Prep a guest for a video podcast: the email, five days out
One email, under 200 words, sent five days before the session. Long guest briefs go unread; short ones get followed. Ours contains exactly five things:
- The angle. One sentence on what the episode is about and why this guest specifically. It focuses their thinking without scripting them.
- Three anchor questions. The spine of the conversation, minus the follow-ups. Guests who see every question rehearse; guests who see three prepare.
- Logistics in one block. Address, floor, parking, arrival time, total time commitment. For our studio: 50 Francisco St, 3rd Floor, arrive 15 minutes early, out in 90 minutes.
- Wardrobe guidance. Two lines, covered below.
- What they get. The publish date and the clips you will send them to share. Guests promote episodes they were promised assets from.
"We record on video with three cameras and a full engineer, so there is zero tech on your side. Show up, sit down, talk."
That sentence, or something like it, belongs in every prep email. Guests quietly worry about the technical side more than the questions; showing them how a video podcast comes together settles it fast. Pointing them to what a studio session includes answers the worry before it forms.
Wardrobe and glasses, in two lines
The full costume note fits in two lines of the email: solid mid-tone colors work best on camera, and skip fine stripes, small checks, and busy logos. Fine patterns moire on a 4K sensor, pure white blows out, and logos date the footage.
Glasses are fine. Lens glare is a lighting problem, and your engineer adjusts key light angles during the mic check to kill reflections. Tell bespectacled guests exactly that; several of ours have shown up in contacts they hate because a previous studio burned them.
