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3 interview techniques I learned from my favorite comedian with Tristan Pelligrino

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Episode Summary

Although there are a lot of different podcast formats many podcasters start with an interview-style show And its a good format for a company to use as their initial approach

But even though many podcasters start with interviews this doesnt mean the format is easy It takes work to refine your interviewing skills And it requires a lot of practice to make your podcast interviews feel more like a natural conversation

In this episode of Recorded Content our host Tristan Pelligrino shares where he seeks inspiration for interview-based podcast episodes and analyzes the work of comedian Anthony Jeselnik Tristan also explains how to use either-or and follow-up questions And he outlines why as a podcast host giving your perspective and sharing something personal helps the guest to do the same

Guest Profile

Name: Tristan Pelligrino

What he does: Tristan is the co-founder of Motion a done-for-you-podcast agency for small scrappy B2B tech marketers

Company: Motion

Key Insights

  • Its vital to study the art of interviewing Like everything you do especially if you are in a creative industry conducting high-quality podcast interviews revolves around the good old adage of Practice makes perfect I feel that if you can ask more interesting questions and improve your skills as an interviewer the podcast episodes you produce will be more helpful to your audience
  • If you want your guest to show their true colors you must do the same The best way to create a meaningful audience-guest connection and provide value is to have a guest share a personal story Instead of focusing only on success stories encourage them to share stories of failure so you can help the audience overcome challenges But as a podcast host you must lead by example and reveal something from your professionalpersonal life to inspire the guest to follow suit As a podcast host if you want to get something personal from your guest it helps a lot if you share something very personal first It builds trust and shows the type of person you are and your humility
  • Never stop looking for inspiration The great thing about interview-type podcasts is that you can always turn to traditional and new media to see how others do them After all as a podcast host youve already signed up for lifelong learning I try to see what works and why it works for a certain situation So try it yourself take a close look at a conversation you enjoyed and figure out why it works so well

Episode Highlights

HOW TO IMPROVE THE WAY YOU ASK QUESTIONS AND CONDUCT INTERVIEWS

One of my favorite things to do is to study how other people interview guests and I like to go beyond podcasters I like to analyze talk show hosts documentarians and even comedians In this episode Im going to analyze one of my favorite comedians Anthony Jeselnik

If youre not familiar with Anthony check him out on Netflix Hes got a few specials out there and he also has a podcast called The Jeselnik Rosenthal Vanity Project

THE EITHER-OR QUESTION IN A PODCAST INTERVIEW

In a podcast setting I think an either-or question can work but theres one ingredient you need It has to be polarizing meaning its more interesting if you have the guests take a stance

So the setup to the question must present two very different options You cant let the guests just pick an answer in the middle

AS A HOST YOU CAN ADD TO THE QUALITY OF THE EPISODE BY SHARING YOUR PERSPECTIVE

One of the biggest challenges hosts run into is that theyre not able to provide their perspective on the show It is one of the biggest complaints about a host and the guest episode format that we hear The host gets caught in a situation where theyre always asking questions and it becomes more of a transaction instead of a true conversation

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