Podcast guesting is becoming increasingly popular. As a result, it's getting harder to stand out among podcast hosts and listeners. In this episode, Claire Campos-O'Neal shares how embracing the art of presence can transform your podcast guesting experience. Claire shares the profound impact of getting out of your own way and immersing yourself in the moment in a way that serves the host and their listeners. Get ready to learn how to shed self-consciousness and connect deeply with those who hear your voice, making your interviews genuine and memorable!
Key Moments: 00:00:15 - The Importance of Getting Over Yourself 00:01:38 - Applying Meisner Techniques to Podcast Interviews 00:03:52 - Trusting Yourself as a Podcast Guest 00:05:52 - The Art of Listening in Podcast Interviews 00:09:11 - Having Fun and Being Present in Podcast Interviews
Timestamped Summary: 00:00:15 - The Importance of Getting Over Yourself Claire Campos-O'Neal shares her experience of receiving feedback in an acting class and emphasizes the importance of getting over oneself as a podcast guest. Being present in the moment, noticing the other person, and letting go of self-consciousness are crucial for authentic connections and a successful podcast interview.
00:01:38 - Applying Meisner Techniques to Podcast Interviews Claire discusses the Meisner acting technique and how it can be applied to podcast interviews. By noticing the other person, being aware of their expressions and emotions, and focusing on their needs, podcast guests can create genuine connections and engaging conversations.
00:03:52 - Trusting Yourself as a Podcast Guest Claire encourages podcast guests to trust themselves. Recognizing that they were invited because of their expertise, guests should have confidence in their knowledge and authority. It's okay to admit not knowing everything and engage in conversations to learn and share insights.
00:05:52 - The Art of Listening in Podcast Interviews Claire emphasizes the importance of active listening in podcast interviews. By truly listening to the podcast host's questions and reframing them, guests can create a more dynamic and natural conversation. Good listening skills help build connections and avoid scripted or rehearsed responses.
00:09:11 - Having Fun and Being Present in Podcast Interviews Claire highlights the importance of having fun and being present during podcast interviews. Guests should fully embrace the opportunity to engage in meaningful conversations.
You're listening to Podcasting Made Simple. I'm your host, Alex Sanfilippo. For this episode's guide and resources, please visit podprosecom, slash 253. Now let's get to the episode.
Speaker 2:
Hi, I'm Claire Campos-O'Neill. I want you to imagine that you are in a classroom. This is a small classroom. There's about 15 people here. You're at the front of the room, there's someone next to you, you've just given a performance and you're anxiously awaiting the feedback from your teacher. You're sitting there, it's quiet, you're getting a little nervous and the teacher tells you to get over yourself. Oh, imagine how you're feeling right now. I would think it's probably even more nervous, even more anxious, incredibly self-conscious, wondering why you're there. Why did you think you should be in this class in the first place? You just want to hide under the covers and get out of that room.
Speaker 2:
Well, I'm here to tell you that that experience happened to me and it was actually some of the best advice I ever received, and I think this is some of the best advice that you can remember as a podcast guest Get over yourself. Okay, what do I mean by that? Well, let me share a little bit of the context. I heard this when I was enrolled in an acting class. I was attending a class with Laurel Vuvare. She was the teacher teaching us the Stanley Meisner acting technique. The studio was called, in the Moment, acting Studio, and I learned so much from Laurel and so much from the words of Stanley Meisner. His whole technique is about being present and being in the moment and how that's so necessary as an actor. But what keeps us from getting there Ourselves? Not listening to the other person and being too self-conscious that really holds us back from having that authentic connection with the other person which is so necessary to good acting and, I would argue, to a good podcast interview. So I have a few tips that I took away from my time learning Stanley Meisner's acting technique that I think we can all apply as podcast guests.
Speaker 2:
All right, so to start with number one, when you are learning the Meisner technique, one of the first things you learn is to notice the other person. You're noticing who's in front of you If it's a video podcast, you're noticing how do they look, what's the expression on their face? Do they look excited? Do they look nervous? Do they look kind of frazzled? It's good to be aware of how they look and it also helps you kind of start stop forgetting about how you're feeling and how you look, because it's so easy to become very self-conscious as a podcast guest. You're probably thinking am I gonna sound okay? Is this gonna be a good interview.
Speaker 2:
But if you focus on the other person, you start to have those worries fall away and it really grounds you and connects you to that other person. You can even take it a step further and comment on what you say. You could say, oh Jack, you look nervous or I feel nervous. Maybe acknowledge how you feel, and that can help you have an interesting discovery. Perhaps they'll say I'm not nervous, or they'll be like, yeah, I kind of am, but it's gonna be a good conversation and we really need to talk about this topic. You don't know where it's gonna go and that's where the fun is in these podcast interviews.
Speaker 2:
So, number one notice the other person. Number two the second thing you're gonna do is trust yourself. You're gonna trust that you were invited on this podcast because you are an expert in this field. You are there because you have authority in whatever area it is that you have advertised that you have authority for and they invited you to come and speak on that and you know what you're talking about. I have a big hang up with this and I have to remind myself all the time to trust myself.
