Podcast Manners Matter: Setting Guest Expectations - EP 83

How do you create clear and open communication with your podcast guest? Every podcast—and every episode, for that matter—has a lot of moving parts. As podcast hosts, we know that in order to stay organized, we need systems in place. But those systems should extend to more than your recording and editing tools, and how you publish your episode. You need systems in place for your guest interactions, too.

An unfortunate experience shared by a fellow podcast host prompts Mary to explore podcast etiquette and guest/host interactions. She outlines how to approach this important relationship before, during, and after the interview to make sure you’re setting the clearest possible expectations.

Consider how you could fine-tune your own podcast guest etiquette:

• Ace the early interaction that will set you up for that “easy yes”
• Keep your guest in the know as the interview begins
• Make sure you’re both set up for success once the episode airs
• Red flags to watch out for when you’re the guest!

Links worth mentioning from the episode:

• Listen to Episode 66, Continuous Improvement as a Podcaster with Christian Klepp - https://www.organizedsound.ca/continuous-improvement-as-a-podcaster-with-christian-klepp-episode-66/
• Check out Episode 62, How To Land Someone From Your Dream Guest List - https://www.organizedsound.ca/how-to-land-someone-from-your-dream-guest-list-episode-62/

Connect with Mary!

• Leave a voicemail with your feedback at https://www.speakpipe.com/VisibleVoice or email visiblevoicepodcast@gmail.com
• Get the full transcript of the episode at http://www.visiblevoicepodcast.com
• Read up on more secrets with the Visible Voice Insights Newsletter https://www.organizedsound.ca/newsletter
• To learn more or work with Mary, check out https://www.organizedsound.ca
• Link up on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/marychan-organizedsound/
• Engage on Instagram @OrganizedSoundProductions https://www.instagram.com/organizedsoundproductions

Show Credits:

• Podcast audio design, engineering, and edited by Mary Chan of Organized Sound Productions
• Podcast cover art by Emily Johnston of Artio Design Co.
• Show notes written by Shannon Kirk of Right Words Studio
• Post-production support by Kristalee Forre of Forre You VA

Transcript with Audio Description:

[MUSIC IN - GHOSTHOOD FEATURING SARA AZRIEL “LET’S GO” BEGINS]

MARY: Having a podcast means you've got to have your systems in place. What do you do before you record an episode? How do you manage the actual recording? Then finally, what do you do after you record that episode and have that file? What's next? 

There are so many things and variables involved when creating each episode that this also extends to being on a guest on podcasts as well. What are your routines to get on a show? And then when you're on that show, what are you doing? And then after the show, then what do you do with your guest appearance? There are a lot of similarities here when it comes to having your own show or being a guest on one. So when you do have your own show, how do you treat your show and your potential guests? That all matters. 

Today, let's get into some podcast etiquette. What happens with your guests before, during, and after the interview? How you respond will set the success for your show and your guests. 

This is episode number 83 of the Podcaster's Guide to a Visible Voice. 

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Hey, welcome back to the show. Thanks for joining me today. It's my first episode back from my little summer break. 

[INTRO MUSIC ENDS]

And if you had a summer break as well, I hope you got to do at least one thing on your list that made you happy, because we all have, like, a list of things to do, right? Like, you're away from work and you got all these other things to do on the to do list. For me, it was honing in on my family value of adventure. So we hopped on a ferry and visited family on the mainland in Vancouver, stayed for a little staycation and did some camping and just got to explore our beautiful part of the world with our friends and family and meeting some clients, too, who came for their summer vacation. So it's been a really joyful, adventurous, and relaxing summer for me. And so I hope you had the same of, ticking off a couple things on your list for you as well. 

And then, of course, now that I'm doing the back to school thing with my daughter, it’s time to also do the back to podcasting thing with you. And just before I went on my little break there, I was chatting with my previous guest, Christian Klepp. He was episode number 66. We were talking about the continuous improvement as a podcaster. So we're hooked up on LinkedIn, and he was asking me about my opinion, and he wanted to run something past me. It's one of those, quote, unquote, if you were in my shoes or my show, what would you do? 

[MUSIC IN]

So let's first just lay out the situation. Okay? He said that this guy reached out and asked him to be a guest on his podcast, which was really nice because it is focused on B2B marketing, which is what he does, business to business marketing. So Christian reciprocated by interviewing this guy on his podcast as well. 

So here's the thing he says. One, he never told me when my interview was going live. He just published it and shared the link.

Two, I was completely transparent with him and told him when I'd publish his interview.

