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Behind the Mic: Growing Confidence One Episode at a Time
Episode 1930th April 2024 • Podjunction • Sadaf Beynon and Matt Edmundson
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Welcome to another episode of Podjunction, where we business meets podcasting. Whether you're new to podcasting or looking to refine your skills, this episode for you! Join us as we explore how confidence evolves behind the mic, making every episode a stepping stone to success.

In this episode, you'll discover:

  1. The Evolution of Interview Style: How shifting from a highly structured to a more fluid interview style can significantly boost your podcasting game.
  2. Growth in Confidence: Insights on how confidence builds gradually with each recording, transforming your approach and your outcomes.
  3. Multifaceted Benefits: From personal growth to enhancing business relationships and audience engagement, find out how podcasting can enrich various aspects of your life.

Episode Highlights:

  • Hear about the journey from scripted sessions to spontaneous conversations and how this shift enhances podcast authenticity.
  • Learn why growing confident means more than just mastering the technicalities—it's about connecting deeply with your guests and audience.
  • Get actionable advice on how to embrace a conversational style that engages and retains listeners.

Whether you're behind the mic or tuning in from your favorite cozy spot, this episode is packed with valuable takeaways to help you grow in confidence and skill. Remember, each episode is not just about the content; it's about the journey and the growth that comes with it. So, let's chat our way to the top, one episode at a time!

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Catch us next week for more insights and real podcasting stories at Podjunction. Happy podcasting, everyone!

Transcripts

Sadaf Beynon:

Welcome to Podjunction, where business meets podcasting.

Sadaf Beynon:

Whether you're on a morning jog, driving to work, whipping up a meal,

Sadaf Beynon:

or just simply taking a minute for yourself, our weekly bite sized episodes

Sadaf Beynon:

promise fresh insights from successful podcasters who have cracked the code of

Sadaf Beynon:

using podcasts to grow their business.

Sadaf Beynon:

So whether you're a podcasting newbie or a seasoned podcaster,

Sadaf Beynon:

this episode is for you.

Matt Edmundson:

Hello, welcome to a brand new episode of the Podjunction podcast

Matt Edmundson:

with me, your host, Matt Edmundson.

Matt Edmundson:

And beside me is Covid Beynon.

Matt Edmundson:

How are we doing Covid?

Matt Edmundson:

Sadaf, much better.

Matt Edmundson:

Yeah, good.

Matt Edmundson:

She called me at the weekend, just sounding, you didn't sound

Matt Edmundson:

like you were in a healthy place.

Matt Edmundson:

That's for sure.

Matt Edmundson:

It was definitely it was definitely not a good place, but you've tested negative.

Matt Edmundson:

I have.

Matt Edmundson:

It's really interesting.

Matt Edmundson:

I know this is a show about podcasting, but on this whole

Matt Edmundson:

COVID thing, I can't remember the last time I took a COVID test.

Matt Edmundson:

I think I'm impressed you actually did the test.

Sadaf Beynon:

I only did it because someone told me I should.

Sadaf Beynon:

And not just that, actually handed me a test.

Matt Edmundson:

Oh, was that Jeff?

Sadaf Beynon:

No, it wasn't.

Sadaf Beynon:

I was actually supposed to be helping out at the church.

Sadaf Beynon:

And I went to the church to help out.

Sadaf Beynon:

And she was like, I think you should take a COVID test, brought me the test.

Matt Edmundson:

Wow, that's good.

Matt Edmundson:

Because I don't even know if I've got any.

Sadaf Beynon:

Yeah.

Matt Edmundson:

But it's interesting how the world's changed with

Matt Edmundson:

this attitude towards COVID.

Matt Edmundson:

So yeah, COVID sat next to me, recovering COVID addict.

Matt Edmundson:

Welcome to Podjunction.

Matt Edmundson:

We talk about podcasting, how to use podcasting to grow your business.

Matt Edmundson:

And cure COVID.

Matt Edmundson:

Absolutely.

Matt Edmundson:

It's amazing what podcasting can do.

Matt Edmundson:

We're finding out every week, something new and exciting.

Matt Edmundson:

But yeah, if this is your first time with us, very warm welcome to you.

Matt Edmundson:

It's great to have you with us.

Matt Edmundson:

Like I say, we just talk about podcasting, how to use it to

Matt Edmundson:

help us grow our own businesses.

Matt Edmundson:

I don't even know what episode we're on now, 19?

Matt Edmundson:

We are on

Sadaf Beynon:

19.

Matt Edmundson:

I just, in my head, I've got that Paul Hardcastle,

Matt Edmundson:

do you remember Paul Hardcastle?

Sadaf Beynon:

No.

Matt Edmundson:

The song 19.

Matt Edmundson:

Just Google Paul Hardcastle 19.

