How to Become a Better Interviewer | Elizabeth Cush

Great podcast interviews aren’t about the questions you ask your guest; they’re about how well you listen. Getting this right takes intentionally! In this episode, Elizabeth Cush shares how mindful listening unlocks stronger connections with guests, reveals deeper stories, and keeps conversations engaging and human. Get ready to create interviews that resonate with listeners and make your guests feel seen and heard!

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Chapters

00:00 The Importance of Mindful Listening
02:53 Transforming Interview Techniques
05:59 Practical Tips for Engaging Conversations
08:55 Continuous Improvement in Podcasting

Takeaways

Mindful listening is crucial for great interviews.
Prepared questions can limit the flow of conversation.
Being present allows for deeper connections with guests.
Engaging with guests' stories leads to richer content.
Take moments to ground yourself before interviews.
Pay attention to audio and visual cues from guests.
Rephrase questions to show active listening.
It's okay to get distracted; just bring your focus back.
Continuous practice improves podcasting skills.
Every interview is an opportunity for growth.

MORE FROM THIS EPISODE: HTTPS://PODMATCH.COM/EP/360

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Chapters

• 0:00 The Importance of Mindful Listening
• 3:12 Transforming Interview Techniques
• 6:18 Practical Tips for Engaging Conversations
• 9:14 Continuous Improvement in Podcasting

Transcript

Getting great interviews. It's not about the questions. If you're not mindfully listening to your guest, you might be missing some amazing opportunities for a wonderful conversation. You can prep all you want, but if you're not listening, if you're not really listening, you might miss that chance to really dive deep or go in a whole new direction that makes your podcast.

and your interview the best. When I started my podcast eight years ago, I had an agenda. I always had the questions lined up. I knew the direction I wanted the interview to go. So I predicted the flow before we ever got started. And I conducted my interviews like this for a really long time, I'm embarrassed to say. But as I began to listen back to those interviews, when I began to reevaluate

how my podcast was doing, how I was doing. I realized that I was doing it. was creating this structure because I wanted to be in control. But that control led to missed opportunities for conversations to go in amazing directions because I was so focused on what's next, what's next without paying attention to what the guests were telling me and where their story was going.

In particular, there was an episode where I was talking with another clinician, another therapist about their business, which combined hypnosis, but also trauma work around perinatal mood disorders and trauma in deliveries and miscarriages and things like that. And she was telling her very personal story of the difficulty of failed pregnancies and losing babies. And then

when she was pregnant, when she did finally get pregnant, the postpartum depression that showed up afterwards. But I was so hyper focused on wanting to talk about hypnosis that I was kind of like, yeah, yeah, yeah, okay, that's great. Thanks for sharing that. How about hypnosis? So I missed this beautiful opportunity to tap into her story about what that was like.

and possibly how hypnosis helped her and is helping her clients do things like that. So I missed that opportunity because I wasn't fully present and I wasn't fully listening. But when that realization hit me, when I was listening back and almost regretting how the interviews had gone, I realized that if I were to take the time to be fully present and listen, things might be different. And so,

A success story was I was interviewing another fellow clinician, another therapist who was, her business was focused on helping couples stay in relationship and be happy as a couple. But partway through her journey, she ended up getting divorced. And I think she held a lot of emotional stuff around that and initially didn't want to come on the podcast because

She was going through a lot of stuff. But when she did decide to come on, she shared her story with being a couple's therapist and then having to go through her own divorce for the first time on my podcast. And I was listening and I was staying in tune with her and I was fully present so we could explore her journey and how it unfolded. And it was beautiful.

And she even wrote later to me in an email that she felt so grateful for that opportunity to share that for the first time on the podcast with me. So here are some tips to help you create great interviews. Of course, you wanna have questions or maybe you don't. I like to have questions that I know I'm gonna ask, but I'm also very mindful that it's an interview.

