[2023 Updated] 50 Best Podcast Interview Questions to Ask

If you're someone who's just starting out, getting guests to interview on your show can be a difficult hurdle. You may think that once you have landed the right guest, everything else will follow.

If only it were that easy.

Just take a look at thousands of interview-styled podcasts on Spotify that come and go each day.

If there is nothing particularly original about your podcast, your listenership will not rise. Getting a guest is only the first step.

Asking the right questions in the right way to create great content is what keeps your listeners coming back.

Don't want to act like an amateur in your first interview-styled podcast? We've got some great tips for you below.

This guide includes:

• Why do you need good Podcast Interview Questions?
• 50 best Podcast Interview Questions to ask
• How to come up with your own Podcast Interview Questions
• Etiquette in hosting your Podcast Interview
• How to distribute your Podcast Interview

Why do you need good podcast interview questions? 🧐

As a podcast host, you need good interview questions because:

• You wouldn't want awkward silences
• You wouldn't want to ask dumb questions
• You want to get the best out of your interview - and make it viral!

Before we dive into the questions, just a reminder that you can use Jupitrr to turn the Q&As in your old podcast interviews into bite sized shareable audiograms like below in just under 3 minutes.

Below is Elon Musk's answer to 'Will we merge with AI or be replaced by it?' in Joe Rogan Experience Episode #1169 with Elon, repurposed into an audiogram with Jupitr that is incredibly handy for social media sharing.

50 best Podcast Interview Questions to ask 💬

To come up with good podcast interview questions, you may want to first categorise the questions that you intend to ask, brainstorm, and filter them. Remember: your first ideas are not always the best.

We would generally put questions into the following buckets:

• Personal Questions
• Professional Questions
• Funny Questions
• Deep Dive Questions
• Closing Questions

Podcast Interview Questions: Personal

1. Tell us what you do.
2. How would you normally describe yourself?
3. What is the thing that makes you most nervous today?
4. What are you most passionate about in your life (What gives you joy)?
5. Tell us one unique thing about yourself.
6. Who is your biggest inspiration, and why?
7. What was your favourite subject back in school?
8. What was your fondest childhood memory - and why?
9. What was the most important lesson that you learnt in the past decade of your life, and how did you apply it?
10. Looking back, what would you have done differently in your personal life?

Podcast Interview Questions: Professional

1. What did you want to be when you grow up?
2. What was your first job ever in your life? Did you enjoy it, and what was your biggest takeaway from it?
3. How would you describe what you do now?
4. Is there a common misunderstanding / stereotype about your profession?
5. What was the biggest turning point in your career so far?
6. What was the biggest challenge that you have overcome?
7. Does work ever overwhelm you? If so, how do you find that mental balance?
8. Are there any resources that really helped you on your journey?
9. Where do you see yourself in 3/5/10 years?
10. What would be a piece of advice that you would give someone who wants to enter your current profession?

Podcast Interview Questions: Funny

1. Tell us an interesting fact about you.
2. What was the last thing you googled?
3. Tell us one of the craziest things you have ever done.
4. What is the weirdest thing you have ever eaten?
5. If you had 10 billion dollars right now - what would you spend it on?
6. Do you love your future or past more?
7. If your best friend would write your Tinder profile for you, how would that be?
8. Share with us your favourite comfort show on Netflix.
9. What are you not good at (at all)?
10. If you could invite three people to dinner, living or dead, who would you invite?

Podcast Interview Questions: Deep Dive

1. Are you living like how you thought you would 5 years ago?
2. What is your biggest fear?
3. Tell me something you think is true that almost nobody agrees with you on?
4. How big is your inner circle?
5. What was something that you wish you hadn't, but you had given up?
6. How much do you think your current success is attributed to luck?
7. What is a life question that you haven't yet solved?
8. Do you have a regret? If so, what is it?
9. How would you want to be remembered?
10. If you were to be the prime minister for one day - what would you do?

Podcast Interview Questions: Closing

1. Can you share with the audience three must-read books?
2. Can you share with the audience three must-use apps or softwares?
3. What should I have asked you but didn’t?
4. What is next on your journey?
5. Where can people go find out about you and your work?
6. What are the best podcast you would love to share with the audience?
7. What is the one takeaway that you want the audience to get from this episode?
8. If you were to be at this show again - what would be something that you want to tell you future self?
9. Are there any questions that you would want to ask me instead?
10. How can our listeners support you on your journey?

How to come up with your podcast interview questions ✍️

Obviously, you can always come up with your own set of customised questions for your guest. The best way to do this is to start with abundant research about your guests, and start thinking about the following points:

• What is the goal of your interview?
• What is the one thing that is most interesting about your guest?
• What is the one thing that your guest is most interested in sharing?
• Write down a number of things you personally would want to hear about from this podcast interview.
• Start creating a list of questions that cover the above categories in an all rounded manner.

It is important to put yourself into your guests' shoes and think about why they have agreed to come on your show. Do they have a new project that they would like to promote? Are there recently any incidents that they would like to address and clarify?

Things you should never ask your guest 🚩

1. Yes/No question 👎

The aim of your interview is to get the most out of your conversation with your guest and have them talking. Asking a Yes/No question will only make it difficult for your guest to expand on the topic, resulting in awkward silences.

2. Questions that are too personal 🤭

Although you might want to take this chance and ask your guest as many questions as you can, remember that asking questions that are too personal will only make them uncomfortable. Some people might be very tight-lipped about their personal life, so maintain a certain distance might be a good idea.

3. Questions that are always asked 🙅‍♀️

If your guest attends interview frequently, try not to ask the same questions all over again. Not only might your guest find that boring and annoying, your listeners might also find that uninteresting. Try to uncover an aspect of their lives that were unknown to the world.

Ettiquette on asking podcast interview questions 👔

Before the podcast:

If you already had a plan on what questions you are going to ask during the podcast, send your guest a copy so they could prepare for it, or highlight some of the questions that might want to avoid. It is generally good practice if you could give your podcast guest a heads-up!

During the podcast:

Although you have prepared a comprehensive list of questions to ask your guests, if the conversation didn't flow your way, don't force it. The best content comes out of natural conversations, and when the guest is genuinely having a good time in the recording process.

After the podcast:

Hold a debriefing session with your guest if possible, so you can get their feedback and improve on your show next time. It is also useful to check with them which questions they like the most, and whether there are questions that they are hesitated to answer.

Distribution of your podcast interview questions 🌐

Interview-style podcasts are loved by many, but you find it hard to showcase your interview in a purely audio format.

This is why you might want to consider creating a video podcast, as research shows that people prefer Youtube over Spotify as a platform for consuming podcasts. There have also been a rise in consumption in YouTube shorts, which is a huge opportunity for content creators to tap into.

If you are new to creating video podcast, the easiest way to create it is using Jupitrr. Simply upload your audio clip and choose a background picture, Jupitrr will magically transform it into a dynamic audiogram with audiowaves and automated subtitles.

Final thoughts 💭

According to recent research, the recent user attention span is just merely 8 seconds. To capture the attention of new audiences, it is crucial to repurpose your podcast interview into bite-sized content for easier consumption.

Making an audiogram is the most convenient way to share your content on social media and garner traction. Turning Q&As in your interview into audiograms can also guarantee better engagement with visual cues!