You have a great guest for your podcast, but what do you even ask them?
You probably want to be prepared thoroughly and have a diverse range of questions so your episode stands out and is not the cookie cutter version of every other interview podcast out there
Don’t worry, we’ve compiled a list of 150+ podcast questions you can ask your guests. Let’s go.
Why do you need good Podcast Questions?
Good podcast questions can supercharge our interview. It can take a normal episode to a great one if you just ask the right questions at the right time. It can not only show you’re prepared for the interview (opposed to fumbling around) but it can also make your guest feel respected.
Good podcast questions will not only engage your audience but your guests as well. You also want to have a set of questions that are thought provoking and does justice to the breath of expertise of the guest you’ve invited.
One common question that people have is should they prepare their questions in advance? Won’t that make the interview robotic and mechanical? We would say no.
Should You Prepare Your Podcast Questions In Advance?
As mentioned before, if you ask the right questions at the right time it can take an episode from average to great. A list of questions doesn’t mean you need to follow them sequentially. A set of questions prepares you to ask the right questions at the right time.
For example, during the recording a guest brings up a particular topic that you have a question about, you can prompt a deeper conversation into that topic with your well-researched and thought out question.
But having a set of pre-written podcast questions doesn’t mean that you only ask these questions. Here are some tips to ask great questions that you can follow not only curating podcast questions before the interview but also asking questions while recording.
Tips for asking great podcast questions
Have a goal
Whenever you invite a guest to your show, there is a reason you asked them to be there. Maybe they have achieved success or worked in their domain for a long time. The reason you ask them to be on the podcast can be a good starting point of defining the goal.
Sometimes the goal can also be to have a great conversation with an interesting person. Again, you decide what the goal is and it will be a great north star when curating podcast questions or asking them on spot.
Do some research about the guest
This one is a no brainer. Doing some research on your guest gives you fodder for questions you can ask them. Any achievement, hobby, or something that stands out about them can be interesting to explore during the podcast.
It will also take your episode from being basic to excellent. It will show your guest that you’ve done your due diligence.
Study Your Target Audience and Customize Questions For Them
One other avenue to getting questions is to ask your target audience! If you already have an active audience, asking them via social network gives you some great questions you can ask.
If you don’t have an active audience, you must have a clear idea about who you’re targeting, and put yourself in their shoes and come up with podcast questions they would like to ask your guest.
At the end of the day, the episode is for your audience, appealing to their curiosities is a good approach to adopt.
Remember the 5 Ws
One other way of coming up with questions is to remember the 5 Ws – Who, What, Where, When and Why. These can also be great to improvise when you’re recording. You can use these words to frame a question in the moment to further deep dive into the topic of discussion.
Even while framing your question beforehand, you can follow the 5 W framework, giving you an ample number of questions to have a holistic and comprehensive discussion.
Ask clarifying questions
These types of questions work better when you’re having the conversation with your guest. Clarifying questions are asked to gain clarity. If you can assess if your audience would like clarity or would like to go in-depth on a topic your guest is talking about, asking “what do you exactly mean by that?” or “can you elaborate on [insert topic]?”.
These questions can really help you set a flow without looking like you rehearsed it. It makes the conversation more natural. But a prerequisite of that is to practice active listening so you can catch these moments.
Clarifying questions also tie really well with the goal you have with the episode. Only ask clarifying questions when it will lead you closer to the goal you set before the episode, else it can lead to a scattered conversation.
Stay flexible and be Curious
You may have a set of podcast questions beforehand but you might not get the chance to ask all of them, or perhaps the conversation goes in a different direction than you planned it to go halfway the recording. It is important to remember to stay flexible.
Being open minded while recording is key to a natural conversation that your audience will enjoy. Sometimes what we plan is not how things occur, but serendipitous moments happen and might result in a better episode than you planned. Just be flexible and enjoy the process of podcasting.
Ask open ended questions
Whether they are pre-planned or spontaneous questions, asking open ended questions will result in a much more in-depth conversation.
It won’t feel like just a back and forth interview form and instead like our favorite podcast episodes where it feels like you’re listening to rich and interesting conversations between two intelligent people.
