Are you sure you need to ask ‘that’ question?

If we were to think about podcast interviews more like films or even written articles, it would completely change how we think of presenting the story in our interviews with guests.

The Question

The question that I’m targeting in podcast interviews is one that many lead with. It’s asked in the hope that it will set the scene for the listener:

“So tell us about your career journey?”

…. and with that innocent, optimistic question your podcast episode is completely out of control – in the hands of your guest to wreck or ruin. This question comes with a very grave podcast health warning. Use at your own risk. Your listener numbers can go down as well as up. Always read the label.

Setting The Scene

Think about your favourite movie. How much do you know about the lead character ? At the point you are introduced to the character on screen they are involved in a situation that grabs your interest. Right now.

Here are some examples:

• When we first meet Jules Bradfield (Samuel L Jackson) in ‘Pulp Fiction’, he’s about to confront coffee shop robber, Tim Roth.
• When we meet Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) in ‘The Godfather’ he’s being told a shocking tale and being asked to do a violent ‘favour’ in vengeance.
• Clarice Starling’s (Jodie Foster) first shot in the opening of ‘Silence of The Lambs’ sees her pounding through a forest fitness course toward a yet-to-be-revealed destiny.

In each of these scenes, we already know the basic format of the story. we may have seen a trailer, review or image. So this opening scene takes our existing interest and drops us right into the type of action we are anticipating. It fulfills our expectation of the story.

In some cases, it is not a chronological presentation. It may be a flashback, flash forward or scene that only makes full sense to us later in the movie. We are informed or intrigued.

We’re not told the entire life story of the protagonist before they entered the story that we have come to see.

Durations

My current thinking on durations of podcast episodes works with the research on the average adult attention span. That is, 20 minutes, or 40 minutes if you can structure your show to suit two attention blocks.

Everyone thinks it’s easy to be Joe Rogan, and host long, informal interviews. Truth is, it’s not – and your listeners may not stick around if you don’t respect their time and deliver what they want.

I wrote some more about this in 20 Minute Bulletin and 40 Minute Deep Dive with a couple of example podcasts to illustrate the points.

Directing the Conversation

“So tell me about your career journey?’ This question has no implicit guidance on the length, or what kind of answer we are looking for. Is the guest aware of your listener-ship? What topics they are there for? How this conversation will be useful to them ? Most likely not.

This leads even the most talented and established professional to recount tales of their school life. How their favourite teacher guided them. How their life then progressed through University, failed relationships and career wrong turns. If it goes down like that these answers are never, ever brief. Ever.

And all the while, your listener is suffering through. Perhaps wondering when the interview will turn to the headline insights that they thought you were providing for them. Drop off numbers are radical, attention spans are short. You will need to have clocked up a load of Goodwill Points to make your listener feel that their relationship with you will see them through this off-topic detour.

The Audience Retention chart that YouTube analytics enables shows a drastic drop in viewer engagement if you so much as have a 30 second title sequence on a video. When podcast data evolves to the point of being able to display metrics like this, we’ll have a much better gauge. It will bring better awareness of how critical those opening questions are. But believe me they are, and there are well established precedents.

Press Release

This thinking on structure is nothing new. Even back in the 80’s the wisdom for writing press releases was – put all of the vital information in the first paragraph. Every writer knew that if a newspaper editor wants to cut your story down, it will be the latter half that gets binned. This tip still stands today.

Apply this to a podcast structure. Your audience are there for a reason, and that is to hear the wit, wisdom or entertainment of the headline guest.

Amazing genius leads new Google department to work on secret project

Imagine the above headline is your podcast hook – I know I’m in for listening. So, if leading with “Tell us about your career journey” results in the response ‘When I was 15 I wasn’t interested Computer Science‘ followed by a 10 minute narrative that leads us slowly via academia and failed start ups to the first steps of interesting Googliness, we’re on shakey ground. Your listener is holding on waiting for the hook topic to arrive, or maybe switching off.

Instead of taking a chronological approach, you could dive into the core content from the get-go. Then you have the rest of the interview to dive deep into spontaneous new ideas and previously undisclosed detail.

Advice

Lead from the top with an engaging question. Allow the guest to immediately jump right in with a hot topic or insight that sits within their specialty. Unless you actually are a career development podcast – leave that question to the end.

Once your listener is gripped by the journey that you’re taking them on, the career question may be relevant. But at the beginning of a show, to be blunt – no one cares.