The best podcast interview questions are open-ended, specific, and ask for stories instead of general opinions. “What do you think about entrepreneurship?” gets you a textbook answer; “what was the day you thought about shutting down the business?” gets you a story listeners will remember. Below you’ll find more than forty questions ready to adapt, organized by stage of the conversation.
Don’t use them all. Pick eight or ten, and leave room for whatever comes up.
Three rules before the list
- Ask about moments, not concepts. “When did you realize…?” works better than “what do you think about…?”
- One question at a time. If you chain three together, the guest answers the last one and forgets the others.
- The best question is the second one. The one you ask after listening to the answer. There’s a whole section on that further down.
To break the ice (first few minutes)
These help the guest warm up and the listener get to know them. They should be easy to answer.
- How do you explain what you do to your family?
- What were you doing five years ago?
- How did you get into this topic? Was it by chance or did you go looking for it?
- What did you do this morning before you logged on?
- If you had to introduce yourself without mentioning your job title, what would you say?
- What part of your work do you enjoy so much you’d do it for free?
To understand their path
- What was your first job related to this, and what did you learn there?
- Was there someone who opened the door for you?
- Which career decision looked like a mistake and turned out to be the right call?
- And which one looked like the right call and turned out to be a mistake?
- When did you first feel like you knew what you were doing?
- What did you give up to get here?
To go deep on the topic
Adjust these to your guest’s field.
- What does almost everyone get wrong about what you do?
- If someone is starting today, what would you tell them to ignore?
- What has changed in your industry in recent years that outsiders haven’t noticed?
- What popular advice in your field do you think is bad?
- What does a normal day look like for you, really, not the social media version?
- What tool or habit saves you the most time?
- What do you do differently from most of your peers?
To draw out stories
Stories are what listeners retell to others. Ask for scenes, with a place and a moment.
- Tell me about the worst day you’ve had doing this work.
- Which client, student, or project taught you the most?
- Do you remember the first time someone paid you for this?
- Was there a conversation that changed your direction?
- Did you ever come close to quitting? What happened that day?
- What’s the strangest thing anyone has asked you to do?
For a local or regional audience
If your audience is concentrated in one city, country, or region, these questions connect with their reality:
- What’s different about doing this where you are compared to doing it somewhere else?
- What obstacles did paperwork, connectivity, or access to funding throw at you?
- Do you work with people from other countries? What differences do you notice?
- What local resources would you recommend to someone starting out here?
- Is there anything people here do better than anywhere else?
Tough questions (handle with care)
Use these once there’s trust, usually after the halfway point. And give a heads-up: “I’m going to ask you a slightly harder question.”
- What have you been publicly wrong about?
- Which criticism of you is fair?
- How much of your success was luck?
- What would you do differently if you started today with what you know now?
- Is there something about your industry that makes you uncomfortable and doesn’t get talked about much?
To wrap up
The closing leaves the final impression. Keep it light and useful.
- What book, podcast, or person would you recommend to our listeners?
- What are you working on right now that excites you?
- If listeners take away just one idea from this conversation, what do you want it to be?
- What question do you wish I’d asked you?
- Where can people find you?
The art of the follow-up question
A list of questions is a map, not the road. What makes an interview good is what you ask after you listen. Some follow-ups that work almost every time:
| If the guest… | Follow up with |
|---|---|
| Says something general | “Can you give me a concrete example?” |
| Mentions someone | “Who was that? What exactly did they do?” |
| Talks about a change | “What happened right before that?” |
| Uses a technical term | “Explain it like I know nothing about it” |
| Gets emotional | Silence. Let them keep going. |
| Gives a very short answer | “Tell me more about that” |
Silence is a powerful follow-up. If you wait two or three seconds after an answer, the guest will often add the most interesting part.
Common questioning mistakes
- Questions that contain the answer: “Don’t you think consistency is what matters most?” The guest just says “yes.”
- Talking more than the guest in the question. If your question lasts a minute, it’s a monologue.
- Reading the list without listening. Listeners notice when the next question has nothing to do with what was just said.
- Asking the same questions as every other interview. Look up what they’ve already been asked and come at it from another angle.
How to organize your questions
A simple method:
- Write down twenty possible questions.
- Mark the eight that interest you most.
- Order them from easy to deep.
- Keep two in reserve in case the conversation fizzles.
- Share the topic blocks with your guest, not the exact questions.
On that last point, and everything that happens before you record, check out how to prepare a podcast guest. And to fit your questions into an episode structure, see how to write a podcast script.
Got your list ready? Create your studio for free and invite your first interview guest with a link.
Frequently asked questions
How many questions should I prepare for a one-hour interview?
Eight to twelve main questions is usually enough, plus two or three in reserve. Many answers will open up follow-ups that weren’t on the list, and that’s a good thing.
Are open or closed questions better?
Open ones, almost always. Closed questions, the kind answered with yes or no, are only useful for confirming a fact or wrapping up a topic before moving on.
What do I do if the guest gives one-word answers?
Ask for concrete examples and scenes: “Can you tell me about a time that happened?” If they’re still brief, switch to more personal or easier topics until they warm up.