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Producing a podcast? How to get the best out of the talent

Radio and podcast producer Ian Callaghan draws on decades of experience working with the likes of John Peel, Bruce Dickinson, and Radcliffe & Maconie to share tips on getting the best out of your podcast presenters, whether you’re a seasoned producer or just starting out.

In the entertainment industry, ‘talent’ is a catch-all label for the stars of the show; the presenters, experts, talking heads, celebrity participants and the like. They’re the visible people who front the production, the people that you see and hear.

Being a producer, I’d like to point out there’s also lots of talent behind the scenes making everything work. But chances are you’ll be working with talent to make what you want to make. So how can you make the most from this collaboration?

Confidence is key in podcast production

No matter if the talent you’re working with is a friend, a colleague or a megawatt celebrity, don’t be afraid to take control. This thought could be daunting, but fear not. They might be used to collaborating with people telling them what to do. In fact, often they’ll be looking for someone to help get through what they’re facing.

As Producer, they have expectations of what you should be doing and how you should handle it. There’s a balance of power here; they’re talented at what they do, but you’re also the talent at what you do. You’re there to make it as easy and painless as possible for them.

If you yourself happen to be inexperienced, chances are they won’t know this so don’t give them a reason to. You have that Producer title, so wear it with impunity and pride. Just make sure you know what you want and pursue that with confidence and charm.

How do I research a podcast interview?

If you can, it’s worth asking if they’d mind doing a research call. Have a quick chat and see if they’re able to cover what you’re asking. You’ll get a good sense of them as a person, as an interviewee, and chances are you’ll uncover something new. Come the interview proper, you’ll have a rapport… And if they’re not suitable, you’ll avoid an embarrassing situation later.

Ahead of a planned interview, if you’re asked to forward your questions, avoid this if at all possible. Feel free to forward the topics you’d like to cover, but not the questions. If you do, you risk them saying no to some questions. You also risk their answers being rehearsed and sounding stilted and insincere.

I’ve had people actually write down their answers and then read them back. If this happens to you, get them to put the written answers aside and go for a spontaneous answer. They can always check later if they’ve missed anything important.

I interviewed Malcolm McLaren and, having asked my first question, I got the chance to ask my next one 25 minutes later! But in that time, he’d answered questions 2-7. If I was running off a script, that would have thrown a spanner in the works.

Stand your ground when it comes to sound

Try and get your interviewee comfortable before you start. Explain to them exactly what you want. If you’ve seen or heard them do something similar before, it never hurts to tell them they were great. If you’ve already had your research call, this bit’s pretty much been ticked off – they know you a little, you know them.

Always wear headphones and pay particular attention to how the interviewee sounds. Or more importantly, how their environment sounds. If you can hear any background noises, like a clock, then try and fix this. Move location if needs be. Clocks are a nightmare if you’re planning on editing. We recently had someone record an interview next to wind chimes. Wtf?

I was once due to interview Kevin Keegan and the interview kept being pushed back and back. Eventually Kevin’s handler said, ‘Right it’s your turn. You have 60 seconds. And you have to do your interview in the lift.’

I was quite inexperienced, but thankfully I had the sense to say, ‘That’s ridiculous! It’s going to sound terrible, and what’s more I was promised a proper interview.’ I got it too. Stand your ground if you can. Say ‘no’ sometimes if you’re going to get a bum deal. They might well back down, and do you really want a short, noisy, or unfocused interview?

As producer, you no doubt have a desire to do the very best work you can do. If that means you have to ask someone famous, or brilliant, or dazzling, to re-do something then you must. If you don’t, you’ll regret it when you come to listen back or edit it. If there’s some resistance, you can remind them that you only want to make them sound and appear as good as possible.

Nailing your interview podcast

Whether it’s you or a presenter (more talent) asking the questions, you need an idea of where you’re going; where you want to start and where you want to end. But don’t follow that rigidly. Keep questions to hand, but it’ll be best if it’s a genuine conversation.