Matt Edmundson:

It was a song I think from the 80s.

Matt Edmundson:

19.

Matt Edmundson:

19.

Matt Edmundson:

19.

Matt Edmundson:

19.

Matt Edmundson:

19.

Matt Edmundson:

And it was taught anyway.

Sadaf Beynon:

No, I don't know.

Matt Edmundson:

It's a slightly political song.

Matt Edmundson:

But I've got the tune in my head.

Matt Edmundson:

I think I'm showing my age slightly.

Matt Edmundson:

So welcome to episode 19.

Matt Edmundson:

There is a nice big catalogue.

Matt Edmundson:

And basically, the way we do this, if you don't know, if you are new

Matt Edmundson:

to us, We chat to experts, ask them a whole bunch of questions,

Matt Edmundson:

and then we chat about it usually.

Sadaf Beynon:

Yeah.

Matt Edmundson:

I don't know how much chatting you're going to do today.

Sadaf Beynon:

Lots.

Matt Edmundson:

Yeah.

Sadaf Beynon:

Yeah.

Matt Edmundson:

I've been in bed the last week.

Matt Edmundson:

I've got plenty of vocal exercise in me.

Matt Edmundson:

I've not talked to anybody.

Matt Edmundson:

So yeah, that's what we're going to do.

Matt Edmundson:

So in today's show, we have, that's your cure.

Sadaf Beynon:

I'm on the slow train, but I'm going to do lots of talking.

Sadaf Beynon:

Okay, so we've got Lee Houghton.

Sadaf Beynon:

Who is the host of

Sadaf Beynon:

Business Problem Solved,

Sadaf Beynon:

Business Problem Solved Podcast.

Sadaf Beynon:

And in this particular segment, he's talking about his interview style

Sadaf Beynon:

and how it's changed over time.

Matt Edmundson:

Fantastic.

Matt Edmundson:

Fantastic.

Matt Edmundson:

We're looking forward to this.

Matt Edmundson:

Lee's a great guy.

Matt Edmundson:

I've been on his show.

Matt Edmundson:

That's how I met him.

Matt Edmundson:

He invited me on his podcast.

Matt Edmundson:

Thank you.

Matt Edmundson:

It was like a while ago now.

Matt Edmundson:

Yeah, he's great guy.

Matt Edmundson:

And so I'm curious to hear what you have to say about the interview thing.

Matt Edmundson:

So are we going straight into that or have you got another segment?

Sadaf Beynon:

I have a question.

Matt Edmundson:

Oh, okay.

Sadaf Beynon:

Okay.

Matt Edmundson:

So I must remember this.

Matt Edmundson:

We always do the question thing now before the talk.

Matt Edmundson:

This is a new feature.

Matt Edmundson:

Yes.

Matt Edmundson:

It's not really new anymore.

Matt Edmundson:

Newish.

Sadaf Beynon:

Whenever you remember it, it's new.

Matt Edmundson:

Okay, what's the question?

Sadaf Beynon:

Okay, so if you could If I could instantly gain one skill to

Sadaf Beynon:

improve your podcast, what would that be?

Matt Edmundson:

If I could instantly gain one skill does

Matt Edmundson:

this have to be a real thing?

Sadaf Beynon:

No, you can do whatever you want with that.

Sadaf Beynon:

Can it be like

Matt Edmundson:

a superpower?

Sadaf Beynon:

Yeah, that'd be fun.

Matt Edmundson:

My desired superpower is the ability just to

Matt Edmundson:

instantly appear wherever I want.

Matt Edmundson:

I just think it and I'm just there, like some kind of

Matt Edmundson:

teleportation portal type thing.

Sadaf Beynon:

Okay.

Matt Edmundson:

Which would be just cool.

Matt Edmundson:

So if I could do that would make podcasting really cool.

Matt Edmundson:

So how would

Sadaf Beynon:

that work with podcasting?

Sadaf Beynon:

And I could do

Matt Edmundson:

in person interviews all the time.

Sadaf Beynon:

Ah, okay.

Sadaf Beynon:

And it's

Matt Edmundson:

I'm going to come to you and then we're going to go

Matt Edmundson:

sit on a beach in the Maldives.

Matt Edmundson:

And do the podcast recording.

Sadaf Beynon:

So you can teleport other people too.

Matt Edmundson:

Yeah,

Sadaf Beynon:

Just checking,

Matt Edmundson:

lonely otherwise, or maybe that's the point.

Matt Edmundson:

I don't know, I just need to get away.

Matt Edmundson:

I'm going the moldy, just leave me

Sadaf Beynon:

alone.

Matt Edmundson:

So yeah, that would be, I don't know if that's the right answer.

Sadaf Beynon:

There is no right answer.

Matt Edmundson:

Okay.

