Just Stop Talking – Please!

As someone who hosts a weekly show (well, hosts two weekly shows, one can argue), I have been blessed to be getting a lot of bookings as a guest on a lot of other shows lately.  To my listeners, to my blog readers, and to those who’ve purchased/downloaded my eBooks, among numerous other lessons I know I’ve given out this one particular piece of advice regarding when you are the guest on an interview.  That is, to listen to/watch the show in advance so that you know the flow, the typical order of events, the host’s style, and so on.

I do practice what I preach.

For purposes of executing the above, I was listening to one of the shows that I was going to be interviewed on.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a good handle on how the host likes to run the show – well, at least with the particular episode that I chose.

To say that the guest on the latest installment was a talker would be like saying that P.T. Barnum was a promoter.  In other words, that’s putting it mildly.  This guest talked and talked and then talked some more, to the point where as a host myself I was wondering why there wasn’t a point where the host would jump in and let this guest understand that they needed to come up for air and that it wasn’t their show.  But that’s not a criticism of the host so much as it’s a lesson for you as an interviewee.  It’s crazy, but, at one point the host did chime in – or I should say, tried to chime in – with an opinion, and the guest didn’t back down and just kept right on talking!

This guest initially sounded like they had something to say, some lesson to pass along, some value to contribute.  However, it soon became, wow, this guest sure likes the sound of their own voice.  And then it became, wow, the host could walk away to go to the rest room and come back and the guest would never know – and still be talking.  Heck, start up your own show at that point if you want to talk so much.  That in itself brings up an interesting point.

As a host, I am just there to direct traffic.  The guest is the star of the show and I want them to contribute meaningfully so that the listeners – the other stars of the show, the reason it’s being put on each week in the first place – will be entertained and educated.  I get upset with myself when I talk too much.  There came a point in time where I got someone to do the voiceover about the Bruce’s Bonus Books simply because I felt that the listeners needed a break from hearing me so much.  Yes, thanks to running Now Hear This I’ve got years of experience in the entertainment industry from which I draw lessons for my listeners and readers.  But, if I wanted it to be all about me then I wouldn’t have guests on “Now Hear This Entertainment.”

All that being said, when you are being interviewed on a radio show, TV show, or podcast, you are a guest on a talk show.  The word ‘talk,’ however, implies that you are talking with the host – carrying on a (two-way) conversation.  The experience that I described above became so overwhelming (the guest talking way, way too much) that if they were contributing anything meaningful, I missed it.  You see, eventually I tuned out and my mind drifted.  It’s like a song that would just have verse after verse after verse after verse with no chorus or bridge.  Eventually something has to stimulate my mind enough to hold my attention.

Imagine how many different things about you and your music (your brand) you could get out if you didn’t just stick to a long (long) rambling about one topic.

Oh and by the way?  The host finally said, “Well, I’m afraid we’ve run out of time.”  No surprise.

Listen to the healthy banter between me and my guests on “Now Hear This Entertainment” and talk about this blog in our NHTE Listeners Facebook Group.