Updated May 25, 2024
Thank you for considering or agreeing to be a guest on my podcast, “My Favorite Mistake.”
The information on this page is in multiple parts:
- Scheduling Time
- About the Show
- Technical Setup
- Last-Minute Prep
- Flow of the Show
- Post Recording
Scheduling Pre-Call & Episode
Generally, an effective episode requires a pre-call to get acquainted and ensure we're on the same page about the podcast's theme and how it flows.
1) Pre-Call (Prep) – 10 or 15 min
- We'll get acquainted, answer any questions you have about the show, talk through technical details, and sketch out topics you'd like to discuss after the “favorite mistake” discussion in the episode (including what you want to promote).
- I generally don't want to know your “favorite mistake” story in advance, or at least not the details. If you have a few stories and you're debating which to tell, we can discuss that decision at a high level.
2) Episode Recording – 30 to 35 min
- Scheduled time is 45 minutes, with the aim of us recording for 30-35 minutes
- Please schedule this at least two days after the pre-call to allow the host to properly prepare.
About the Show
Please listen to the trailer & at least one episode: www.MyFavoriteMistakePodcast.com
This is hosted by experienced podcaster Mark Graban. He's interviewed more than 750 people in various podcasts. He's also written a book inspired by the podcast — The Mistakes That Make Us. He is passionate about learning from mistakes, and we hope you are too.
The goal of the podcast is for us to explore a key moment in your career that you consider to be a mistake — and now you might call it a “favorite.”
Mark will ask, “What is your favorite mistake?” The question is intentionally open-ended, and the answer is completely subjective. Keep in mind that a favorite mistake is not necessarily the same as one’s “biggest” or “worst.”
A “favorite mistake” might be:
- A mistake that’s important enough to stick with you
- A mistake that created a fortuitous opportunity or new direction
- A mistake we hope others can avoid
- A mistake that led to learning, including the actions required to prevent repeating the mistake
It's better to have a specific story to tell. We might then explore the general themes around learning from personal and organizational mistakes. Or we might talk about common mistakes you see in your professional realm.
To prepare for the podcast, please think about the following (although these won't be the exact questions used in the interview, necessarily):
- What was your favorite mistake?
- In the situation, what did you expect to happen? What actually happened?
- How did you address the mistake? What was the resolution?
- What did you learn in the immediate aftermath?
- What have you learned from this as time has passed?
- What do you do differently as a result of this mistake?
You don't have to cover all of those points in your story. Your host will guide you and will ask follow-up questions.
Please think about these questions (it's OK to jot notes or bullet points), but don’t be scripted. Especially important: Don’t read from notes. Be extemporaneous.
The goal is a roughly 30-minute episode.
Technical Setup
We generally record and share a video version of the episode and the audio podcast. If you want to do audio-only, let Mark know and that's OK.
We generally record through Zoom, but have mainly been using Streamyard.com recently.
Last-Minute Prep
- Mark's cell phone number is in the reminder emails if you need to contact him
- Have a glass of room-temperature water or warm (not hot) tea handy
- Turn off your cell phone ringer and other noisemakers, including sounds from your computer (for example, email alerts, close your LinkedIn and Facebook browser tabs, so messages don't make noise)
Space and Visual
- Please arrange to be in a quiet place with good internet connectivity
- Sit somewhere with natural light, and be sure not to have a window directly behind you
- Make sure your webcam is at eye level
- You might need to prop up a laptop with a stack of books to get it at the right height
Audio — Microphone and Speakers
- Use the best microphone that you can — a USB-connected microphone or even the built-in microphone on your device might be best
- With Zoom or Streamyard, there's generally not any echo, so headphones, earbuds, AirPods, etc. are optional
- How to change your microphone in Zoom
- Do not use AirPods or other Bluetooth devices as the microphone – use them only as the “Speakers”
- Sound recording quality is generally not good over Bluetooth mics
- We can figure this out together in a pre-call or before we start recording the episode
Flow of the Show
- Please join at the scheduled time (there's no need to join early). Call or text Mark if there are any issues.
- Once connected, we chat, do a sound check, and make sure we're ready to go
- Once we start recording, Mark will start the show and read a brief bio… and will ask how you're doing. Look into your camera and smile! 🙂
- The first question generally is to jump right into “What's your favorite mistake?”
- Follow-up questions, and we can riff on the topic of learning from mistakes more generally
- Ask about your business, your book, etc., to give exposure to your work and/or projects
- Ask you to share contact info — website, social, etc.
- And that's a wrap
- If we are using Streamyard, you must leave your browser window open until your local recording has finished uploading
On Being a Good Guest:
- It's typical for the initial “favorite mistake” story to be 3- to 5-minutes long
- If in doubt, tell the shorter version of the story, and Mark will ask you to elaborate… or will ask follow up questions to help flesh it out
- Remember, it's an interview… please allow Mark, as host, to interview you instead of giving a monologue or a TED Talk
Post Recording
- The intent is to release every recorded episode, but the host/producer reserves the right not to use every recording.
- If you have a book or a product, talk to Mark about possibly doing a listener giveaway contest to help promote the podcast and your product
- We often have a “backlog” of episodes that have been recorded and are waiting for release in the weekly schedule, so your episode might not be released right away.
- If there is a particular time-sensitive promotion that is important to you (book launch, etc.) I can prioritize the episode to launch sooner if that helps
- We will let you know when the episode has been released in the podcast feed and YouTube. Please help by sharing the episode with your social media followers, colleagues, family, friends, email lists, put up a billboard, etc.
- Mark will share your episode with his 500,000+ followers on LinkedIn and other social media platforms
Thanks!! This will be fun!