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The How To Podcast Series - Podcast Co-Hosts, Practical Podcast Tips, and Podcast Community
E647 - The Declarative Interview - Declarative Techniques for Unforgettable Podcast Episodes
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Okay, we're rolling. Hey, welcome back to the how to podcast series. It's Dave with you. Hope you're doing well into a little bit of grammar today. Yeah, we're going to do a little bit of grammar, a little bit of understanding, a type of statement which could also become a question. And it's declarative. Declarative sentences. And why we as podcasters need to use these when we're a guest, when we're a host, when we're asking questions, when we're answering questions. Declarative sentences and statements are really, really good. So we're going to talk about that, but then I'm also going to take this same concept and apply it to asking declarative questions, which is something I don't hear a lot of people talking about. So we're going to do that here on the show. Glad you're here. You ready? Let's get declarative. Here we go. So a little bit of background on what a declarative sentence is. If you're like, I have no idea what you're talking about, can you please define Dave so we are all on the same page. Okay, here we go. The most common sentence type is a declarative sentence. It's used to make a statement, provide information, express an opinion, or state a fact. And yes, I'm reading the big thing about declarative statements and sentences is that they always end in a period, not a question mark, anything else. They always end in appearance. For example, the sky is blue. Done, complete, thought, finished. She loves to read Dogs are mammals. These are declarative statements. They are statements of fact, statements of opinion. But they, there's no question built into them. They are a complete thought. Some key characteristics, purpose of a declarative statement or sentence is to inform, explain, state facts and opinions. Punctuation always ends with a period structure, usually subject, verb, object, and frequency. The most common sentence type in English. So when we say it always ends in a period, that means when you're using your voice, for you people who love to upspeak, you need to end and go low at the end of your statement, not go up and imply that you're not really sure. So when you say dogs are mammals, that's a question, kind of. It's not a statement. When you say the sky is blue, she loves to read. All those things are examples of a non declarative statement. Be declarative. When you get to the end of your sentence, drop your pitch, go down instead of your natural tendency to go up, which is a Habit, then break the habit and go down. Avoid the up speak when it's not serving you when it's not a question. Declarative statements and sentences go down in tone at the end. The dog likes bones. The girl went outside. I just got my mail. It's a complete finished thought with a period at the end. Keep that in mind. Some examples of declarative sentences fact based would be the earth revolves around the sun. An observation question would be the coffee is cold, which is actually my coffee's cold. If you want to refill my coffee, buy me a coffee on my. On my website. I'd love to fill that thing up. It's getting a cold already anyway. So that's a declarative statement. My coffee is cold and I need more coffee. Good. An opinion statement would be chocolate is the best flavor. Okay, that's your opinion. And a statement would be she is coming home. And a description. It is a nice day. Declarative state Sentences and statements are standard communication tools used in both writing and speech to share information, distinguishing them from interrogative, which are questions or imperative, which are commands, or exclamatory, which are emotions, sentences. So that's reading. And I'll put this in the. It's in the show notes so you can see exactly what I said. And that's based on declarative sentences and statements. Now, when you're a guest on a show and your host asks you a question, think of your answer in declarative statements and sentences, not always in a question back if it doesn't serve the conversation. Declarative sentences move the conversation along. They set up the next part of the conversation and it's a nice, healthy flow for the listener. So keep that in mind. Go with this format when you're being interviewed, when you're the host. Now let's switch gears and I want to talk about declarative questions that you should be asking, because I think this is going to help you to have a better conversation with your guest. Using this declarative method and model for both statements as answers and questions really helps to lead the conversation, especially for you as a podcast host. I find some podcast hosts are getting a little lazy and they're letting the conversation lead them. You are the host of the show, not the questions you ask. So please lead the conversation and use this declarative structure when you're having somebody on your show or when you're doing a solo episode. It works both ways. Use these statements to lead the conversation. Declarative statements can make your interviews feel Way more natural, more confident, and more engaging for the listener. Everything points back to the listener, right? Instead of sounding