The CEO as a podcast guest

  • Value of sharing personal stories on podcasts
  • Introduction of Brandy Whalen, co-founder of Kitcastorhttps://kitcaster.com/
  • Role of Kitcastor as a podcast booking agency
  • Reasons why people want to be guests on podcasts
  • Personal vs corporate messages on podcasts
  • Role of the podcast host in managing the conversation
  • Challenges and mistakes as hosts and guests
  • Benefits of creating a podcast for organizations
  • Tips for guests in podcast interviews
  • Importance of preparation and storytelling in podcast interviews
     

Speaker 2 (00:02:05) - Why? Well, who would want to be on a podcast as a guest and why?

Speaker 1 (00:02:10) - Well, I think that anyone and everybody should be on a podcast. I tell our clients that everyone has a story to share with the world. It's just sometimes people have a little bit more of a hard time finding their story. But for us, our clients are typically C-level executives. So they are CEOs, CFOs, head of human resource CTOs. They're looking to get in front of audiences to really showcase their expertise in whatever, whatever area they they tend to land.

Speaker 2 (00:02:49) - The C level people who want to appear on podcasts or do appear in podcasts, are they delivering a corporate message or is it more of a personal message?

Speaker 1 (00:03:03) - Yeah, that's a really that is a really good question, George. And you know, I love the name of your podcast, your intended message, because I feel like that is what I preach every single day. And really, what I tell our clients is that there is not a single podcast out there that I think would want to have you on as a guest, so you can pitch your product or service. That would be a terrible listen. So, you know, for us, what we tell our clients is that podcasts provide this unique opportunity for potential customers, customers, employees to really get a good look at who it is that's behind the curtain of whatever company you're out there representing, and maybe bring in your personal well, always bring in your personal story, but then weave in your professional journey as well. You know, it doesn't have to be a sales pitch.

Speaker 1 (00:04:00) - You don't have to run through your corporate talking points. Those will come naturally if you do it right and you're weaving the conversation together in a more organic way.

Speaker 2 (00:04:12) - I'm wondering with all the with all the oh terrible fake news out on social media is the podcast perhaps podcasting? Is that maybe an answer to the abuse of social media?

Speaker 1 (00:04:30) - Well, I think it is. And my co-founder absolutely thinks that it is. He actually abandoned social media altogether. And he was like, podcasting is it? This is where we see real people. And I and I do believe that. I think podcasting lives in this really sweet medium of allowing people to be who they are and to be a little bit vulnerable. And I think in the world of social media, we just get to see what people want us to see, right? All the the vacations and all the good things that are happening. And I think the long form use of a podcast is that you get to hear, you know, hey, listen, I've fallen on my face many times before I got to this place, and that's what we want to hear, and that's what we connect with as human beings.

Speaker 2 (00:05:19) - Falling on my face. Yeah, I've done that a lot.

Speaker 1 (00:05:24) - We all have. We all have.

Speaker 2 (00:05:27) - And there's something charming about that.

Speaker 1 (00:05:31) - I think there absolutely is. Yeah. You know, I think that being able to pull yourself back up after failure, repeat failures is something really I think that that is really what we've all what we strive for. And I think those are the stories throughout history that we look for in, in all of everything that we read and who we aspire to be. It's that.

Speaker 2 (00:05:58) - I suppose that if we want to get to know someone better, whether it's a business colleague or whether it's someone we work for, the company, work for a supplier or a client, then probably the best way to do that is probably sit down and have a coffee, conversation or chat over a meal, even. And and I'm guessing that podcasting allows more people to come to the coffee.

Speaker 1 (00:06:29) - It sure does. Yeah. Especially in a time, you know, we're we're pretty new. We're two years old Kitcastor is.

Speaker 1 (00:06:37) - And so we, we really started to ramp up during a time where people were very isolated. So finding different ways that we could that we could still bring people together and have meaningful conversations while we were trapped in our home. That was really important to us. And I think really important to a lot of our clients. Is this being able to still have that connectivity?

Speaker 2 (00:07:05) - Your clients when they come to you. What are their concerns and what what challenges do you help them overcome?

