Hey Podcaster, I'm Tim Wohlberg, your podcast performance coach with another
actionable tip so you can sound like a pro and gain more podcast fans. Today's
tip is about introducing your guests. I know what you're thinking: "Hey Coach
Tim, I'm not an idiot and it's not that hard." You're absolutely right you are not
an idiot and it isn't that hard. So why do I hear
so many people do it wrong? I'm going to hit you up with a couple of mistakes
some podcasters make that you can avoid and an easy-to-follow formula to always
hit your guest's intro out of the park. One mistake
podcasters sometimes do is that they don't know when to stop. Your guest's
introduction doesn't have to be their life story. My guest today is Jimmy
Jackson President and CEO of a company you've never heard of, author of two
books Blahbadeedoo and Blahbadeedont. Blogger of the blog "Just blogging the dog",
host of the podcast: This Little Podcast: I'm Gonna Let it Shine. He's also a
father, a mother, a road scholar and philanthropist, his favourite book is
Touchdowns: Why only six points? He likes sandwiches his favourite flower
to sniff is the begonia and remember this voice Jimmy? Yes that's Mrs. Johnson from
Springfield Court in your hometown of Canmore USA!
Look, all you need to do is connect the dots for your listener. Their credentials
should be the reason they are relative to your episode. Put them in context and
get on with it. You only have to mention one or two
things here. And with that most importantly, make sure their name and
title are correct and that you know how to pronounce their name or business
correctly. Research it and then confirm it with them in your pre-interview.
Double check that it's current - a lot of old out-of-date information lives
online. The other mistake podcasters will do is use this introduction time to warm
up their guests or form mindless chitchat. Do that off the air before you
start your interview I don't care how the weather is in Columbus Ohio
especially on the day that you recorded which could be a month or a year ago. And
I'm gonna go out on a limb here and assume that your guest is fine. So don't
ask him how they're doing. If they weren't okay, doing well or super thanks
for asking, they wouldn't be doing your show because they got some other major shit
going down. Look when it comes to the introduction of your guests you don't
have to be a robot here but after you spit out the goods of your guests get on
with it. You can still make it conversational and it's okay to thank
them for being on your show. You can still be polite but it's when you start
wasting my time as a listener that bothers me as a coach. One last thing as
a host, do your research. Introducing your guests is your job. Don't have your
guests do it. "Tell us about yourself" is not a question. Do not lead with this. I
have a whole episode why you should never utter these words. It's episode 19
of Just The Tip. Look it up! You know the reason your guest is on
your show, you chose them. Just tell your listener. Here's the formula to introduce
your guests right every time. Stick with the basics. Name and title of them and
their business. Make sure it's up to date and pronounced properly and their
credentials, why they're relevant or qualified to be on your show. Just
connect the dots for your listener. And look, there are always reasons why you
wouldn't use this formula and it mostly depends
on the format of your show. If your podcast is all about in-depth interviews
with interesting people from all aspects of life you may have a different tactic.
But this formula is designed to get you in and on with the show. And I hope
that's just the tip you need. Your guest today has been Tim Wohlberg.
Broadcaster and host of Just The Tip podcast. He's also a podcast, editor,
that's right, so if you're looking to take the grunt
work out of your podcast and start sounding even more like a pro I can help.
Check out my editing packages at PodcastPerformanceCoach.com. I'm Tim Wohlberg