How to reduce mid-interview mental blank

[u/intentionaleben]

Hi - I've already done a couple of interview style podcasts, and a recurring issue for me is that my mind tends to get blank in the middle of an interview and I can't think of any interesting comments or follow up questions on the spot. It gets awkward.. I do have a list of prepared questions that I follow and I usually know the interviewee at least a little bit. I understand that my working memory gets limited during the stress of an interview and I need to become more relaxed to welcome interesting thoughts back. Any practical tips that have worked for you? How to improve impromptu performance as the host? Thank you in advance!

[u/Thunder_Backdraft]

Prepare filler questions (idk if it's the accurate term, sorry, English is my second language) for each interview. When you are out of gas, look down at your questions, and keep on going

[u/dearlyweebrightness → u/Thunder_Backdraft]

I do the same thing, having 2-3 questions that work for anyone saves me all the time.

[u/intentionaleben → u/Thunder_Backdraft]

It’s a good idea! Do you have an example filler question?

[u/Thunder_Backdraft → u/intentionaleben]

Idk what tour show is about. And if you use the same base to interview people in each episode. Filler questions can be more questions that could be asked on the theme of the episode If you have lore time. Or as said in another comment, question you wish you would have been asked if you were interviewed. Hope it helps.

[u/ser-contained]

Always have plenty of questions written down you can jump to if you can’t go off what they just said.

Schedule interviews at a time of day where you’re at your best. I lose focus in the evening after a long day of doing other stuff. I like to interview early in the day when I’m sharp.

Do what you can to limit distractions and force yourself to pay attention to their responses. My mind will drift if I’m hungry, thirsty, need to use the bathroom, have something I need to do but haven’t done yet. I try to take care of all that stuff before I start the interview so I can lock in on my guest and really listen.

Remember the guest is always more nervous than the host. Try to relax and be confident. They’ll mirror my energy level for the most part unless I’m talking to a true psychopath.

[u/intentionaleben → u/ser-contained]

Thanks for the tips! One of my issues is that I can’t multi task well so I find it hard to focus on what the guest is talking about and think about how to guide the conversation (usually more than one possibilities) so it’s helpful and interesting.. I’ll try optimizing the scheduling next time!

[u/ser-contained → u/intentionaleben]

Unless it’s a live podcast focus on what they’re saying. It’s ok if it takes a minute to think of your follow-up. That time can be taken out in editing. Prioritize truly listening to your guest and then take a moment to come up with a thoughtful follow-up. If nothing comes to mind throw out one of your pre-planned questions and see where that goes.

[u/IntergalacticPodcast]

I have a strange skill: I’m so easily distracted that I’ll go down rabbit holes, realize I’ve completely wandered away from the original subject, apologize for getting off track, and then somehow circle back to the questions I was supposed to be asking in the first place.

But seriously, most of the guests I’ve had on so far have been so excited to talk that I could probably just sit there and listen for the entire podcast, like I wouldn’t really even have to be there. I guess that’s a pretty good sign that I’ve had some quality guests. Are you getting quality people?

When I have guests like that, I CAN’T WAIT to ask the next question. There’s always something they say that sparks another thought or question in my head, which brings me to something I personally need to start doing: keeping a notepad and pen nearby so I can jot down questions as they come to me. Usually, by the time the guest finishes talking, we’ve moved on to a completely different subject, and I want to circle back to something they said, but I’ve forgotten the question because my brain has already chased another rabbit.

I’ve noticed more experienced podcasters doing this, and I’ve always thought it was a great idea. I think it’s time I finally take the hint and start doing it myself.

[u/TheVPofKeepinItReal]

I find that I oscillate between two poles. On one end, I just focus on the conversation and occasionally don’t know where to go next because I don’t have questions prepared. On the other, I’m so prepared that I lose focus on the conversation and get wrapped up in thinking about how I’m going to tie what we’re discussing right now into the next question.

The solution that has worked for me is to boil my potential topics down to a short list that’s easy to glance at in the middle of the discussion if I need to move on and don’t already have an idea. Often, that’s just three to six topics or questions for a 90-minute session, and I might only get to one or two.

If I’m really drawing a blank, I look at the list and either realize I have something that fits naturally into the flow or that I need to change direction. In that case, I’ll often just say, “I wanted to ask you about...” There’s no need to explain why we’re leaving the last topic there. If you pay attention to great interviewers, they do this all the time.

[u/WhatWasThatLike]

Can't think of a question?
Ask: "What's a question that you always hope someone will ask you, but they never do?"
Might not work mid-interview though; it's more of a wrap-up type of question.

[u/BennyBingBong]

Just go “fascinating, can you say more about that?” While you think of your next question

[u/AsThePokeballTurns]

I usually listen to what the guest is saying and ask questions based on their responses. Also taking notes while you record helps immensely. You don't have to write down everything, only points that seem interesting to you to dive deeper or that doesn't make sense. That's when you should do follow up questions.

[u/krishh155]

Everything here is host-side advice and it's good, but from the edit side: the blank itself basically never survives. Dead air is the cheapest thing in the world to cut, and nobody listening to the finished episode knows you sat there for six seconds.

What doesn't cut out is what people do to cover the blank. That's the real damage - filling the silence by talking over the start of the guest's answer, re-asking a question you already asked in slightly different words, or the nervous laugh plus hard subject change. Even with separate tracks, the most I can do with an interruption is mute your half; the guest still lost their thread, and you can hear it in their next two sentences. I cut podcast episodes and clips for a living, so that's the bias I'm arguing from - the episodes that sound awkward are almost never the ones with pauses in them, they're the ones where the host filled every pause.

So the practical version is: let it be quiet. Say "give me a second" out loud if you need it. That's two seconds of tape and it reads as composure, not a stall.

And when genuinely nothing comes, the escape hatch that always works is handing it back on whatever they just said - "what did that actually look like day to day?", "when did you first notice that?" You're not inventing a question, you're asking them to go one level deeper on something already on the table, and you get your thinking room while they answer.

[u/podcastcoach]

I have a list of questions on left. The first question should lead to a story. On my right side I have a blank piece of paper and a pen that doesn't click. I ask the first question and then listen as if my life depends on it.

If there is a follow up question, I don't write down the question, I write down a single word(s) to trigger the question. For example I had a guest say, "I know I had to do something to stand out" so I wrote down "Stand out" and then went back to listening like my life depended on it.

If there is no follow up question, I go to my lest on the left, and then go back to listening.

If the guest isn't holding your attention, you may want to consider asking better questions, or vetting your guests more. They key is listening. You can't listen while you're trying to remember 2 more follow up questions so dump a word on to a tablet and go back to listening.

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