On this episode of Rhodes to Success, I interview David Ralph, who is a financial trainer-turned-full time podcaster. During the show, David and I discuss podcasting philosophy and freestyling, the art of the interview, releasing average shows, self-editing, new and noteworthy hype, and longevity in podcasting.
Main Questions Asked:
- Talk about your podcasting philosophy and why you like ‘freestyle.’
- Do you have any ‘I don’t know what to ask next’ moments?
- What are your tips for staying inspired and keeping up with the podcasting workload?
- Talk about the concept of the ‘Avatar.’
- Talk about how you introduce your podcast guests and how that affects the show.
Key Lessons Learned:
Conversational Podcasts
- Conversation develops into relationships, and then into business and sales.
- The true value of a podcast comes not just from talking but building relationship bridges.
- As a podcaster, you should treat interviewing as an art.
- To have a conversational interview, you have to really listen.
Taking Control
- As an interviewer, it is not just about asking questions but also taking control of the interview.
- Consider making a lengthy introduction in order to tell your guest’s story before they get to it.
- Guests often tell stories that they have told hundreds of times before. If you tell the story for them, then they have nothing to ‘hide behind’ and are forced to provide new content.
Releasing Average Shows
- Releasing an episode you aren’t happy with shows the journey.
- The end product of a show is different for every listener.
- Listeners will still find value in every episode, even if it isn’t a home run.
Self-Edit & Improve
- It is possible to train yourself to speak in a fluent and engaging manner instead of taking the ‘ums and ahs’ out in post-production.
- Fine-tuning your super-talent will separate you from the masses.
- David listens to each of his shows twice in order to improve his presentation.
- If you want to get better at your own podcast, you need to listen back to your own shows and pick out the faults.
- If you’re happy with your first podcast episode, you probably waited too long to launch.
New and Noteworthy
- This is overhyped in iTunes and often gives new shows a false boost.
- A successful podcaster is someone who continues to podcast past the first 8 weeks.
The Avatar
- There’s a lot of work in finding your avatar, but not a lot in understanding yourself.
- The key failing is that people are trained to go for the ‘avatar’ character.
- A lot of podcasters don’t look at themselves, and instead create content for others, which leads to them being bored as a host or without subject breadth.
Introducing the Guests
- Introducing the guest sets the tone for the entire interview and shows that the host is in control.
- The last two words of an introduction should be the guest’s name.
- Take the bio and replace with ‘he’ or ‘she,’ and make it exciting.
- Think about how the professional late night talk show hosts introduce their guests.
Common Problems
- Podcasters sounding bored and formulaic.
- Podcasters seem to base their presentation on new media rather than old media.
David’s Tips
- Make your show as generic as possible so it doesn’t date. Can it be listened to in 5 years and still be relevant?
- You have to gain the skills of becoming a host before you gain...
