Be Our Guest
So you’ve agreed to be on the show. Thank you. Here is some information that will help you understand how things will work. Of course everything is subject to change but this should help you get an overall feel for things. Based on our initial discussions with you we will be sending you an invitation with a link to the appropriate online service for our call. We will either call you at a phone number that you provide or use Skype if you are comfortable with it. In any event we will send you the details in an email prior to the call. If for some reason there are technical issues, we will email you as a secondary form of communication. Please be ready to check email should that be necessary.
Preparing for the interview
Before the Big Day
Step 1
Send us a photograph of yourself to include in the show notes. Other “appropriate” photographs are also welcome.
Step 2
Share any social media properties or work samples that you’d like to promote.
Step 3
Test your computer to make sure that your microphone and headphones are working as expected. You can use this site to help you test your gear.
Preparing your equipment
1. Try to find a quiet spot without much background noise
2. Check your network speed. You will need a minimum of 128kbps. Use a wired network connection if possible. You can use this link to test your speed.
3. Do NOT use the built in speakers and microphone on your computer. Use a dedicated microphone and headphones or, consider a headset microphone. Reasonable sound can be achieved with a headset costing as little $10 USD.
4. If you are using a dedicated microphone, use a microphone stand. If you have a choice, use a dynamic microphone instead of a condenser microphone.
5. If possible use over the ear headphones.
on the big day
1. Please close all background applications such as Outlook, etc. that might connect to the internet or pop up an audible alert.
2. Pause any background file transfers such as Dropbox, BitTorrent clients, Backup programs, OneDrive, etc.
3. Regardless of your microphone setup, the microphone should be between 1 and 4 inches (2.5 to 10 cm) away from your mouth when you are speaking. Avoid moving towards the microphone to speak and moving back to listen. Setup the microphone so that you are comfortable with it in the 1 to 4 inch range.
4. Do an audio check.
5. Speak clearly and slowly.
6. Don’t shout and don’t whisper.
7. Don’t move around. Stay near the mic.
8. Grab a drink of water and go to the bathroom before the session.
9. Turn off any applications and devices that might interrupt with notifications such as email etc.
10. Relax. This is supposed to be fun.
Some talking points for the interview
- Tell us your name and and title. If you don’t have a title that is relevant to the interview, please tell us something special about you such as your profession, achievement or hobby that we will be talking about
- Tell us about your digital life (professional and/or personal) – What do you use technology for?
- Anything you’d specifically like to talk about?
- Anything that you’d like to promote?