I'd love to be considered a world-class podcast guest one day and I’ve noticed that the ones who are, do something differently…
Never start a podcast with ‘thanks for having me.’
Most podcast hosts start their interviews by introducing the guest, reeling off all their accolades and finishing with:
💬 '[Name], welcome to the podcast!'
💬 '[Name], Thank you for being here.'
💬 '[Name], I'm so excited to finally have you on.'
Well intentioned? Yes.
But it’s a trap - one that forces us into a conversational black hole.
💬 'Thanks for having me!'
😬 [And then we wait for the first question]
❌ Slow
❌ Predictable
❌ A bit awkward too.
Seasoned podcast guests know this, so they do something a little different and who better to demonstrate it than Rory Sutherland. Have a watch of this…🍿
Notice how he:
1. Acknowledged the welcome 🙏
2. Then added a bridge statement to get straight on topic 🧠
‘It’s great to be here, it’s funny actually because I realised on the way here that…
But here is the real genius behind the approach:
Your audience gets value faster 🎁
So they're more likely to continue listening.You get to control the narrative ⚡️
So your message will be landing peak listenership.You help the host warm up 🔥
They get nervous too!You help the audience settle into the conversation 🎧
The best podcasts don't feel like interviewsYou set the host up to go off piste 🧠
And ask a better first question.
[I appreciate inexperienced hosts may struggle with this but that's good practice for them too]!
Going into every podcast appearance armed with a clear idea of where you might take the conversation first, is a really smart strategy.
Alex
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