Three, I sent him an email with the links, no reply.

Four, I added him on LinkedIn and tagged him when I published the episode, no reply. And he didn't share it. He even removed me as a connection.

Five, I introduced two guests to him based on his request, no reply.

A few weeks ago, he adds me back as a connection and asks me to refer leads to him. I said, nobody comes to mind, but I'll keep my eyes open.

Today he sent me another email to follow up and ask if I have any leads for him. So back to that main question. If you were me, how would you respond?

[MUSIC ENDS]

I had a lot of feelings percolating. It just like, escalated, right? All through those numbers. We got five points there. Okay. My response was this, like that initial, oh my god, that's the worst. But two parts of this really come to mind. Initially, I was all, this guy is all, take, take, take. If he ever disconnects from you, I would disconnect from him as well and remove those connections and never reconnect again. Cut it, cut it all off, cold turkey. [LAUGHTER] 

But then the more logical side of my brain was thinking of what were the parameters around being a guest? Did he mention beforehand if he was going to tell you when it would go live? I know not everybody does. No one's as prepared to know ahead of time. But did he mention that or what did he say he was going to do to prep you for this episode being published? 

So as I kept saying to Christian, my initial response would be no response. I'm too busy to deal with this type of relationship that is clearly not mutually beneficial. Emails get lost, buried, and forgotten. So, no response. I mean, he had no response. I'm gonna have no response. It's my quick, petty little response to that. 

However, Christian and I had a good back and forth about this because I think it's a lot to do with those expectations. Christian was very, as he said in point number two, completely transparent with him and told him when I'd publish his interview. But he was getting no replies on those other points that he was making. Right? There was, 3, sent him an email with links, no reply. Added him on LinkedIn and tagged him, no reply. Introduced two guests to him, no reply. And I think at that point, with all the no replies, those are the red flags they are signalling to me, this is not a reciprocal relationship. 

And then the more and more we chatted, he came to his own conclusion on what he wanted to do. But I realized this really is about the care. You, as a host, care a lot about your show. So, like Christian, you are doing all, you know, all the things that you would like to do and show that you care about this person as your guest. And when the two expectations don't line up, because it doesn't seem like that guest had the same care, there will be the feelings. 

So how do we make sure this doesn't happen again? How do we make sure that for you as a podcaster, for your show, that you've got a framework in place so that you are laying down all your expectations? And as I always say, you are the host of your show. You're driving that bus. So are you going to be driving this bus left and right, through the lanes, over the curves, past the yellow line, or are you following a direct route? And what is that route? You can share it with everybody. Let them know where you're going.

[MUSIC IN]

So let's lay down some of these tracks for this framework as a host. When contacting your guests, give them some of that framework right off the bat, they haven't even said yes to your show yet, but when you give them this framework, they're going to think, whoa, you're really professional. You know exactly what you want. You sound like you know what you're doing. I want to be on your show. That's also one of the first things that they'll see. And they haven't even talked or met with you yet, right? Sometimes this can just be a cold email to someone or a message. What do you expect from them at this point in time? What should they expect from you? You laid this all out now, so there's no disappointment. We'll know exactly what each person gets. 

So, for me and this show, I let them know what days I have available for publishing or spots I'm hoping to fill. This way, they could start thinking about, oh, um, at that time of year, I might want to talk about this or that, and they can already start thinking about certain topics that they want to talk about. Then I let them know that they have to fill out my form first. After filling out the form and giving me all the information I need, that will then automatically send them to my calendar to pick a time to record the episode. All of that is in my initial email to them. 

So it makes for an easy yes. You know, this might be an initial email to them, but you've already done your homework. Or you may have already chatted with them a little bit about, oh, yeah, I'd like to have you on my show. But this initial email is the how to. They want that blueprint. And if you want more details on this process, I talk about exactly this on episode 62. So go through the back catalog number 62 almost 20 episodes ago, How To Land Someone From Your Dream Guest List. 

[MUSIC ENDS]

Okay, so that's all pre-interview stuff. Now we're going to talk about during the interview. Like, you've got the person on the line, you may or may not have hit record yet, but you're going to set some expectations here, too. Remind them of when you plan on publishing this. You might not have an exact date, but you could always say, oh, this will be released sometime in November. So that way you could also be in the moment. If you know that you'll be publishing this months later than you recorded it, then you don't mention timely things, such as, I had a client who recorded something in the new year, and so she was talking about New Year's resolutions and all the stuff, yet it was being published in the summer when it is hot out. They're thinking about vacations. Maybe they're on vacation, and all of those things. 