like you're just firing off questions randomly with no concept of where you're headed, you're showing the guest and the audience that you understand their world, and you're inviting them to go deeper with you. Questions can sometimes feel like a test, right? Like you're being interrogated by the cops. Right. Statements feel more like conversation. So when you lead with a statement as a question or as an answer, you are not chasing the answer, okay? You are framing the moment and giving the guest something to respond to in real time. So why does this work? It works because a question like this, like, what challenges did you face, Is really broad and can lead to a surface level answer. And your guest doesn't know, really know where you want to go within that question. It's. It's too vague, it's too big, and it's not focused. But a statement or a question, like launching your podcast must have felt overwhelming at first. And you pause. This gives your guests something specific to react to. Now they're thinking about in the context of their show, that statement, right? It's not a question, really. It's a statement. They can agree, disagree, expand, or tell you where your assumption needs adjusting. That creates a richer conversation. So if you say something like, launching your podcast must have felt really overwhelming at first, and they're like, no. Oh, that wasn't where you were expecting to go, right? But if they say, yes, I was this, and this and this, now you just got a whole bunch of information from your guest where you can now probe a little deeper on their response. It's a great way to kind of feel out whether or not this question, this line of thought, actually resonates with the person you're interviewing. So use declarative questions. It also shows you did your homework. You. You're not asking random questions. You're. You're coming in prepared, paying attention, and speaking with your guest, and you have intention behind your words. So how do you use some declarative statements in podcast interviews? Here's some examples. So here's an idea of what you can do in within the conversation with your guests instead of asking, how did you get started in podcasting? Typical question that many people ask. And many people ask me that question, right? Instead, try this. You built this podcast from the ground up with limited resources, and it took real commitment. And then they either agree or disagree. They kind of jump in a little bit with you there, and then follow up with well, expand on that. Tell me more about that part. See, what I did, I gave. It's kind of like a choose your own adventure book where you get to the end of the chapter and you can turn left or you can turn right. You. You can go to this page or go to that page. You're just putting out an option for them instead of giving them a vague, broad question. How did you get started in podcasting? You built this podcast from the ground up with very limited resources. It's amazing and it took real commitment from you. There's this little pause at that moment where the guest is like, yeah, so try it. Instead of, what's your biggest failure? This is a question in HR that sometimes you'll be asked. Quite often you'll be asked and it's kind of, meh, I don't know, not my favorite question. Instead, frame it this way. That setback seems like it became the turning point for everything that came next for you. I've opened the door of conversation around the same question in a different context. What was your biggest failure? No, ask this. The setback that. This setback really seems like it became a turning point for you. Like a real change happened, a real decision point for you, right? What came next? That's a great question. I love that. That's the kind of question you're going to get people going. Wow, great question. That's what you want. And instead of why did you focus on a mental health podcast, why that topic? Still? It's not really framed well. It's okay, but it's not. It's. It's surface level. Instead, try this. You turn personal experience into a message that clearly matters to a lot of people. And then you pause and they're like, yeah, mental health is really important to me. Okay, so. So tell me more about mental health and from your perspective, you've just opened it up, it feels different than a traditional, simple, broad based question. Declarative questions are amazing for you as a host. You have to. It takes practice. But try this. Take your simple question you ask all the time and replace it and reframe it in a way where you're not asking for broad, vague answers. Your audience is going to love it. After the statement that you've put in front of them and you've got them to bite on the hook of that part of the conversation. Invite them to respond with something like, well, then expand on that. Tell me more about that. Right? It must have been really hard to start your podcast from scratch and not know what you're Doing it's got to be very difficult as they begin to bite on that, then come in with, what was it like for you? Then how did you, how did that, how did that shape what happened next for you? Would you agree with that or disagree with that? You've opened the door for conversation. Some more examples of some declarative questions for you. For example, you've, you try this one, you've interviewed hundreds of people, but this one