Thanks for being a guest
Now that you’ve scheduled your recording, here’s what you need to know about being a star guest.
I want to make sure you sound your absolute best. So to do that, the two most important things are a mic and headphones.
- Just about any kind of mic should work – except for the ones you get on gaming headsets or bluetooth headphones. Those sound pretty ropey, but anything else should be fine.
- Headphones are a must when we’re recording over the Internet. Otherwise what happens is your mic picks up my voice and bounces it back to your recording, which makes it really distracting for the listener. Wired headphones are best, but they don’t have to be fancy.
- I like to record video so that we can throw the occasional clip out to appease The Algorithm™ (its mouth is constantly agape and it is never satisfied). If you don’t want your video to be recorded, it won’t be – but it’s great to see your face while recording as it makes the conversation more natural.
Making your list
Once we’ve agreed on the subject of our list, we’ll work on our own top-5s. I always recommend having around 7 choices. That way, if I pick something you were going to pick, you’ve still got something in reserve. And if neither of us overlap, we have some honourable mentions to talk about.
You don’t need to share your list with me beforehand, and I won’t share mine with you.
When we record, I’ll ask you why you chose this topic, then you’ll have the first pick. I’ll then pick my first choice, and we’ll go back-and-forth until we’re done... or we get tired.
At the end, we’ll combine our lists. I usually work on a rough combined top-5 as we go, then we’ll run down the list and I’ll ask you “Do you consent to this list?” and if you’re happy, we’ll give it the stamp of approval and I’ll finish up by asking you where people can keep up with your work.
We’re usually in and out within an hour... although some can go longer (I’ll always check with you if it looks like we’re running out of time).
If you haven’t already checked out the show, you can listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or search your podcast app for "List Envy".