I’ve had a number of people do interviews for me where I’ve sent them off with questions, which they’ve studiously followed. To a fault. If an interviewee dangled a mysterious clue or hinted at something, my interviewer just moved onto the next question, abandoning what was actually being said. I’ve been left in the edit suite shouting to no one, ‘But what about that abandoned goldmine?!’

If you have the luxury of a presenter, agree on the questions ahead of schedule then let them do their thing. If you need some re-takes, ask them at the end. Try not to interrupt them.

If there’s no ‘proper’ interviewer, just you asking questions which you’ll later edit out, ask them to start their answer with the words of your question:

You: Tell me, why did you decide to take up chainsaw juggling?

Them: I decided to take up chainsaw juggling when my mum bought me a chainsaw for my 5th birthday…

Guide them through, question by question if needs be. If you’re confident in your editing, you’ll probably know when you have everything you want and can cut it together. Or you can always ask them to drop certain bits of their answer if it’s unnecessary or making it too unwieldy. Again, they’re probably looking for guidance and help.

Live vs prerecorded podcasts: What’s different?

If it’s live, you really need to be on your toes. You’ll have to be mindful of time to keep your interviewee on track. You can’t do re-takes of interviews, but you can circle back to things if you only got half the answer you wanted.

If it’s pre-recorded, you have the luxury or editing and removing umms and ahhhs and coughs and any conversational cul-de-sacs. You also have the opportunity to interject at any point to bring your guest back on track or have them clarify matters.

It’s worth starting the conversation with a question that you don’t really need. Some people are great at being interviewed and give good quote from the go, but some need a bit of time to warm up. This question might get you over a bumpy start.

If you find yourself heading off in unexpected directions, and if you have time, go with it. You might get something revelatory and surprising. If you’re going nowhere, don’t be afraid to leap in and bring it back on track.

Always take notes if you can, even if it’s to underline a question you want to revisit later.

Seize every chance for better podcast audio

If you have an interviewee who’s chewing gum or drumming their fingers on the table, even if it’s a Hollywood A-lister, politely ask them to stop spoiling the audio.

It’s the same if someone keeps shifting in their spot, going out of frame or focus, ask them to stop. Again, they’re expecting you to be the expert in charge, so don’t feel awkward exercising that responsibility.

Always regret something you did, rather than something you didn’t do. If you feel like a difficult question needs asking, then ask it.

Robert Plant once called me an old tart for asking a tricky question. I didn’t get an answer but, better than that, he called me an old tart. You can always preface a potentially tricky question with something like, ‘I’m sorry, but I’m not really doing my job if I don’t ask you this…’

It’s sometimes difficult if you’re trying to get someone to say something specific that you either know they’ve said or want them to say. You could take a print out of the quote as an aid to help them re-quote themselves.

Staying flexible takes careful planning

If you’re having someone read a script, make sure you’ve read that script out loud a few times. It might read beautifully on paper, but you could soon find it’s awkward and clumsy when read aloud.

Even having done this, there’s a chance your presenter could say, ‘I wouldn’t say it like that,’ or ‘that doesn’t sound right to me.’ Be prepared to edit your script on the fly and compromise. Take a few copies of the script to work with.

I once handed a script to a presenter and said, ‘I hope this reads ok to you. I mean, I’m not trying to put words in your mouth.’ They looked at me with a steely gaze, and with a cold smile said, ‘Well, you obviously are.’ I sheepishly said, ‘Well…’

Be as prepared as you can, then try and enjoy your interviews. I find it an absolute pleasure to chat with (more often than not) complete strangers and dig a little into their lives and expertise. And don’t forget, it’s just a conversation between two people, like we all do all the time. It just happens to be recorded, that’s all.

Ian Callaghan is a radio, video, and podcast producer. He's made hundreds of documentaries and produced thousands of hours of radio, working with talent like John Peel, Bruce Dickinson, Radcliffe and Maconie, Mary Anne Hobbs, Stewart Copeland, Mark Lamarr, Marc Riley, and many more.

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