The One Thing You Must Do Before Appearing On Any Podcast

It's the day that you never expected would come.

You've spent weeks, months, even years, working on your business. The blood, sweat, tears and financial sacrifices have finally produced the results that were initially only a dream.

Now someone recognizes that you have accomplishments, skills and information that need to be shared with others. And they want to interview YOU as an expert in your field — on THEIR podcast!

Permanent, recorded fame.

So you get all of your thoughts in order. Have all of your key information printed out and available at your fingertips. You've done a brief backgrounder with them by email, so you have a rough idea of the questions they will ask and the directions the conversation might go.

You're at your desk and ready for their connection. Or are you?

Because despite your best efforts, there are unseen forces just feet away from you, lurking and waiting to disrupt your interview.

No, they aren't pets or children. Although those can be a problem, as Professor Robert Kelly found out in 2017 while being interviewed in his home office on the BBC. (see the viral video on YouTube)

They're all of your electronic devices. And if not silenced, they could become a major distraction during your appearance.

Way too many times I've had the flow and my concentration disrupted during a podcast by ringing, buzzing, beeping and chiming going off in the background. If it affects me as a listener, it also has to have some effect on both the interviewer and interviewee.

I also can't help but wonder whether the person being interviewed is totally focused on the show. Or if they, like so many people these days, are trying to multitask by keeping one eye on their smartphones and computer screens.

So before you appear on any podcast, take the proper precautions:

Take all of your unused landlines off the hook or turn off the ringer. So what if someone cannot reach you while you are on the show. It's no different than their getting a busy signal or going to voice mail when you're on the phone with an actual client.
(Note that some phone services, when the phone is off the hook, will play a message such as "If you would like to make a call, please hang up . . ." After that it may start beeping for a minute or two before going silent. So make sure those sounds cannot be picked up during the recording, or do this step well in advance.)
Do the same for any fax machines.
Turn off your smartphone. If you need to keep it on for some reason, put it in another room.
Put your computer speakers on mute so that any email or IM alerts cannot be heard.
Stop any clocks in your room that chime the hour or half-hour. Close your office door if there are other clocks in your home that are loud.
Unplug any other devices that announce their presence, such as driveway monitors.
Try to have someone else in the house who can answer the doorbell or accept packages.
Close your windows to limit neighborhood environment noises, such as lawn mowers, sirens, etc.

Taking these preparations will ensure that listeners — both live and accessing the archives — will remember you for your material and not the sound effects that interrupted you.