How to Be An Effective Podcast Host in 10 Easy Steps

In recent years, podcasts have been growing in popularity at a fast pace. According to Loopex Digital, the number of podcast listeners worldwide is 464 million as of 2023. In fact, this number is expected to balloon to 504.9 million by 2024. With such a significant number, the potential of podcasts cannot be denied or underestimated. However, it may sound hard to believe but podcast hosting isn’t as easy as some may claim it to be. 

When discussing podcasts, people think that all you need is a microphone, software, headphones, a well-lit room, some good music, and a relevant topic to tackle with your guest. While these are all vital ingredients for a good podcast, you must also be a good host. But how exactly can you become more effective at hosting a podcast?

Here are ten easy steps that can help you become a more effective podcast host.

10 Easy Steps to Be an Effective Podcast Host

1. Research, Research, Research

Becoming effective at podcast hosting takes a lot of time and preparation. After all, when you start a podcast, you must be well informed about the topics you want to discuss. That way, you can be the go-to person for the specific topics or industries you want to tackle. 

This can’t be accomplished without proper preparation. To be adequately prepared, conduct thorough research days or even weeks before your podcast episode.

When conducting your research, you have to brush up your knowledge on both your topic and your guest. After all, their life experiences may be relevant to the topic. To do this, be sure to properly outline the episode’s talking points as well as the questions you intend to ask your guests. By properly outlining the talking points, the discussion remains on track and you won’t rely too much on improvisation.

In addition to researching the topic and guest, you can also research and study famous interviewers, such as Oprah Winfrey or Tim Ferris. These people have ample experience on how to host a podcast in an effective way so by studying them, you can learn how they conduct interviews and discussions. You can then apply whatever knowledge you pick up to become an effective podcast host.

2. Act Natural

Studying how other hosts do their podcasts is a valid strategy to be more effective at podcasting. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to copy them down to the way they act and talk. Instead, to be an effective podcast host, don’t hesitate to act naturally and talk how you usually would.

As podcasts are considered an intimate medium, listeners sometimes develop a parasocial relationship with their hosts. In fact, a recent survey by Whistle showed that 83% of podcast audience said that their favorite podcasters felt like friends rather than strangers. You can spin this parasocial relationship to your advantage and use it to show your authenticity and genuine interest in the topics that you’re tackling in your podcast.

One key thing to remember about podcast hosting is that your audience doesn’t want robotic lines read out of a script. They want to see your genuine personality shine through as you talk. So, don’t hesitate to skip the jargon, be yourself, and deliver an enjoyable and authentic experience to your listeners.

3. Don't Forget to Thank the Guests and Audience

Without the audience, hosts wouldn’t have successful podcasts; they'd just be a person talking to a microphone about a topic they're interested in with no one listening. As such, at the end of every episode, don’t forget to thank your audience for their time. 

Thanking your audience is a basic rule in “How to Host a Podcast 101”. Not only is it polite to do so but a simple “thank you” also goes a long way in showing your gratitude. You have a wide variety of ways to thank your audience. These include:

• Creating a “Thank You” message on your social media channels, such as X, Facebook, or Instagram, at the end of every episode.
• Hosting giveaways when you hit milestones such as your 100th episode or gaining 1,000 subscribers

In a nutshell, since you owe your success to your audience, it's never a wise idea to take them for granted.

In addition to thanking your audience, don’t forget to thank your guests as well. Not only did they take time out of their schedule to join your podcast recording, but if they have a significant follower count, they likely encouraged their followers to tune in as well. So, similar to your audience, don’t hesitate to show your gratitude to your guests as well.

4. Don't Overload the Audience

When you host a podcast, you need to decide on the topics or industries you want to discuss. It could be about news and current events, true crime, politics, history, food, etc. In fact, according to Backlinko, the most popular podcast genre is news and current events, with 21% of podcasts being focused on this genre. Regardless of what your podcast is about, there’s one cardinal rule you need to keep in mind: never overload the audience with information.

Understandably, you want to be as helpful and informative as possible when you host a podcast. However, if you’re looking for ways on how to host a podcast effectively, information overload is a huge no-no. With that in mind, when outlining your podcast episode, consider the following steps to avoid information overload:

• Think about how much of the episode’s topic you want to explore.
• Be strategic and break up the information you’re presenting into digestible segments.
• Use ads or announcements as a break in between segments.
• If your guest focuses too much on one topic, consider interjecting with a leading question or gradually leading the conversation to the next topic.

When you focus on the topic, you can maintain the audience’s interest much longer. If you have any additional information on the subject, you can always create a series on it instead. By doing so, you can save the other talking points for the next episodes.

On the other hand, you can also enlist the aid of an interview transcription service to create transcripts of your podcast's audio or video. That way, you can create notes in the transcript to further bolster what you discussed in the podcast.

5. Know Your Audience

Knowing your target audience is important if you aim to be good at podcasting. While you can act as you'd like in your podcast and not care much about the audience, it's not an effective tactic. In fact, it’s a surefire way for your podcast to gradually lose listeners and eventually fail. This is where researching as much as you can about your target audience comes in.

When researching your audience, you have to analyze their likely age range, gender, location, hobbies, and even their pain points and life goals. That way, you can tailor your content to their liking while ensuring you remain authentic and interested in your topic. This allows you to connect with your audience emotionally, improving your podcast hosting skills in the process.

