The best way to answer “Who are you and what do you do?
I want you to think about the times you make introductions to people. Maybe you’re introducing a coworker to your spouse, or a friend from one area of your life to a friend in another area of your life.
You likely say something like, “Bob, this is Jean. Jean, Bob. Bob is one of the best copywriters I know! And Jean is fantastic at graphic design.”
What you don’t do is say, “Bob, Jean. Jean. Bob. Now tell each other what you do,” because they’d both be caught off-guard.
If you ask me, “What is the worst question podcasters commonly ask their guests,” you’ll get one, unequivocal answer from me:
So tell us who you are and what you do.
And while I’ve spoken about [why podcasters shouldn’t ask that question], if you go on podcasts, chances are you’re getting it.
So how, as a podcast guest, do you turn that into a way to stand out?
Let’s start with what not to do first.
Perhaps the worst answer you can give is a rehash of your bio. It’s likely that the host already told people who you are, reading a provided bio or recording an intro after your interview.
Plus, people can just read your bio.
Instead, what you want to do is deliver value right out of the gate.
What I try to do is tell a story that clearly illustrates how I help people — which means I need to know the topic and audience ahead of time.
If we’re talking about podcast sponsorship, I’m telling people about how podcasting saved my business.
If we’re talking about workflows, I’m telling people how I knew something needed to change when I completely burned out in 2020.
This does a couple of things:
You likely say something like, “Bob, this is Jean. Jean, Bob. Bob is one of the best copywriters I know! And Jean is fantastic at graphic design.”
What you don’t do is say, “Bob, Jean. Jean. Bob. Now tell each other what you do,” because they’d both be caught off-guard.
If you ask me, “What is the worst question podcasters commonly ask their guests,” you’ll get one, unequivocal answer from me:
So tell us who you are and what you do.
And while I’ve spoken about [why podcasters shouldn’t ask that question], if you go on podcasts, chances are you’re getting it.
So how, as a podcast guest, do you turn that into a way to stand out?
Let’s start with what not to do first.
Perhaps the worst answer you can give is a rehash of your bio. It’s likely that the host already told people who you are, reading a provided bio or recording an intro after your interview.
Plus, people can just read your bio.
Instead, what you want to do is deliver value right out of the gate.
What I try to do is tell a story that clearly illustrates how I help people — which means I need to know the topic and audience ahead of time.
If we’re talking about podcast sponsorship, I’m telling people about how podcasting saved my business.
If we’re talking about workflows, I’m telling people how I knew something needed to change when I completely burned out in 2020.
This does a couple of things:
- It helps people learn a little bit more about me without me just rereading my bio.
- It makes people emotionally invested in my story. The people I help can empathize with stories I tell.
- It illustrates the kind of transformation I can do for them. So how can you do this? The answer is tell a story. I write [all about digital storytelling here]. Your goal is to tell a story of transformation, make the listener the hero, and position yourself as the guide. You want to communicate to the listener that:
- I see you
- I’ve been where you were
- I know the way out
- I can help you Why does this matter? Because a great podcast interview can do a lot of things for you. It can grow your authority. It can get people onto your mailing list and reach new clients. It can be a gold mine for creating your own content. But a bad one is basically just wasted time. It won’t be good for the podcast, and it won’t be good for you. But if you start strong, win over the audience early, and steer the conversation in the direction you need it to go in, it can be a huge boon for you in both the short- and long term.
