What are your do's and don'ts to producing a quality podcast?

Gary Hawkes asks:

I'll answer this with a production head in mind. So things like inviting guests, hosting the podcast and editing/shipping the recording.

Do embrace every guest and the things they have to share and don't only invite folks you know.
Do keep an open mind, you never quite know what will happen and don't hide any unexpected moments from the published recording.
Do keep things on topic whilst exploring the unknown and don't expect to come up with some grand revelation.
Do help each podcast episode move at a good cadence and don't linger on a point for too long.
Do acknowledge a guest when they share a point and don't always feel obliged to share your experience or thoughts on that point.
Do tend to keep questions open and don't rule out asking closed questions to help confirm a point.
Do way more listening than talking and don't feel like you can't make a fresh point though.
Do acknowledge that guests will be nervous and don't assume that nervousness leads to a flat conversation.
Do keep each episode light and conversational and don't always feel the need to be serious all the time.
Do enjoy the experience and don't sweat it too much, you'll record another one soon.

I share these like they are axioms. They most definitely aren't, but the "Do's" and "Don'ts" framing is a fun way to frame things. And there's always context and it depends for every suggestion. 😅

Thanks for your question, Gary. I hope this helps!

FootMoTes