Pod-Crashing Episode 51: The Depth Of The Interview
First. I’m not a fan of the word interview. Why I chose to hoist it into the title is totally trying to spend less time having to explain what it is I do. I always say, “Let’s have a conversation!” People are like, “OK what about?” “No No No… lets do an interview.” “Ohhhhhhhh”
I get in a lot of verbal wrestling matches with friends, family, social media connections and whomever else happens to walk on my lawn. My passion. It gets in the way of everything. Interviewing creative people is one such place. I have a huge passion and drive to get into a conversation. It’s always worth fighting for.
Between 1979 to 2012 I did what every program direction and radio consultant told me what to do. 95% of the time I still believe they were wrong. I dreamed of the day when I could take them on a true journey through the creative self I was and still am. But it wasn’t about me. It was their station and their livelihood and my job was to participate or locate a new place to plug in my earphones.
With podcasting I am everything they once were. I play by the very rules they stamped into my noggin. Yes I’m very strict on myself and believe in showing up every day to bring forward a product that nearly 1.1 million listeners have tapped into. I stand before you confessing that no matter how crazy those decision makers made me, I wouldn’t be where I am with podcasting if they hadn’t been present.
As a podcaster you are your own boss. You are the writer, voice over talent, producer, promotions director and Operations Manager keeping every personality glued on the plan and purpose.
This didn’t happen overnight. The walk has been incredibly lonely and filled with a lot of strikeouts at the plate. During this Coronavirus breakdown and job loss point on the map I expect more terrestrial radio people to make their way to the digital stage. You can’t turn off being a Broadcaster. It’s worse than an itch in the center of your back and you can’t reach it.
I’m approached everyday by podcast promoters. Not one or two. Mega amounts of great writers and speakers that claim they’ve got the free ticket to the fountain of youth. “I can get you real people! Lots of them!” My general response is, “Please send me your podcast. I’d like to listen to your episodes and go to the sites to watch how people pick them up.” I never get an email with a podcast attached.
A promoter the other day wrote, “Your episodes only appear on one platform correct?” Keep in mind this is someone trying to get my business. Very calmly I replied, “Please listen to every interview. The way I ask questions and how I bring in several different subjects. As the writer, talent and producer I need each episode to reach five to fifteen different podcasts.”
Sounds like I’m a smartass right? I’m not trying to be. I need to play a smart game and that requires me to take the time to educate anyone walking by. The goal is to drop the ego and the door because out there in the real world nobody cares about the passion I put into every question. They’ve got a job to do and right now with the global shutdown everyone thinks they’re a podcast promoter.
In talking with other podcasters and their performances the average person can pretty much see that those of us broadcasting are pretty much convinced that we’re locked in on the next big thing. I remember Gene Simons of KISS telling me, “If you don’t act like it’s bigger than life nobody will think it’s bigger than life.”
Back to the original thought. The depth of the interview. Everything I get into is on a time limit. I’m not Marc Maron of Howard Stern lucky. I get 7 to 20 minutes then you’ve got to bail. I love it when the producers step through the restraint and say, “Take 30 or 40.” And I’ve only prepped for 7. That means the voice over talent is gonna have to listen to everything being said and bring new questions into the conversation by what was said. Question their answers.
Always try your best to end your interviews or episodes with depth. If the time keeper says you need to be out at 1:18 then you need to begin wrapping up at 1:16. Taking an interview over that line is going to earn you an email from the promoter. Or they aren’t going to send another invite. Plus having a solid question with two minutes to go allows the person you’re talking with to think the conversation is pretty much over and that’s when they let their guard down. The real one of a kind story starts now.
Introduce a small area where it sounds like things are stopping then leave the machine on while recording. Never turn it off until they’ve left the studio or hung up the phone. They’re always going to say something. If you’ve given them enough room to breathe.
I got into this way of recording back in the 90’s because all of these famous artists would step into the studio and say the best things and because didn’t have the microphone on I missed out on a very unique opportunity. Every person that steps into the room will see the recording light on. That’s the universal signal of somethings hot and it’s being recorded or the light wouldn’t be on.
As the producer you return to the front before all the formal hellos and how are yous and make it part of the conversation. Get creative. I’ve only had three or four people send me an email asking that I don’t use that part of the conversation. I play along. OK cool and the relationship doesn’t get damaged.
So what’s the moral of the story? I get it your podcast is the greatest thing since the invention of pasta meeting sauce. Promoters are ready to work with you if you’ve got the space to create with them. Another words. If Paul McCartney is only available at 9:32 it’s a yes or no question. You can do it or you don’t. Once you land it don’t walk into the conversation thinking your episodes are more mighty then the winds that shake the mile high bridge on Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina.
Every person you talk with has something to sell. Put your focus on the present without getting into a conversation about the past that listeners already know about. I wouldn’t want to talk to Paul McCartney about the Beatles or Wings. I wanna know about his first children’s book Hey Granddude. I want to hear the childlike voice he uses while reading it young people. They don’t know of his historic lie and style but in that moment where he’s reading the dude can paint a funny face!!!