Yesterday I interviewed Jake Pilkenton via Facebook Live, and it took a few minutes to get everything working, and have him successfully join the conversation. So I tried talking to fill the silence and it was a trainwreck. For one minute and fifty seconds, I bombed live in front of several of my friends and listeners, plus the 80 people who tuned in to watch the post later. As learning experiences go, it was pretty painful.
So I asked Carl Powers, a seasoned comedian to join me for a new Facebook Live video and teach me how to make that two minutes of pre-interview time less excruciating for everyone involved. His tips:
1. Resist the urge to jump into your planned material
The worst thing a movie theater could do is show a trailer for the movie you’re about to see. It breaks the suspense, it ruins future moments of excitement, and it’s redundant. Everyone is already there to see that movie, the sale has been made. People want new content.
2. Maintain Expertise
Stick to stuff that is tangentially related to what you wanted to talk about. On my show, I could talk about previous guests and interviews, and maybe share some thoughts or reflections that I didn’t have the opportunity to express in the interview. There are many benefits to this. One, it helps raise the profile of those guests. Two, it might prompt people to check out that podcast episode, and thereby help boost awareness of the podcast. Three, it’s a way to share new material and create a deeper level of engagement with the podcast. Four, these extra thoughts can help improve my own image as an expert. Five, I can share more of my personality (ie boost my personal brand) and create more of a connection with the audience.
3. Details and Feelings
Start with what you did recently and tell a story around that. When you’re telling a story to fill time, no detail is too small to leave out. Details and feelings create points of connection for the audience, and create a foundation to build upon. One of the things I envy about Carl is his ability to draw me into a seemingly mundane story, and this is an important tool of his. Even in this video, he was talking about how his shoelace came untied for a second time, and I found myself thinking, “why? What was going on around him? Was it raining? Were his shoelaces wet? Were there puddles? Was he in a hurry to get out the door? Why was he in a hurry?” Immediately my mind is supplying all these other reasons to be interested in what he has to say…about shoelaces!
4. Interact with the Crowd
Ask specific questions with many possible answers. I loved his story about how his conversation about a mall revealed the story about Tom Cruise coming to visit their city. I think this is a great tool for podcasting because my audience keeps coming back each week. The same people listen week after week, and I have a real opportunity to connect with them. I can ask about their favorite episodes, take suggestions for the podcast, propose new ideas, and get feedback.