Speaker 2:
I have a podcast called Go Behind the Ballad. It's a podcast that de-amistifies Texas politics. So I'm frequently asked to guest on podcasts as a political expert about Texas. So I feel like I have to know so much about the different levels of government, the different policy matters, what bills have been passed in the past, what bills are gonna be passed in the future, and I do feel this pressure to like know it all. But the truth is I can't know everything, but I do know a lot more than most people and that is why I'm there. I'm there to offer my authority to share the things that I've gathered along the way, and I'm good, it's gonna come to me.
Speaker 2:
And the other trick is that no one knows everything. No one knows everything. So let's just cut ourselves some grace. And this is a conversation.
Speaker 2:
When you're being interviewed as a podcast guest, you can be honest and be like you know what. I actually don't know a lot about that particular thing, but this is kind of what my understanding is. What do you think? You can use that moment to further go down and maybe learn some other things, or maybe I'll take a different direction, but just trust that you know enough that you were invited there for a reason and you're going to do great. Number three is to listen, be quiet and listen, and this is hard to do. It's hard to do as an actor, it's hard to do as a podcast guest, it's hard to do in relationships with other people, but the better listeners we become, the better our connection will be with the other person. So what we're going to do is, when they ask us a question is we're going to try our best to not let our mind race, but just really listen, tune in to what they're asking.
Speaker 2:
This is important because you want to make sure that you're answering the question, but it's also really I don't know, not exciting as a podcast listener when you feel like the conversation is scripted or there's these like pre-package bits that this person's going to share. That's boring. I don't want to hear that as a listener, and I'm telling you I love podcasts, but if I feel like the person's coming and they're slick and polished and they're not really connecting with the other person, I'm going to go listen to something else. So sit, settle, settle in, listen to them and create your answer in the moment, really understanding what they're asking of you. Another little trick that can help you be a good listener is to repeat back what they said, maybe say the last few words of what they said, or reframe the question or just make sure you understand it. Also, something you can do that helps demonstrate that you're a good listener is to say their name. This also helps create that connection. Yeah, you know, jack, I do have a lot of thoughts about X. This is a great way to create that connection, which is what we're really trying to do to help us be in the moment and have a really exciting, genuine conversation with the other person.
Speaker 2:
Number four oh man, I work on this all the time myself is to breathe. It's really hard to give ourselves permission to breathe sometimes, but we need to breathe. It's so important. When we breathe it really helps ground us in our bodies. I am working on this a lot. As a matter of fact, when I was in that acting class, my teacher, laurel Vouvere, told me to take yoga classes. Why do you think she told me to take yoga classes? Well, it's because she knew that I was up here like all the time. I'm the daughter of a very analytical father so I can't help but just be so in my head. And when you're in yoga, it helps ground you in your body. So taking that breath can help you have that reconnection. And when you reconnect with your body, it's easier to get out of your head and refocus and connect with the person, connect with the podcast host. So give yourself permission to breathe. It's okay to breathe. Do it often, do it well. You're going to feel better, you're going to feel more relaxed and it's going to help you get out of your head, get over yourself and connect with the podcast host.
Speaker 2:
Number five is to have fun. A lot of people I know, myself included, get into something like acting because it's fun. You get to play, you get to discover, you get to have these moments of spontaneity. It's the same thing for podcasts. A lot of us get into podcasting because we're passionate about it. Some of us don't get paid to be a podcast guest or a host. As a matter of fact, we're probably paying our own money to do it and using our own free time because we're so passionate about the thing that we are creating content on.
Speaker 2:
It's important to remember to have fun. I think the way that you have fun is by being in the moment. I know I keep saying that over and over again, but it's true. It's about being present. It's about letting discoveries happen. Where else can you have a really in-depth conversation with a stranger? But on a podcast, it's a real gift to be asked to be a guest. Utilize that opportunity to its fullest. Put your phone on, do not disturb, Really listen to the other person and let yourselves have fun. Have a journey, go on a discovery.
Speaker 2:
The exciting thing is that someone who listens to a lot of podcasts is a listener the listeners if you're doing what you're supposed to be doing, being present in the moment. When they listen back, they will also feel like they're there with you in that moment. It's really exciting for us because it helps us reconnect to what this is all about, what life is all about. It's about learning and discovery and creativity and all these beautiful things that enhance our lives. All right, so to recap, our mission as podcast guests is to get over ourselves and be in the moment. This is how we're going to do it. We're going to one notice the other person. We're going to two trust in our expertise. Number three we're going to listen Really listen to the podcast host. Number four we're going to breathe. We're going to breathe, it's good to breathe. And number five, we're going to have fun. We're going to take full advantage of the recording and it's going to be a wonderful experience. Thank you for listening to this podcast. I appreciate it.
Speaker 1:
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