6. Learn to Tell Stories

If you’re looking to be more effective in becoming a podcast host, don’t hesitate to learn the art of storytelling. When you master storytelling, you can make your podcast more captivating for your audience. This is because it helps make the narrative more compelling and emotionally resonant, allowing listeners to engage more with your content.

Learning how to be an efficient storyteller isn’t always an easy task to undertake. However, there are a few tips you can follow so you can improve your skills. These include:

• Create a narrative for each episode - Structure your stories with a clear beginning, middle, and end so the audience can have an easier time following along.
• Learn how to pace yourself - Know when to slow down for effect and when to speed things up to maintain audience engagement.
• Pause - Pausing every now and then while presenting your podcast is always an excellent podcasting practice. In fact, pausing at the right time helps listeners absorb the information you presented. It also adds emphasis to some of your talking points.
• Incorporate Emotion - When podcast hosting, don’t hesitate to incorporate emotionally charged stories. You can do this by sharing personal experiences and expressing actual human emotions. That way, you can create a deeper connection with your listeners.
• Use descriptive language - Engaging the listener’s senses is another crucial part of storytelling. One way you can do this is by using vivid language while hosting your podcast. Doing so allows them to visualize the scenarios you’re tackling, further immersing them into your podcast.
• Use analogies and metaphors - If your upcoming episode covers technical topics or niche subjects, use analogies and metaphors in your narration. With these, complex issues can become more digestible for your audience.
• Act with your voice - Finally, when hosting your podcast, don’t be afraid to use voice acting to your advantage. By changing how your voice sounds as you tell a story or discuss the podcast's main topic, you can maintain the audience’s attention a lot longer.

7. Don't Be Afraid to Get Personal

If hosts are still wondering what are the effective steps on how to host a podcast, one practice they should keep in mind is that they shouldn't be afraid to get personal with the audience. In fact, getting personal can be especially helpful if they can't invite a guest for the episode.

Getting personal with the listeners doesn’t mean you need to be candid about every detail of your life. It merely means letting them know how you relate to the podcast episode’s topic or how the issue at hand affects you. 

Remember, at the end of the day, audiences want to listen to a person. By connecting with them on a personal level, even just a bit, you increase their loyalty towards you and whatever you have to say. This would lead to them returning to your podcast for every episode, allowing you to maintain your audience count.

8. Feedback is Important; Ask For It

Even if you think you are a decent or good podcast host, there’s always room for improvement. Becoming a stagnant podcast host is something you'll want to avoid at all costs. Otherwise, your listeners could get bored of listening to the same topic or method of presenting your podcast every day. This is where feedback from the audience can come in handy.

Receiving helpful feedback is one of the best ways to improve in podcast hosting. As such, you should always feel free to ask your audience to give you any helpful suggestions. By learning how they see your approach, tone, and quality, you can learn which areas you need to improve on as a host. In addition, it also allows the audience to have a layer of involvement by allowing them to help improve the podcast that they love.

You have various options to consider when getting feedback from your audience. For instance, you can conduct surveys on your official social media accounts or directly email them to your audience via a subscriber list. Alternatively, you can also run a giveaway and ask them to fill out a feedback survey to be able to join. Regardless of how you do it, it's always a good idea to ask your audience for feedback so you can improve your podcast.

9. Give Your Guest the Spotlight

When hosting a podcast, it’s a given that you'll invite people who are not only charismatic but also knowledgeable on the topic you’ll be discussing. However, while it may be your podcast, you also have to give your guests a chance to shine and let them voice their thoughts and opinions.

Excessive focus on the host is bad practice in how to host a podcast. With that in mind, be sure to ask the guests a few questions and allow them to finish giving their insights. Remember, your guests joined your podcast to help you discuss the topic at hand, so don't hesitate to let them help. Unless the guest is going out of tangent, avoid interjecting with additional commentary until they’re finished saying what they have to say.

By giving your guest their time in the spotlight, you show the respect you have for them and create a better flow of conversation. This seamless flow will help you maintain your listeners’ attention throughout the episode.

10. Practice

The final step that can help you become a more effective podcast host is practice. Practicing the motions of hosting a podcast before every episode is always a good idea. For instance, you can take your script and practice how you’ll discuss your talking points or even the questions you intend to ask in front of the mirror. This can be helpful for beginners or those who find themselves constantly experiencing pre-podcast jitters.

Alternatively, you can schedule a pre-show interview with your guests if available. By doing this, you can establish rapport with them, walk them through the intro, or discuss the talking points before the show itself. This puts both of you at ease with one another and lets the guest feel more comfortable and prepared.

Finally, by practicing your podcast hosting, you can also practice good recording techniques. These include finding a quiet recording space, warming up, and even knowing the cues of muting yourself to allow the guest to speak uninterrupted. This will enable you to record high-quality audio from the get-go, cutting your editing and publishing time by half in the process.

Podcasts are one of the most popular audio mediums nowadays. Every year, more and more people are tuning into podcasts for entertainment, valuable insights, and even encouragement and inspiration. However, while podcasts are usually audio mediums, you can also have them transcribed.

If you want to have your podcast transcribed, don’t hesitate to turn to the expert interview transcription service, TranscriptionWing. TranscriptionWing are industry experts with over 20 years of experience. While we cater to industries such as academia and market research, we also take general transcription requests, such as podcasts. Get started today to get accurate transcriptions of your podcast episodes.