Episode Summary
When you set out to be a podcast host, you have a lot of responsibilities. You have to research, practice how to open a show, work on interviewing techniques, and a lot more.
But when you start out, what do you focus on? How do you keep from being overwhelmed with everything that goes into an authentic conversation?
In this episode of Recorded Content, our host Tristan Pelligrino welcomes Tricia Ruiz, the content manager at Anteriad. They chat about what it’s like being a podcast host, how to critique yourself, and why raising the stakes helps engage your audience.
Featured Podcaster
- Name: Tricia Ruiz
- What she does: She's the content manager at Anteriad.
- Company: Anteriad
- Noteworthy: Tricia used to be an actress, but in 2020, she shifted to the online world, specifically in B2B. Now, she's a content manager and a podcast host.
Key Insights
- Make it short and simple. One of the most common mistakes that podcast hosts make in their intros and outros is that they make them overly complex and lengthy. Tricia suggests making them short and simple instead. She explains, "If you bring nervousness, uncertainty, if you're having to fight to find the dialogue and find the words, then they're going to almost walk over eggshells with you during the conversation versus if you just say simple words, and you can cut your script down to as small as you need for your intro. We don't need big intros. I listened to our episode, and I was like, 'Oh my gosh, stop talking, Tricia. Get to the point.' Now, the intro is two sentences."
- As a podcast host, you're constantly learning and expanding your horizons. There are many perks of being a podcast host. One of them is the opportunity to learn and grow constantly. Tricia says, "I love that because then, as a host, if you constantly ask your guests ‘why,’ you are still learning, and you're putting yourself in the position to be open to learning and to continue to walk in humility that you don't know everything because we can't. We're never going to know everything. And so you're putting yourself not even at the same level as your guest. It's almost like you're putting yourself under, and you're lifting your guest up because the things that you ask them, they don't have to give a right or a wrong answer; they're giving the answer from their experiences and their stories."
- A podcast is a story. People are addicted to stories. And a podcast should be a story too. Tricia says, "We as individuals and humans want a beginning, middle, and end. We have a morning; we have a night; we have a day of 24 hours. We live in this cycle; we want completion. [...] So I think that we all as humans want to have a complete story. And so if you're able to get there with your podcast, you're able to say, 'Okay, what's that main point? How is that ending going to happen?' And just think about what's the past of the topic, what's the present of the topic, and what's the future of the topic?"
Episode Highlights
Listen, ask questions, and learn
“I remember you were my second episode when I interviewed you, and we talked about genuine conversations. We talked about how you create a connection with someone when you meet them for the first time in an interview setting — things that you had special background and history and experience in. So that was one of them, just listen and ask questions and make up the questions that way.”
Go live when you feel comfortable to go live
“Only go live if you feel comfortable to go live. For me — and my background being in theater — that aspect that there’s also an audience there was very helpful. And that actually encouraged me to think less about the guest I’m talking to as the audience for my dialogue and their dialogue, and think about the audience who’s actively listening, watching, and participating live — that’s who the conversation is for. And it almost framed it up as we’re on the same team.”
Everyone has a story to tell
“I love hosting because I get to facilitate other people’s stories versus my own. If I’m going to tell my own story, I have my own mediums that I want to do that in. That might be podcasting again for something like a single-person show. But I use other mediums right now, which are things that I naturally gravitate towards. So instead, I can hand the mic to somebody else, and that’s always an encouragement.”
Ask questions that bring out the story
“Every episode needs to have a story. I’m still working out how to get the hook right. I still haven’t mastered that. I know that you need a hook as well. And so I just start with general questions like, all right, this most recent one we did on how data creativity can drive demand, and we got to set the basis for what data we are talking about, and then you transition into it.”
Make sure your podcast has a purpose
“Managing that content, I want to make sure that the content that’s produced not only through the podcast but other places as well has a purpose. And so I bring that up to my leadership because it’s not my final say in the management of the content. That’s my strategist’s say. And it’s my VP of demand’s say, and that is something that they’ve done really well. Also, that the content that’s being produced by a company has a purpose versus an individual influencer or host who wants to make their own content.”