Matt Edmundson:

So yeah, teleportation, I think is a skill I'm lacking at the

Matt Edmundson:

moment when it comes to podcasting.

Sadaf Beynon:

Okay.

Matt Edmundson:

The ability to read people's minds.

Matt Edmundson:

That would also be good, when you're asking them questions,

Sadaf Beynon:

you can preempt what they're going to say, or you're going

Sadaf Beynon:

to know what they're going to say,

Matt Edmundson:

so I could ask better questions.

Matt Edmundson:

I think podcasting for me is all about asking the right questions

Matt Edmundson:

to the people you're talking to.

Matt Edmundson:

And so the skill of asking better questions is probably a more

Matt Edmundson:

sensible skill, teleportation.

Matt Edmundson:

If I can have both, tell you what, I'm so looking forward to

Matt Edmundson:

that first teleportation episode.

Matt Edmundson:

I think it will do well on YouTube.

Matt Edmundson:

I think people will be curious to

Sadaf Beynon:

see what happens.

Matt Edmundson:

Yes.

Matt Edmundson:

Very good.

Matt Edmundson:

All right.

Matt Edmundson:

Should we do the whatevery bit, the clip?

Matt Edmundson:

Yeah.

Matt Edmundson:

With Lee for whatever, but, and the whatever, but just technical term.

Matt Edmundson:

So we're gonna play the clip from Lee.

Matt Edmundson:

We're gonna, I think it's six, seven minutes long and then we're gonna be

Matt Edmundson:

backtrack to chat about it, right?

Matt Edmundson:

Yeah.

Matt Edmundson:

Assuming you're awake.

Matt Edmundson:

Yeah.

Matt Edmundson:

Okay, cool.

Matt Edmundson:

Here's Lee.

Matt Edmundson:

And what's interesting here is that the way I'm hearing you say this

Matt Edmundson:

is as you've personally grown, as you've evolved, as you've become

Matt Edmundson:

more comfortable, more confident.

Matt Edmundson:

The depth of the questions that you ask has also increased, right?

Matt Edmundson:

And you, it's really interesting, isn't it?

Matt Edmundson:

When you start out, you're just like so tell me what's the

Matt Edmundson:

weather doing where you are?

Matt Edmundson:

And then by the time you're you've done a few episodes, you're like,

Matt Edmundson:

what's the biggest challenge you've ever faced in life?

Matt Edmundson:

Let's dig, do you know what I mean?

Matt Edmundson:

And you get straight into some of the meaty stuff now, don't you?

Matt Edmundson:

And you're not afraid to do that, I think.

Matt Edmundson:

And that's a confidence thing maybe that comes with time.

Matt Edmundson:

And so your podcast style evolves and you're right.

Matt Edmundson:

I think if I reflect on my own journey, it's a lot more me that's

Matt Edmundson:

changed than everything else.

Matt Edmundson:

I can tell you little bits in the podcast that have changed a theme

Matt Edmundson:

and blah, blah, blah, but actually the main culprit in the changes is

Matt Edmundson:

myself, which is what you found, right?

Lee Houghton:

Yes, yeah, I think just to pick one as well, my first few interviews,

Lee Houghton:

I researched the guest, I identified like seven or eight questions that I

Lee Houghton:

wanted to ask, and I wrote a post it down, and I had them on the top right

Lee Houghton:

of my screen here, and I was so fixated on working my way through this recipe of

Lee Houghton:

questions, I wasn't actually listening to what people were saying to me, and

Lee Houghton:

then now I've ditched it, and I just asked three questions, tell me what's

Lee Houghton:

your story, how did you get to that seat, what you're having for your tea

Lee Houghton:

and where can people find out about you?

Lee Houghton:

And we just have a conversation, it's just a pure conversation now.

Lee Houghton:

And it's helped me develop.

Lee Houghton:

So I'm a leadership coach and business improvement person.

Lee Houghton:

And what it's allowed me to do now is just become really comfortable with

Lee Houghton:

silence, really comfortable asking those, I'm going to call them killer

Lee Houghton:

questions, but the kind of real critical questions, and it's allowed me to have

Lee Houghton:

far more better, that's some brilliant English, far more improved conversations.

Lee Houghton:

It's not improved my English any, that's coming from Charlie, but my

Lee Houghton:

ability to have conversations has developed through my honing of the

Lee Houghton:

podcast, and I think that's something that I was never expecting, so it's

Lee Houghton:

allowed me to just develop doing what I do as well, every week it's

Lee Houghton:

just an opportunity to just really.

Lee Houghton:

Horn your conversational skills to get to the crux and the nub of the situation

Lee Houghton:

and the person because I'm conscious that people are going to be listening to it,

Lee Houghton:

so I've got to be a little bit better.

Lee Houghton:

I've got to improve.

