The Art & Science of Becoming a Great Podcast Host with Gary Scott Thomas

Being a podcast or radio show host involves honing your skills as an interviewer. There are things successful hosts do differently than the average ones. I discuss some of those things, along with pitfalls to avoid, in this episode with my guest, Gary Scott Thomas. Gary found radio at thirteen and never looked back. Thirty years later, he is the morning voice of Silicon Valley on KRTY-FM in San Jose, one of America's most influential country radio stations. The names are impressive. That was never the point. The point is what happens in those conversations, and what his audience feels when they listen. We dive into topics including: ● The importance of being genuinely curious about and interested in your guests. ● How Gary prepares energetically for interviews before he even meets his guests. ● Where a great interview starts and how to successfully start one. ● The importance of staying focused on your guest and not your own opinions and thoughts. ● Why it pays to be a great listener first as an interviewer. ● How to know how far to go down a guest “rabbit hole” of information and when to move on. ● How to avoid negative conversations or get out of them so as not to kill the positive, uplifting energy in an interview. ● How to uncover conversational paths during an interview that your guests are excited to go down with you. ● The difference between open-ended questions and specific, targeted questions and what you can expect from each of them. ● How to start winding down your interviews without killing the energy of the interview. ● The one thing, above all else, you need to do to successfully embrace the art and science of interviewing. …and other golden nuggets of advice!