How to Elevate Your Interview Questions

Writing interview questions effectively is essential to a successful interview in podcasting or any other media.

And because the main goal is making the guest feel comfortable and revealing things they have not said before, the interview must be natural, and the flow of the conversation must feel spontaneous. 

Many guests may feel anxious upon seeing the microphone, so the podcaster must write the interview questions accurately to create a comfortable atmosphere for the guest.

We will give you seven critical tips for writing interview questions, following them, and being creative in the podcast world.

Know Your Guest Well:

Making the guest reveal secrets and new information is the most vital element to consider while writing interview questions. Therefore, the first step in writing questions is to know the guest well.

Here, we advise you to refer to previous interviews with the guest to get to know them and their personality.

And if the guest wrote a book or released a movie, review its content and get familiar with it, and draw a clear picture of how you should write the interview questions to discuss it accordingly.

Start with an Initial Question About the Guest:

Before diving into the general topic of the interview during the podcast, you must first ask a specific question that introduces the guest to break the ice.

Here, we advise you to ask a question that is out of the ordinary.

Instead of asking a surgeon about the types of surgeries, for example, ask them about the seriousness and challenges of their profession.

Be Precise About What You Want Out of the Question:

After conducting the necessary research on the guest, ask yourselves: What do I want from them? What is the missing information? What question have they yet to answer? Or what is the question that they did not answer?

Thus, when writing interview questions, seek answers to these questions.

Also, put yourself in the listeners’ shoes and ask the questions you want to know the answers to.

And remember that the guest seeks a goal through this interview, either promoting themselves, communicating with people, or even educating the community about a specific topic.

So write some interview questions that help the guest achieve their goal.

Ask Open-Ended Questions:

These questions are intended to make the conversation in the podcast more natural, as they cannot be answered with a simple “yes” or “no.”

Open questions allow the guest to provide new information and discuss the topic in detail.

Take It Slow, One Question at a Time

When writing interview questions, you must consider this important point.

Asking multiple questions simultaneously distracts the guest so that they would answer only one part.

Instead of asking a technology expert, “What is the importance of this technology, and how does it work?” In one question, divide the question into two parts and ask two questions to ensure an accurate and complete answer for each section.

Do Not Be Afraid to Go Off Script:

When interviewing the interviewee, you may find that the guest has answered, for example, a question without you asking them, and here you can not re-ask the question if you feel that the answer was sufficient.

Therefore, sticking to the letter of interview questions may only sometimes be a good thing.

Here, we advise you to ask random questions that may come to your mind during the podcast recording or even to think in advance about some quick questions that help the guest expand their idea and explain it.

Give the Guest Enough Time to Answer:

It is essential for the guest to feel that they have enough time to communicate their idea and make them feel comfortable.

Therefore, it is vital to use the podcast time intelligently to ask a certain number of questions commensurate with the episode’s duration.

Interview Podcast on Podeo

Hosting experts on podcasts is a step that helps you reach a large and loyal audience.

Listeners will wait for your podcast episodes when they know that listening to you will make them reach accurate and correct information.

And remember that preparing an interview podcast, recording, editing, and publishing it is now very easy with Podeo, as you can do all these steps over the phone.

Download the new Podeo application and live a unique podcast experience you will not experience on any other platform, reaching many listeners.