Whether you're planning an Expert Interview at your community, a radio show, a podcast, or as a series in a Telesummit, there is an art and a methodology to hosting an Expert Interview that helps you grow your business.
Ellen Britt has hosted over 8 telesummits and is well known for her powerful and insightful interviews. Her 22 year career as a Physician's Assistant, with over 100,000 patient interviews, clearly shows in her ability to cull the gems from her expert speakers and connect with her audience to convey the crucial information that creates a breakthrough experience.
Ellen shared with us the must have elements of Expert Interviews that have created a powerful platform not only for her but also for her students, who have gone on to replicate her success with this powerful business building strategy.
In any Expert Interview there is a synergistic collaboration that takes place to create an experience that benefits all participants:
1. Your Listeners who come to the call and invest their time, even if it's a free call, because there is relevant content that they're eager to learn.
2. Your Expert who partners with you on the call to deliver great content and to connect with a new community that can benefit from their experience.
3. The Host whose role it is to create an experience where listeners get a taste of the Expert's mastery.
Though Expert Interviews are pretty popular, not everyone excels at creating an extraordinary experience. And make no mistake, experience sells not information! Here are some of the common characteristics found in masterful hosts:
- A willingness to put aside your fears, take action and course correct along the way.
- An innate and insatiable sense of curiosity and fascination with people. Whether your style is Colombo or Clouseau, you want to know, clarify and understand!
- An ability to be fast on your feet and adapt quickly. Anything and everything can happen on an interview.
- A love of learning! You are a life long learner, voracious reader and student of life.
The most important thing is your willingness and desire to host a conversation that creates an extraordinary experience and tremendous value for all involved. When your intentions come from a place of service, from your heart, it supersedes any of the logistical and technical interview elements. After all, it's the person to person connection which is most treasured AND lasting.
4 BIG Mistakes to Avoid on Your Expert Interview
Your listeners will forgive just about anything once, especially if you're well intentioned. However, at a certain point in your business you do want to create an experience of confidence and credibility. It is the foundation that is required to build the treasured trust with your listeners and your experts. Here are 4 mistakes you'll want to avoid:
- Don't leave the bridgeline unattended. Do ask your virtual assistant, one of your colleagues, or even a client to greet your listeners before you take off to set up your recording.
- Don't try to insert your expertise at every opportunity. Allow pauses and afford your expert time to collect and deliver their content. You are there to make your expert shine.
- Don't follow a scripted interview with questions and answers. It will come across stilted and phony and your audience will know it. Do have a scaffolding of questions and feel free to dive off the page and follow your expert's lead into juicy conversation.
- Don't target EVERYONE. Do narrow down to a specific niche. People get to know you through the quality of your interviews and topics. If you're all over the place you'll never get to know the folks in your Tribe and get to the deep questions they're wanting the answers to and you won't be able to showcase experts that can truly help them.
Here's the thing, every masterful host has made the above mistakes, and probably more! Don't worry about being perfect. Perfection is a continuum. You'll hone it down. Don't try NOT to make mistakes. Get out there and fail fast and then you'll get better. It's ONLY in stepping out and doing the Expert Interviews that you will come to know how YOU do Expert Interviews.
Continue reading… Part II. If you'd like an 8-step road map to build your list, share your message and generate income with Expert Interviews, check out Enlightened Listbuilding.