Speaker 1 (00:07:16) - Well, they come to us with a variety of different concerns. We have the more seasoned CEOs or founders that are really good at. Getting out there. They probably have done some public speaking, but what they're not used to is tapping into that personal side. They're really good at hitting those talking points, talking about what their company does, how they do it, who they do it for. 

But bringing in some of that, that personal story, those vulnerabilities, that's a really big challenge for them. So that's something that we work with.

Speaker 1 (00:07:53) - Are more seasoned entrepreneurs, C-level executives. And then for our up and coming C-level executives or entrepreneurs, it's really putting it all together because they have a lot of different things that they can they can kind of lean on, but it's it's putting it together. It's packaging it together so that the delivery is something that really hooks in a listener, keeps them engaged and keeps them wanting more throughout an interview.

Speaker 2 (00:08:24) - I'm guessing based on what you're saying, that that podcast listeners probably don't want to hear about KPIs or ROI or leveraged buyouts. Well, they might be interested in a leveraged buyout. There might be a good story in there, but they don't. They don't want to hear that typical corporate speak.

Speaker 1 (00:08:43) - They really don't. I mean, you can they definitely want to hear about those aspects. But I'm always telling my clients to start with some pain points. That's what we relate to, you know, especially if you've been in a particular field for a long time and you're able to point to your, your current, your past experience, like, I've been in this customer service world forever.

Speaker 1 (00:09:07) - When I first started, we did things this way. I saw that there were a lot of missteps or different ways that we could improve the process. So, you know, in my next job, I did it differently, but I knew there was still room for improvement and kind of build upon it. It's a story and then what you're doing today, you know. So then I figured out how to do this. Everything that's been missing in the customer service journey is what we do with our current organization. And like maybe you throw in, maybe you do throw in some ROI numbers and like some really shocking stats like that's really that's really intriguing. But make sure that you bundle those stats and those numbers in a story.

Speaker 2 (00:09:52) - Some CEOs might be reluctant to appear in a podcast because the lawyers might be hovering in the background and telling them what not to say or what they should say, or use this line, or we want to see all the questions ahead of time. What do you say to those those people that have those concerns to to get past that?

Speaker 1 (00:10:15) - So we actually shockingly, we have not encountered that much.

Speaker 1 (00:10:19) - I think that a lot of times when people are looking to engage with us, they understand that podcasts, they're a little different than a traditional media interview. And yes, sometimes you'll get the questions ahead of time, but sometimes you won't. And it's okay. I always tell our clients if they're in a highly regulated industry, and there's certain areas that they can't talk about, or maybe they're going through an acquisition, like there's all sorts of various reasons why there could be some off, you know, off limits topics that we don't want to discuss. 

And it's just it's okay to say, like, you know what? I'm actually not able to chat about that. But here's something that I can give you. You know, just making sure that you have something in your back pocket if something comes up that's very sensitive to say it like it's a really sensitive that's a sensitive topic in our organization. I can't address that. But what I can tell you is this. So, you know, being prepared that, that that will likely happen, especially if you're in a situation where, you know, there are people telling you that there's certain things that you can't talk about, but always make sure that you have something that you can give.

Speaker 2 (00:11:28) - Now, I heard a powerful phrase that use their transition phrase that then that. I wonder if if everyone else caught and that was, well, that's something that's sensitive and I can't talk about it. But here's what I can talk about. And I've heard people say, but what if I don't know the answer? Well, so there are techniques to deal with that. Do you provide those type of tips and coaching to your clients before they start appearing on podcasts?

Speaker 1 (00:11:55) - Absolutely. Yeah, yeah. And I love that, George. The transition statements, I actually talk about that a lot because you're you're unique and that you come from the world of radio and you specialize in helping people really deliver their message. Not every podcast host comes from the world of radio and or journalism, or any part of being a good interviewer. So, you know, a lot of times it's just a byproduct of what they're doing day in and day out, and maybe they're trying to promote their their service, their brand. So that is actually a big thing that I talk to clients about is that you have to be respectful.

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Brandy Whalen is cofounder of Kitcaster an agency that books business leaders on podcasts so they can tell their stories.

https://kitcaster.com/

 

Listen to this conversation with Brandy Whalen on the podcast here

https://yourintendedmessage.podbean.com/e/podcast-guesting-for-the-c-suite-brandy-whalen/