conversation changed your perspective, didn't it? Or your first launch did better than expected. So what do you think made it work? There's a little bit of framing, right? Not a 10 minute preamble to the question, that's too much. But that was a nice little touch where you just, you've gave some framing to the question, like why I'm asking it and then the question, that's nice, or podcasting helped you to find your voice again. So what did that first episode feel like when you look back at it now? This style gives your guests something strong to respond to while still keeping the conversation open. And that's the key to all of this, is if you don't give your, your guests something to respond to, they're just going to answer the question and it's going to be surface level like we talk about. It's not going to have depth, it's not going to have connection. There's not going to be, you're not going to spark in their mind a story or a response when you just say, tell me about your show, tell me about your book. When did you write it? Like, those are all basic generic questions, fine. But if you want to go deeper with your guest and have a memorable conversation, you need to use declarative questions. So here's a simple mindset shift for you as the host of the podcast. Think of yourself less as an interviewer reading from a checklist and a list of questions, and more like a guide that's leading a real conversation. You and your guest really don't know what's around the next corner, but you know you have to go in that direction, right? You just know I'm heading in the right way. But we're both going to discover something within this conversation as it happens. Your job is not just to ask. Your job is to frame, reflect and invite. You are a guide. Your guest isn't going ahead of you and you're pushing them forward. You're not dragging them behind you either. You're a guide. You have an idea of the terrain. You have an idea of kind of some of the hidden problems or potholes ahead. You have an idea of where the the finish line is, where we're going to get to our destination, but how we get there. I don't know how we're going to get there, but it's going to work because I have faith in my tools. I have faith in my ability to get us to the place where we need to be. When you use more declarative statements, your interviews can feel more confident as well. I deal with a lot of podcasters don't feel very confident on the mic. They don't feel confident in the question or the conversation or their abilities. This is going to help you a lot because you're not doing questions all the time with upspeak. You have declarative point of fact questions and answers that make you sound smarter, more personal, and more memorable. I think as well, your guest feels truly understood and your audience gets a deeper conversation instead of a string of generic answers that they've done on 10 other podcasts. Your show's different because you're different. The key takeaway here, as we think about declarative questions, podcasting. If you want stronger interviews, stop relying on on your questions. It's. It's not about the questions. Use clear, thoughtful statements like we talked about to open the door and then let the guests walk through with their own story. You built this show from the ground up with limited resources, and that took real commitment. Pause. It's not a question yet. You framed it. You framed the context. Here's what's in my brain. That setback seems like it became the turning point for everything that came next for you. Pause. The question is just there on the tip of your tongue. You have turned personal experience into a message that clearly matters to a lot of people, and they're going to lead you into your next question. You need to know how to do this, practice this. And when they give you some form of agreement, disagreement, reframing their response in the moment gives you the direction to go next in the question and then actually put the question in front of them. So remember, you can say at that point, you can come in with, tell me more about that. What did you, what was that like for you? How did this shape what happened next for you? Would you agree or disagree with that? Those are your questions that you can then put onto those statements. They're declarative statements or declarative questions, and they're going to make your podcast better. And as a guest on the show, as a little bonus tip as well, don't Ramble. Don't have a 20 minute answer for a one minute question. Think of this. There's a thing in politics where here in Canada we have these committees that meet and talk about things to do with government policy and new laws and stuff. They get together and they have this kind of rule that the answer can be about the same length of time as the question. So if the question is a minute, the answer should be a minute. If the question is four minutes, the answer can be four minutes. Right. Kind of a rough guideline. Not hard, not in stone, but that's kind of how they frame the response time. So when your host asks you a 10 second question, you do not give them a one hour answer. It's unbalanced. Try to match up as close as you can as a, as a point of reference, your length of response to the length of the question and vice versa. Okay, so that's, that's something to think about. Just keep that in the back of your