing Miracle Moment, this was a very casual conversation around being a mamapreneur. I had sometimes, like, Rafa's laughter in the background. And I had this kind of homey experience while recording it, because I also was recording it sometimes from the rocking chair. And so it just had this very natural energy. So if I were to actually edit and cut different pieces out of that episode, it would become choppy and miss some of the organic qualities that I actually really enjoyed listening. Listening to. When I listened to other, like, new Mama episodes, it felt fun. It felt like, oh, I can relate to this other podcast. You might want to have edits in between. So the reason why you need to tell your guests this is because what if they stumble? Are they. Should they just continue on and laugh through it and allow that to maybe even lead the conversation in a new direction? Or do they have the ability to say, hey, actually, I don't want to say that. Can your editor edit that? Let's cut. Let's make a note here, here, or let your. Let the team know. This is where I want to cut. Okay, let's start. Three, two, one. Boom. We get started again. And this comes from, I think, probably years ago. I don't think I told my guest, and she was like, oh, let's edit that out. I'm like, no, we don't edit. We don't edit it out. And we just ended up laughing about it and be. And it became this beautiful moment. No one was embarrassed, and she didn't say anything too terrible. But it definitely taught me the lesson where I want to make sure my guest is shining and that they know what the controllables are. And so as a podcast host, that's really your responsibility to share that information with them. So I think that covers it. But prepping, number one, prepping your guest with all the necessary information to have just a stellar conversation where they can feel relaxed, they can feel comfortable. Oh, another thing I always ask my guests, is there anything off limit? And this kind of leads me into number two. Point number two is to prep yourself so that you can dive into the juicy topics and the conversation points that can kick things into overdrive. You know, just like a juicy phone call, and you can't put the phone down. That's how the podcast episode should feel. So if you do some good research about your guest, there might be some pretty interesting questions that you can ask them, possibly even some controversial questions, which I think is an amazing place, place to just bring in a new conversation and allow your guests to really claim their perspective on it as well. Now, again, this can only happen and should only happen if you have the permission of the guest. Right? You never want to put them in an awkward position that's like, I don't know, that, like weird, like news or, I don't know, it just feels, like, icky. Right? So you want. You want to prepare them. You want them to know maybe the direction you're going to be going in. And so as you prepare yourself, go through the episode before it happens. Map it out. Map out what the flow is. Put the hook in the beginning. A lot of things that we talk about all throughout this show, specifically in Healthy Profits, Podcast will tell you how you can make your episodes amazing, how you can make your show amazing. So this point number two is just to take that time to be really specific with the guests you're bringing in. They are giving you their time, their energy, and you're giving yours as well. Don't just go surface. Go deep and see how you can position the conversation to truly get the guests in a spot where they're thinking of your audience. So not just having a conversation, but they're really in a space where they know who you're talking to, who your ideal client is, where you would even ideally want to take them after this episode. And perhaps that is even somewhere where your guest can take them. You guys want to be on the same page. I would say a misfire is if you have too many call to actions with a guest and you just don't go over that beforehand that already fractures the energy in which you could be really easily guiding someone down a clear answer, a clear path pertaining to that problem that they are experiencing within that conversation. So prep yourself so you can just dive right in and feel confident and feel ready to go. So number one, prep your guests with necessary information. Number two, prep yourself so that you can dive into juicy topics. And number three, anyone know it? Prep your audience. Oh, thank you. Thank you. I feel you guys. So prep your audience. Are they eagerly waiting for the episode to come out? Are they starting the episode with anticipation around what key nugget they're going to walk away with? And maybe that key nugget is comes out of a story or a tool? Are they just like, what? What is that piece going to be? So that way they can truly transform their episode life by the time that they're done listening. These are big expectations I know I'm putting out there, but I truly believe that health and wellness entrepreneurs, you actually have this type of information that can be earth shattering to someone that hasn't heard it, especially to someone that's dealing with something health related. That's a present experience. I know whenever I have something health related come up, it throws everything off. And I know I'm just going in, I'm searching for where can I find the right answer? And so this is an opportunity for you to be that. So prep your audience so that way they are truly coming with the anticipation and the eagerness, the readiness to know that they're going to get something that totally transforms their life. And what do they need to do to be able to transform their life? They need to be able to take action from there. So when you prep your audience and you really tell them, teach them how to treat your show, is this a show that they should just listen to when they're cruising around just to gain information here and there? Is it a show where they actually should be taking notes? Is it a show where at the end of every episode you're gonna have a key takeaway or at the beginning, like you can truly let your audience know. This is clear communication, right? It's so much better to overly communicate than under communicate. And that actually can start right in prepping these beautiful episodes with your guest. So for instance, even if you have a guest coming in, do they. Does your audience know that this guest is coming? Are they excited? Some really fun ways that you can do this is by after you do the episode or even before you can pick up your phone and do, hey, we're doing IG Live. I'm here with my guests that I'm. We're about to record our episode. It comes out in three weeks. Stay tuned. You know, there's so many fun ways that you can do this. So create that anticipation. It's like drip marketing, but via a podcast in the episodes. And if you actually plan ahead in batch record, which we always tell our clients to do, batch recording can give you really a beautiful story arc throughout the episodes that you're promoting and releasing. You could actually even drip out if you have a very special featured guest coming. You can let your audience know a few episodes beforehand and be like, hey, get ready. Mark your calendar in two Thursdays and then in next Thursday. Okay, in two days. Like, you can do this via your podcast. That's what's so fun. There's so many creative ways to just engage and let your audience know what's going on. Once I started implementing this very easy three step system around guest episodes and how to master these interviews. So again, I'll lay them out. It's prep your guest with necessary information, prep yourself, so that way you can dive into a really juicy conversation and prep your audience. And once I started doing this, I saw a huge shift happen in the way that I was interviewing. I even noticed the guest would let me know afterwards. They'd be like, this is the best episode I've ever done. I can't wait to share it.

