The Art of Interviewing
Life is a Festival #138 - Eamon Armstrong & Ian MacKenzie
To celebrate four years of Life is a Festival, today I’m sharing a conversation I had with my friend Ian MacKenzie about how to conduct a good interview. Whether you want to start a podcast or are simply interested in being a better conversationalist, I think you’ll find this helpful.
On the show we go over how to research your guest so you can bring more to the party, how to create a roadmap for an engaging, spontaneous conversation, and how to make your guest feel safe to offer their most vulnerable storytelling. Ian and I share some of our favorite pre-recording rituals. We discuss how to offer precise, lean questions and find out what is most important to you. We end with a discussion of the creative spirit and how to cultivate your relationship with the Holy Ghost.
Ian is a documentary filmmaker and host of the Mythic Masculine podcast. This conversation came from his Podcast Accelerator which is launching a new cohort in January. You can get sneak peak of Ian’s newest documentary Tamera, The Village of Lovers during their preview weekend: Reimagining Village, Dec 3 & 4, 2022.
Timestamps
::07 - Do good research so you have a lot to bring to the party
:14 - Create a roadmap - not a list of questions
:18 - Make your guest feel safe to create on their own terms
:25 - Use pre-recording rituals
:30 - Ask precise, lean questions that are important to you
:38 - Practice your technique so you can let the Spirit move you
Editing by Ariel Villafane
Graphics Designed by Ali Agus
Audio Engineering by Trevor Coulter
Theme song ““Peculiar Colors” [Manjumasi]“ by dj atish
