A nervous guest and a guest mismatch can look similar at first.
It’s common for people coming on your show to ask for reassurance, want “more info” about what to expect, or be worried about saying the wrong thing.
This is normal. People want to do well, and they care.
The difference is trust.
A nervous guest may say, “I’m a little anxious,” but they show up. They may need a little context, but they don’t need to control every variable.
A mismatched guest needs certainty before they’ll participate.
What this looks like:
A phone call after receiving the show information.
Questions in advance.
Approval over direction.
A script.
Guarantees that nothing unexpected will happen.
Is somebody who needs this kind of hand-holding ready for what you do?
Probably not.
That’s not a character flaw. It’s usually just a lack of experience at that stage of their work.
That doesn’t make the guest bad. It just means somebody else can do the job better right now.
As a host, it’s not your job to get a guest up to speed. Your responsibility is to your audience.
Listeners can sense when two people are reading from a prepared script. They can also sense the energy of a real exchange, where the next question isn’t fully known and the answer comes from lived experience rather than a media-training document.
We don’t have control over everything during an interview. Not every interview will be “great.“
But every interview does need to be real. And every great interview will have an element of risk, because that’s what keeps both a host and guest present and paying attention.
Give your audience the kind of interaction that makes them lean in.