I can't wait to share it. I wanted to do a pause there and repeat that. I can't wait to share. It is such an amazing thing to hear from a guest. Why? Because that immediately puts you in front of their entire audience. That is huge. Now if you don't have a guest that is shining throughout the interview, do you think they're going to be so excited and put that extra effort in sharing the episode with their audience and their community? No way. No way. This is why you need to prep them and really dial this all in so that way it can be Such a juicy conversation that they immediately get off recording and they go to their team and they say, you have to make sure that when this episode comes out, we get it out to our people. And maybe it was so good, I actually want to put it in our newsletter. I wasn't planning on doing that. Things can blow up from a good interview and all of a sudden, with the right guest and having an epic interview that can open so many doors for so many people. So you know, this can directly relate to your numbers going up, sales that can happen in your business on the back end. And of course, you can even set up affiliate partnerships with your featured guests and see monetization on both sides of that promotion. So to start, this is my call to action for you guys. I want you to bring on a guest onto your podcast and try out this three step system. If you've already been working with having guests on your show, try it out, see have you been using it, have you been implementing something like this? And let me know, let us know. We want to hear how this lands for you. And of course, we highly recommend that you schedule a podcast audit with us. That way we can dive in and definitely let us know if you listen to this episode specifically. And we'll make sure we'll go into how you are or aren't mastering the incredible podcast tool of interviewing. Because this is one if you can dial this in. And these steps are so simple, but you can see how they could completely transform a conversation with a featured guest. And when you do that, you are not leaving money on the table. You are engaging your audience from the start. You are creating lasting business partnerships because a good interview can lead to so much more. I've had so many incredible business partnerships started because we had an awesome interview together. And from there we get off the recording and then it goes into conversation, maybe even like product referrals to other client referrals to even collaborations, retreats, events, like, you name it, I've experienced that. And that's what I want you to experience when you step into really mastering your interview skills. So have so much fun with this, let me know how it goes, and I will see you guys on the next episode.

That was a great episode. Thanks for joining, joining us and tuning in to the Healthy Profits podcast.

Sammy and I are here to help you turn your health podcast into a treasure trove of opportunity for your listeners and your business. So join us twice a week as we unleash our favorite tips and strategies that have helped our clients that evolve podcasting. Turn their show into a thriving part of their business.

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Until next time, stay healthy and keep thriving. Bye.