So you might want to talk about something that's more important to the publishing date. And your guest might also want to talk about something that's more relevant. Such as, maybe if you're publishing in the new year, they can then talk about all the new year's resolutions. Or you're publishing in the summer, and they want to talk about some fall retreats that they're hosting. This would give them permission to talk about those things. 

And since we're on the topic of permission, this also gives them the permission to make mistakes, because we all do. Whether that is going to be something we're saying and we stumble and fumble on, or that our tech isn't working and everyone is feeling a little awkward, like, I'm so sorry this is happening. This normally doesn't happen or what have you. But that permission allows everyone, you and your guest, to be more human. And when you're more human, you care. And when you care. That interview is going to sound so much better. 

[MUSIC IN]

Okay, after the interview. Now, this is actually the important part and what Christian was actually alluding to in his question to me. And I wonder, now that I'm putting this episode together, was some of these steps implemented either on Christian's show, which it sounded like he did because he said, I sent him the link and da da da da da. But also on the other show that Christian was a guest on. So when you are a guest on another show, what is their framework like? And maybe if you're getting some red flags, then you don't want to be a guest on that show. 

But, okay, let's go back to after the interview. What do you do when the episode is published? What are those expectations? And how, if you want to, how do you share that message? So I have a client. She shares this message with an email to the guest the day before. This email has all the details about the episode and all the shareable audiograms all linked or attached to the email as part of the promotional campaign. She also makes a suggestion that you don't have to, but you would be really honoured to if you did share the episode and also provided, uh, the graphics so the episode artwork and the links to the episode so that the guests can share it. 

But also, what she's doing is making a reminder for this guest. It's doing two things, reminding them that their episode, that they probably recorded months ago, is being published tomorrow. It's giving them a heads up. The second thing is that it's reminding them what they talked about. When guests come on shows, they usually have more than one topic that they're talking about. And this email is a great reminder. 

And for you as the host, it's easy to remind them what you talked about because you're just basically copying pasting parts of the show notes here. Usually I'll have bullet points of the major points of the episode, and that's what I will paste into the email. And I guess another thing of this reminder is that you're gonna let them know that you're gonna start tagging them on their social media accounts tomorrow. 

So my client will give them this expectation, hey, this is what's coming up. And this gives your guest an expectation that it will happen tomorrow. They can be prepared for that. They can be excited for it and relive the conversation through your email and then be excited to share it. And this, of course, might sound like a lot of work as you, as a host, you're like, I have to send out this email with how many things? But it's all a format and templated. It's essentially the same email that goes out to each and every guest. You just need to update the relevant details for each guest and ta da, done. 

But it doesn't sound like from Christian's original question, the host did not do that for him when he was a guest on that show. And that is where some of the expectations that he thought was supposed to happen wasn't happening. 

[MUSIC ENDS]

So yes, all podcasters are going to podcast their own way. I mean, this industry really still is the wild, wild west, although we'd like to think there's similar things. And sometimes people go their own way, and that's not necessarily a good or bad thing. In this circumstance, though, it's getting to know what your red flags are. Your value of integrity for your podcast, and the care you are receiving from that person to determine if their etiquette is what you want to follow. 

So thanks for Christian for asking that question to me over on LinkedIn and allowing me to share it on this episode. And if you have a podcasting question that you want to share, feel free. Hit me up on LinkedIn like Christian did. And that's where I usually hang out. Or I would love it if you left a voicemail on my website, visiblevoicepodcast.com. 

And hey, when you leave that feedback, let me know. How would you respond to Christian's scenario and what's your podcast etiquette that you follow? And if you need some support on some of those templates I'm talking about, I'd love to have a chat with you. We can set you up with your own system so that you can do the copy and pasting and send this out really easily so you can create your own template and your own workflow that aligns with your values and sort of some of this podcast, unofficial podcast etiquette that is in the industry about guesting on a show. 

[MUSIC IN]

And diving into the next episode. We're going to talk about the art of conversation and what intentional conversation means for your podcasting journey. We chat with a podcaster who's defying certain rules about editing and how his experience with multiple shows that he's created can support you on assessing your needs for your own show. We'll chat with Chris Constantine next time. We'll see you then. 

[MUSIC ENDS]

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MARY: Thank you so much for listening to the podcaster's guide to a Visible Voice. If you enjoyed this episode, I'd love it if you share it with a podcasting friend. And to reveal more voicing and podcasting tips, click on over to VisibleVoicePodcast.com. Until next time.

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[MUSIC ENDS]