Establish a connection/build rapport
Before you dive into asking questions and recording, it is important to build rapport with your guest. Before the episode it is crucial to have a light chit chat and make both of you comfortable talking to each other so the episode feels more natural.
You may even talk about what you have planned for the episode so that nothing comes as a sudden surprise to your guest and they are in that frame of mind to be present in that conversation.
Ask a signature question
Depending on the genre of your podcast you can have a signature question. It is a question that is unique to your podcast and will build anticipation in your audience.
It can be a great tool to increase interest and curiosity in your audience. Coming up with a signature question can be tough, but once you do have one, it will surely make your podcasts stand apart.
Things to avoid
Don’t try and cram too many questions in
It can be tempting to ask everything that you want to know but it might not be wise. Finding that sweet spot of enough but not too many can be tough but it can help you make your episode engaging. Too many questions can also annoy your guest. A few quality questions with good deep answers is the key. Less is more and it holds true for podcast questions too.
Do not ask questions that your guest doesn’t want to answer
Here is where your research comes into the picture as well. Try to look up episodes they’ve been on or interviews they’ve been in, to see which questions they’re uncomfortable answering. After going through the effort of building a rapport with them you don’t want to throw that out of the window by asking them questions they’re not willing to answer.
Do not ask questions that are always asked
What makes a podcast episode great? An experience that is different, or audience hearing information they didn’t know before. Asking questions that everybody asks will defeat that purpose. There are some questions that you can’t avoid, but asking repetitive questions will make your listeners switch off from your episode (every podcaster’s worst nightmare) and also make your guest uninterested. So steer away from commonly asked questions.
How to prepare for the interview
Here are some additional steps you can take to prepare for the interview:
Research your guest
If it is a remote interview, helping them with the setup and how to go about recording can be of a huge help.
Let your guest know the flow of the episode to prepare them better and so nothing jumps out to them.
You may share the questions you will ask them, we’ve discussed it further down the blog, so stay tuned.
105 Best podcast interview questions by category
Icebreakers or intro questions
Introductory questions can be a bit cliche and lets admit, quite boring. So we’ve gathered some common questions and gave them an interesting angle.
Personal Questions
Expertise And Career Podcast Questions
Podcasting-Related questions
Funny Questions
Relationship Questions
Friendship Questions
Mental Health Questions
Business and Professional Life Questions
Rapid Fire Questions
Whimsical and Off-the-Wall
Expert Insights for Interview-Style Podcasts
Deep and thought provoking questions
Closing questions
Podcast Questions to engage the listener
These are questions you can pose to your listeners to keep them engaged and urge them to share their thoughts.
Should I Send Podcast Interview Questions Upfront?
If your guest asks for interview questions, it is best to send them. Many people have PR teams and want to ensure that their image is coming across the best way possible. Some don’t want to be surprised and ask for questions beforehand.
If the guest doesn’t ask for the questions, should you send it? That totally depends on you. If you want to send them, go ahead. But if you want a candid interview, you don’t need to.
Conclusion
To conclude, we talked about why you need podcast questions, should you prepare them in advance or not, how to ask better interview questions, things you need to avoid, an expansive list of interview questions divided by category, and should you send questions upfront.
We hope you liked the blog, and if you have any questions feel free to reach out to us on Instagram (@hubhopperofficial).
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That’s why Hubhopper is your go-to podcast host. Check out our simple plans – choose one based on your monthly episode publishing schedule.
FAQs
What questions do you ask in a podcast?
Ask questions that’ll intrigue your audience and keep your guests engaged. Check out the list of questions we’ve shared above to find questions you can ask.
What are funny questions for podcasts?
- What’s the weirdest habit you have when no one is watching?
- Can you share a joke or funny anecdote that always makes you laugh?
- If your life was a sitcom, what would it be called and who would play you?
Check out the other funny questions you can ask in the blog.
What are some good talk show questions?
You can ask some icebreakers, rapid fire questions, funny questions, relationship questions and whimsical questions. Check out the blog to find examples of questions in these categories.