mind. Keep that in your back pocket. Because I find a lot of guests don't know how long to answer. And I would also say as a guest, leave a little bit of space for the host to come back with a counter or a supplemental question. Don't have to give the entire answer, but give them something and then let them come back. And if they don't come back, it's their miss. But think about it that way. Hope that helps. Declarative sentences, statements and questions. They'll make your interviews better. Take care, talk soon. So I get asked quite often, usually at the end of a podcast, like right now. Dave, how can we help you? Like, how can we as a listener, like support the show? Can we come rake your leaves? Can we cut the grass? Shovel the snow? Watch your dog help you move? What can we do? Clean your dishes? Oh, that'd be interesting. Well, if you don't, if you can't do that because you know you're in Poland, maybe you can help us by supporting us with our Buy me a Coffee. It's right there on our website and you know, it just will help us to a stay fueled because you know, we drink a lot of coffee around here and it helps the show. So if you want to help us, it's out of the goodness of your heart. I can tell you that listening to the podcast to this point, you've already helped us so much. But I do have people saying, dave, I'd love to, to give back something small, even just to the show. Buy me a Coffee link is on our website at howtopodcast ca and you can support the show that way. It would mean a lot to have you on our team supporting what we do here. If you find value in the show, then that's great. Share the show, tell somebody about it. And when somebody says, dave, I want to start a podcast, who should I check out? Oh, you should go check out the how to Podcast series because of all the great co hosts and all the things that happen here, the meetups, everything. And I would appreciate that. And then fill her a cup once in a while if you can. But again, thank you so much for being here and supporting the how to Podcast series. Take care. Talk soon. You're still here. Awesome. Okay, so when you're a guest on shows, you will be asked to go through and answer questions and everything. If there's something key, like let's say you have three main points to what you want to talk about. The host leads you down the path and they you get to talk about two of the three. But there the third thing doesn't come back. Whether the host got distracted, forgotten, felt like they were running out of time, so they were cutting the interview shorter. But you still feel that that third point is super important to round out the conversation for the listener. Like it's unlike you said at the beginning, we're going to cover these three points and then you only cover two as you're exiting the episode and the host flips it back to you and says, hey, it's great to have you on the show. Bill, thank you for being on the podcast. I love your Tales from South Florida podcast. It's amazing. Before we go, Bill, tell everybody where we can go listen to Tales from South Florida. In that moment, Bill has an opportunity. I've given him the microphone and what I would suggest for you, if there's something unsaid that you feel would be valuable and tie everything up with a nice bow from your conversation and maybe got missed, then do that here. Bill can simply go, Dave, great to be on the show. Thanks for your help and support of my podcast speaking as Bill. But yeah, one last thing before we close. I just want to also just finish that thought that we were talking about earlier. And here's that third piece that we didn't cover. But real quick, this and this and this and this. That'll just help you with the other parts that we talked about. But yeah, thanks. My podcast is at Tales of from South Florida. You can find it on all podcast apps. It's a great show. I love talking about anything to do with South Florida. If you know anybody who lives in South Florida or wants to be, visit this is the Go to podcast for you. For anything to do with South Florida, see Take advantage of the mic at the end of the interview to finish up any uncompleted thought that you have that you think would really help the conversation. Your host is going to love you because they probably forgot about that last point. So keep track, don't forget about it, and make sure you use that last moment of the podcast to complete any kind of unsaid moment that you think your audience would be missing. So keep that in mind. It's a great little trick, works really well and it's not overbearing, it's not salesy. It's just a chance for you to complete a thought for the listener. Keep it in mind. Always think about a listener when you are a guest on somebody's show. Don't forget the listener. Have intention. Make sure you include them in the conversation. Talk to them as if they're in the room. These are all great things you can do on your next interview. And if you want to be on an interview and you've never done it before, come on my show. Come on this show. How to Podcast Series how to Podcast CA all my stuff's right there, my calendar is right there. And just say, dave, I want to be on your show. If you have a podcast or you're in the journey of starting a podcast or whatever, I love to have you on the show as my guest co host. We'll have a great time together. How to Podcast CA Take care.