Interview Podcast Questions – How to Conduct an Interview

Asking your guests engaging questions is crucial for the success of your interviews and helps differentiate your content from other podcasts.

In this article, we break down how to come up with good questions so you can nail your interviews and keep listeners hooked.

There isn’t a list of “the greatest podcast interview questions” that you may copy and paste into every interview to guarantee success. It would be extremely monotonous if that were the case.

The correct answer is that it depends on who you’re talking to, their level of expertise, how much time you have, and your podcast’s subject.

Apart from sharing podcast interview question ideas, let us discuss how to come up with your interview questions.

Tips for asking great podcast interview questions

Listen more than you speak.

Your podcast audience most likely feels connected with you, but they downloaded this podcast episode to hear from the guest, not you!

When you ask a question, pay attention to what your guest says. Allow them to speak freely. Interrupt them, and don’t respond with a story about yourself if they begin to tell an anecdote.

Your goal is to lead the conversation so that your visitor’s talents are best highlighted. However, knowing when to be quiet may also help you accomplish this task.

Have a goal and be curious

Knowing your episode’s goals might help you determine the sort of questions you should ask.

This stage should take a matter of minutes, but it can make a huge difference in keeping the discussion moving forward.

Ask yourself:

• What do you want to achieve with this episode?
• How can your guest help my listeners solve a problem?
• What is the one thing you want to convey in the podcast episode?

Do some research

If your audience is new to your podcast topic or just beginning, too much research may lead you to ask beyond their comprehension questions. For beginning podcasts, more basic questions are usually preferable.

If your podcast audience is more advance in the topic, you can go deeper:

• Go through their social media
• Find out their work history on LinkedIn
• Check out your guest’s previous podcast interviews

Write and practice your podcast intro once you’re done with your research.

Ask for more detail.

If your podcast guest makes an intriguing passing remark, make a mental note to follow up with them after they’ve finished speaking.

Similarly, if you feel they didn’t answer your interview question sufficiently, ask them to expand on it.

Remember the 5 Ws

If you’re not a natural question asker, you may always resort to who, what, when, where, and why.

If you interview with a podcaster, you could use these questions:

Who: “How would you describe yourself and what you do?”

What: “What is your niche in podcasting?”

When: “How much time did it take to develop your podcast where you are now?”

Why: “Why did you take up podcasting?”

In this case, the “where” doesn’t suit. But you may pick which of the five Ws best describes your topic.

Check out How To Increase Podcast Downloads.

Don’t be afraid of stupid questions.

Contrary to what some people may claim, a stupid podcast interview question does exist. That is why you conduct research: make sure you don’t ask them!

These are typically private queries that might be intrusive: asking someone about their spouse or a job they’ve said they were let go from when they’ve just gone through a public divorce.

It’s not stupid to ask a question you know the answer to but want your guest to expand on. For example, if you’re talking with an expert and just need them to explain a soundbite.

Also, if your visitor says anything you don’t comprehend, ask them to repeat it more precisely. You are the voice of your audience; therefore, you must ensure that the information you gather is relevant to their needs.

If you can’t figure out how your guest has worded their response, don’t be surprised if no one else can.

Ask clarifying questions

If you didn’t fully understand the podcast guest, clarifying questions are here to help.

Ask any clarifying questions to get more information out of your visitor and keep the discussion natural.

Examples of clarifying questions are:

• What do you mean by that?
• Can you give an example?
• How did it affect you personally?

Have A Signature Question

You may spice up your episode by asking a set question at the start or finish. It’s one method to keep track of all of your episodes. It must be relevant to your podcast niche or brand name.

For example, if your podcast program is in the entertainment area, you might conduct a regular interview with the guests about their favorite musician.

Be flexible

If you want to conduct a good interview, you’ll need some structure, but also, you should make room for spontaneity.

Be sensitive to what your guests say. You can ask follow-up questions or veer slightly off-topic before asking the next question.

This is critical if you’re posing open-ended inquiries since you don’t know how your visitor will respond.

Outlining can help you stay on the intended path, but it should not restrict you.

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Podcast interview questions to ask your guest

Here are a few questions to get you started if you plan to have an interview. They’re broken down into various categories, but even if your podcast topic fits exactly into one, take a look at the others. You never know what might happen!

This isn’t a complete or definitive list of podcast questions and ideas, and it’s not a checklist in any sense. Instead, treat it as a collection of suggestions to help you come up with interview questions.

Opening podcast interview questions

What is your morning routine?

Where did you grow up, and how did it affect who you are now?

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received?

What’s your favorite anecdote story to tell people?

What do you like to do in your free time and why?

Are you an introvert or an extrovert?

What would you do with your life if money wasn’t a factor?

What’s your favorite movie, and why?

What’s your biggest pet peeve?

What’s your guilty pleasure?

What’s your biggest passion?

Do you eat to live or live to eat?

What’s your favorite interview question?

If you could have one superpower, what would it be?

If you could meet with one historical figure, who would it be and when in your time or theirs?

What was your favorite subject at school?

What is the best compliment you’ve ever received?

If you had an extra hour every day, how would you spend it?

Family and relationships interview questions

Where did you grow up?

Do you ever go back there?

How would your parents describe you as a teenager?

How would your siblings describe you?

What’s your favorite childhood memory?

What is the most important lesson you would want your kids to learn?

What’s the story your family tells about you?

What’s your favorite funny story to tell about your relationship?

Career interview questions

What did you want to do when you were a child?

What has been your favorite job you’ve done till now?

What has been the most significant turning point in your career?

What was the biggest obstacle you faced, and what did you learn?

What was your biggest failure?

Who was your professional mentor?

What is your favorite productivity hack?

What’s the most common misconception about your profession?

How do you manage to maintain a work-life balance?

What would you do differently in your career if you could go back in time?

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Podcast questions on hobbies

What is the movie that influenced you the most and why?

What’s the last skill you’ve learned?

What book would you buy for a gift?

What book do you want more people to read?

Where was your favorite travel to?

What is the book or a movie you received a major life lesson from?

What are the best podcasts you’ve listened to?

What do you like to listen to the most?

What song makes you feel better when you’re down?

What song do you know all the words to?

Deeper interview questions

What was the most significant moment of your life?

What was the biggest challenge of your life? How did you handle it?

What moment changed your life forever?

What are the challenges you worry about facing in the future?

What are you scared of the most?

What would you tell your younger self?

How would you like to be remembered?

Follow-up interview questions

Were you worried?

How did that make you feel?

What happened next?

What did you do next?

What did they say?

What did you say?

Would you do it differently now?

Podcasting-related interview questions

What made you want to podcast about your topic?

How long did it take to grow your audience to the current number?

What are your best content marketing strategies?

What’s your advice for consistent content creation?

Do you have any monetization tips?

What’s your best episode, and why?

How do you make your podcast unique in your field?

What’s your favorite recording software?

Do you have any gear recommendations?

Closing interview questions

What is the one piece of advice you can share with my listeners?

Can you share book recommendations for the audience?

What are your favorite podcasts related to your niche?

What’s the biggest takeaway you can share with the audience?

What’s, are your plans for the future?

Where can listeners find you?

Where can listeners learn more about you?

Conclusion

Podcasting is a great way to connect with your audience and share your knowledge on any given topic. To make the most of podcasting, consider your content marketing strategies, how you can make your podcast stand out from other shows, and what gear you need to get started.

Remember that podcasting takes time and effort to grow an audience, so be patient and consistent with your content creation. Lastly, don’t forget to ask your guests interesting questions that will provide value to your listeners! Thanks for reading, and I hope this article was helpful!