It's a conversation and it could go in a different direction. And I make that clear to the guests too, that I am open to where the conversation is gonna go. So that's sort of ahead of time, that preparation of just allowing for it to be free flowing. But before you start the interview, when you're getting ready, take a few moments before you are recording live. And honestly, what I do with my guests is we may have a little chat ahead of time.

that is being recorded, but I'll edit it out later. And then I say to them, I'd like to take a moment before we start. And I'll close my eyes.

and take a deep breath. I feel my feet on the floor. I feel my butt in the chair, maybe my back against the chair. I notice the room where I am, any sounds that I might be hearing, and just really taking in, being present in the moment with this person I'm about to interview. And then I take another deep breath and we go. And that helps me

stay present, but it starts me off on a reminder. It's a reminder for me and my system that I want to be present with this guest right here, right now. And we all get distracted. That's just who we are as humans, right? We may start thinking about what we're cooking for dinner later, or maybe the interview took a different turn and you got a little confused and you're in your head about like, where are we going next?

Well, if you notice that after you ask the question, just take a moment to come back and listen. Just give yourself permission to come back and fully listen to their tone, to the emotion they might be sharing. So you want to be checking on facial expressions or hand movements or the excitement, right? Maybe a story that they're sharing with you is really, really overwhelmingly beautiful and they want to share that with you. So really,

paying attention to the audio and visual cues of your guests is really important to help you stay focused even if you get distracted. And each time, you do drift off a couple of times, if your mind goes elsewhere, just bring it back. Bring it back to what they're saying, who they are, the energy they're bringing to the conversation, and try not to be too hard on yourself because that can also take you in a whole other direction where you're

Definitely not listening. Instead, you're beating yourself up. So bringing yourself back each time, no matter how many times it takes, and use what your guest is offering. If they bring a new topic into the conversation and it feels like it aligns with your podcast, go there. Be with them in that moment. Allow them to fully share their stories, because that's what it's about, right?

Alex Sanfilippo (07:27.138)
And if you're unclear or you just want to reiterate what they've asked to be sure you understand it, rephrase their question or rephrase what they've said to you. It really actively shows your listening, which helps the guest, but it also may clarify things for your listeners who are tuning in. And it may open up a new door of conversation if you've misunderstood or the guest meant something else. And maybe if you're lucky,

they'll share something with you that they've never shared before on another podcast. So here are those tips again. Before you start, remind yourself that this is a conversation. You can have questions ready and be ready for the conversation to flow wherever it goes. And then before you start, take a few deep breaths, whether it's with your guest or not, take a moment to ground yourself, noticing your feet on the floor,

You're back on the chair noticing where you are in your interview space, noticing any sounds or smells or anything else that might be present in the moment, just bringing yourself fully present to what's happening right here, right now. And you can take another couple of deep breaths to really fully settle yourself and then you're ready. Then you're ready for the interview. And as the interview progresses, listen.

pay attention to their answers, follow the flow of the conversation and remind yourself that if you get distracted, if your mind goes to what's for dinner later or what am I having for lunch after this or what's my next appointment, bring it back to the conversation, bring your attention back to the guest and really listen, really notice those cues, visual, audio, whatever's happening for that guest.

and stay present with that. You'll find that you are getting some amazing answers to your amazing questions as you follow your guests lead. And just a quick reminder, I've been podcasting for eight years, but I still don't consider myself a pro. And honestly, as much as I would love to say, I have mindfully listened to every interview since I learned how to do it better.

The truth of the matter is it's not so. In fact, just the other day I had an interview with an amazing woman who had a lovely story to share. And again, my head was in the clouds. I was thinking about like, how am going to approach this interviewee? And I lost track. I lost track of where I wanted the conversation to go. And we talked about some really cool stuff and I love how the interview turned out, but I do wish.

that I had been more present. And I even knew in the moment that I wasn't and could have shifted in that moment. But I didn't take that opportunity. although, as I said, the interview went fine, know that you're not going to be able to be fully present all the time. And you do your best. And hopefully those interviews come out great. But it's a skill that we can practice and get better at.

So I hope you will take some of these tips for mindful listening into your podcast interviewing.