So, you’ve decided to make a podcast. Congratulations!

Whether you’re creating an outward-facing corporate podcast so you can titillate and educate the public, or you’re making an internal corporate podcast for sales enablement or culture-building, you’re making a great choice. Podcasting is such a unique outlet for reaching people where they are — exercising, commuting, cooking dinner. It gives customers, stakeholders, and employees a way to connect with you and your story!

So far, you’ve planned out your topics, you’ve selected your guests, you’ve studied how to engage your listeners, and you’ve read our post on improving your podcasting voice. 

But who the heck is going to host it? Perhaps the charismatic host with a radio-voice that comes along with your turn-key podcast production package. 

Or… maybe the voice of your business should be a voice from your business. 

Maybe you?

After all, you’ve got the knowledge, the star quality, the warmth. And how about that Arnold Schwarzenegger impression?

Come to think of it, you were born for this!

But here’s something to consider — the host isn’t the star of the show. The guest is! Your guests are the ones who create the content you’ll distribute to your adoring public. As the host, it’s your job to facilitate guests’ ability to bring top-tier content to your podcast. 

And we’re going to tell you how. 

 

How to be a Great Podcast Host

 

1. Make your guests comfortable

You’ve heard the oft repeated factoid that people are more afraid of public speaking than they are of dying. You know the feeling: your knees are weak, your palms are sweaty, mom’s spaghetti is on your sweater.

If you’ve ever had to speak in front of a room of people, and you were even slightly unprepared, you can understand why people would rather bite the dust. And when someone is this nervous, there’s no way they’re going to show up as their best self. 

But it doesn’t have to be this way for your guests. And it’s your job to make sure being a guest on your podcast is comfortable and relaxed. 

The answer is simple — help them prepare.

Send over some sample questions so they know what to expect. This reassures them you’re not going to catch them off guard, so they wind up embarrassing themselves. 

They can get a trusty notecard and make some notes on what they’d like to say. Even if your conversation deviates from the questions you sent, which it probably will, they’ll have those notes to hold like a little security blanket.

The biggest benefit, though, is that in thinking about the questions you sent over, they’ve already thought about the topics enough to speak off the cuff and from the heart. 

But, before you even get around to asking those questions you’ve prepared, give the conversation time to warm up before you start recording. This gives them a chance to not only get comfortable, but also relax into being themselves.

• Ask personal questions (that you know they can answer easily)
• Tell a funny story
• Bring up a topic unrelated to the podcast

And last, let them know that not only is it okay to mess up, but that you do it all the time. That’s what post-production editing is for!

 

2. Know why you invited the guest on

If you’re making a corporate podcast, whether it’s internal or out-ward facing, your guests are likely to be super stars within your organization or experts in your field. 

But no one is an expert at everything. You’ve brought your guest on because of their knowledge and expertise in a specific facet of what your company does. Play into that. Let it be your guide and your focus. 

It is easy to get tangential, as both a host and a guest. Especially when you’re nervous. But even the best conversations meander. It might even be a key feature of good conversation. 

But this isn’t just a conversation. It’s a podcast. 

It’s your job as the host to keep the discussion on topic and to keep your guest on the path you’ve laid out for them. This is how you’ll get the content you want, and it’s how your guest is going to feel the most comfortable. 

Remember those note cards they painstakingly prepared. Don’t let that work go to waste. 

Let your guests shine by sticking to the area of their knowledge which prompted you to invite them on your podcast. They’ll thank you for it. So will your listeners. 

 

3. Let them tell their story

Since the days early humans sat around the campfire, oblivious to the possibility of the written word, much less podcasts, we’ve been sharing stories. Stories were how we taught, how we learned, how we bonded, how we passed down knowledge, wisdom, lore. The only difference between us and them is the time in which we were born.

Our brains are literally hardwired for stories. 

Tell me you’ve never been reading a dry, informational text only to come upon an oasis of someone’s story recounting a personal experience to illustrate a point. Your brain laps up that story like cold water from a spring pool in the desert. 

Stories are what stick. 

Of course, you invited your guest because of their expertise in data analytics, but that doesn’t mean the entire conversation has to consist of information on data analytics. If your listeners wanted to be bored with information, they’d just read a textbook. 

People listen to podcasts because they want to hear the stories and get to know the people behind the position and expertise. If you ignore that element, you risk losing your listeners’ attention. Stories draw them in, pique their curiosity, keep them wanting more. 

Through stories you:

• Teach tips and lessons in a way that people will remember
• Reduce listeners’ (and guests’) cognitive load after getting deep into a topic
• Allow your listeners to see themselves in your guest
• Give listeners a chance to build an emotional relationship with your guest

If you want to get at the stories, you have to ask the right questions. Try these sentence starters:

• What was the moment when…?
• What happened leading up to…?
• Tell me the story of…
• What did it feel like to…?

 

4. Be the Everyman (or Woman)

Remember way back to tip #2. You’ve invited your guest to be on your podcast because they are a super star expert. And even if you also are a super star expert (I’m sure you are), that’s not your job as podcast host. 

Your job is to be in the heads of your listeners throughout the show. Ask the obvious questions. Prompt your guest to elaborate or explain, especially if they’ve gotten into something about as clear as mud. 

Imagine a brand-new employee or a new customer is listening to your podcast. Think of how they might feel as they listen. Are they lost in the technical jargon? Has your guest glossed over something because, for them, it’s common knowledge?

Make sure you’re eliciting information that your new employee would need. Ask for the explanations that new customers would want but aren’t there to ask for. 

And remember, a listener is there for a reason. You’ve promised them tips, advice, education, entertainment, development. You can’t fulfill that promise if your audience is confused.

So, try to get into the mind of your audience. It will allow you to ask the kind of questions that will bring them back episode after episode, and season after season. 

A podcast is like a diamond in the rough. Your job as a host is to chip away the unnecessary and unclear bits until you are left with something brilliant.

 

5. Be Yourself

Your BEST self.

Show up as the happy, energetic, warm and welcoming version of yourself you might bring to a job interview or a lunch date with an old friend. You’re polished. You’re smiling. You wore that shirt that makes you feel like Tiger Woods. You spritzed on that lovely perfume you heard Beyoncé wears. 

But you’re still you. 

At the beginning, you might find yourself emulating podcasters you admire. And that’s totally okay, especially as you try to find your own style. But what isn’t okay is faking emotions. Don’t pretend to laugh if something isn’t funny. Don’t act excited if you’re not. Don’t pretend to be interested if you aren’t. 

It’s imperative that you maintain your authenticity, because your guests and your audience can smell disingenuousness from a mile away. And if they think you’re a fake, they’re not going to trust you. Once you lose trust, people, whether they’re employees or customers, won’t want to learn from you.

It’s much better to steer the conversation toward something that genuinely interests or excites you. That way, your enthusiasm is genuine — and contagious.

 

Are you ready to try your hand at hosting your own corporate podcast?

Reach out to us at [email protected]. We are a full-service podcast production suite and media company based in Austin, Texas. We are eager to help you create client-facing and internal podcasts that bring real value to your employees and customer base.