Lee Houghton:

I've got to ask the better questions.

Lee Houghton:

What questions would other people be wanting to understand as well?

Lee Houghton:

Like when you just started then and it would have been quite easy for

Lee Houghton:

you to skip over the three lessons of Chris and just go on to the podcast

Lee Houghton:

question, but you didn't, you stopped and you asked about that question.

Lee Houghton:

And I think that's a skill and it's an art.

Lee Houghton:

And so it's just the ability to listen to what is actually being said.

Lee Houghton:

And that's something else that's really, really been honed by me doing the podcast.

Matt Edmundson:

Yeah.

Matt Edmundson:

No, it's just, again, fascinating, isn't it?

Matt Edmundson:

And like you, I used to have trays and trays of questions for the guests and

Matt Edmundson:

you're just like where do I ask that?

Matt Edmundson:

And you'd spend hours thinking about the sort of the layout of the

Matt Edmundson:

questions, like the route, the journey that you wanted people to go down.

Matt Edmundson:

And now it's just no, I just have one or two fallback questions in

Matt Edmundson:

case the conversation gets stifled.

Matt Edmundson:

But the reality of it is I don't have any, and it's just going to be a conversation.

Matt Edmundson:

And I think that when it comes to having real authentic conversations, what have

Matt Edmundson:

you found, Lee, that makes a difference?

Matt Edmundson:

How do you do that now?

Matt Edmundson:

What are some of the lessons that you've learned there?

Lee Houghton:

The number one lesson for me is just actually listening to

Lee Houghton:

what the other person has said and giving them a full opportunity to

Lee Houghton:

finish saying what they're saying.

Lee Houghton:

So when I started, I used to be before, so if this was the other way around

Lee Houghton:

and I was having a conversation with you for my pod, when I first started,

Lee Houghton:

I'd be thinking of my next question to ask while you were still answering

Lee Houghton:

the question that I just asked.

Lee Houghton:

But now it's just actually let the answer fully come out and then use

Lee Houghton:

that to create the next question.

Lee Houghton:

And that's taken a lot of confidence to get to that space and be really

Lee Houghton:

comfortable not having a question to ask and using the narrative of the guest.

Lee Houghton:

So I think that the listening is key and I think the width of the question as well.

Lee Houghton:

Our ability to ask questions I think is fundamental in business and conversations

Lee Houghton:

and often we bias our question with what we think they may answer or the

Lee Houghton:

direction that we want them to go.

Lee Houghton:

And I think just by asking, instead of, I try never to ask a why question

Lee Houghton:

now, so why is that the case, or why did that happen, because I think that's

Lee Houghton:

a little bit, that could be a little bit personal, and I try to ask a what

Lee Houghton:

and a how question, because what I find is that really widens the answers that

Lee Houghton:

they're giving, so what was the reason for that happening is different to why

Lee Houghton:

did you do that, and I think it just gives such more breadth of an answer

Lee Houghton:

from the guests, because you're not like really narrow in your questions.

Lee Houghton:

So I think what and how questions, but just questions

Lee Houghton:

that are really short as well.

Lee Houghton:

I think, I'll say those two things, the ability to listen and truly

Lee Houghton:

listen to the answers that are being said and be comfortable

Lee Houghton:

with not having a question to ask.

Lee Houghton:

And then the second one is just really all about

Lee Houghton:

the ability to ask a short question that's a what and a how question that

Lee Houghton:

just allows the thoughts of the other person to just be , so them to allow

Lee Houghton:

to explore their thoughts fully, rather than be biased with what you think

Lee Houghton:

and the direction that you want to go.

Lee Houghton:

So I would say those two things are the main things.

Lee Houghton:

And I think it's so natural in life as well.

Lee Houghton:

So like Chris's second lesson about making good friends.

Lee Houghton:

If you want to make good friends, you've got to really listen and

Lee Houghton:

have been invested in the words that the other person is saying.

Lee Houghton:

And then you've got to show an interest in that other person as well.

Lee Houghton:

And by you asking a question based on what they've said, I think really shows that

Lee Houghton:

you've listened to that other person as well and you want that you want them to

Lee Houghton:

feel like you want them to feel special.

Lee Houghton:

So yeah, I would say that I'd say those two things.

Matt Edmundson:

Very good.

Matt Edmundson:

Very good.

Matt Edmundson:

Thanks.

Matt Edmundson:

Lee, that was, I'm, as he was chatting away, I remember

Matt Edmundson:

that conversation in my head.

Matt Edmundson:

Yeah.

Matt Edmundson:

Yeah.

Matt Edmundson:

It was a great conversation.

Matt Edmundson:

And yeah, make sure you listen to the full version of that because

Matt Edmundson:

he talks about his friend Chris.

Matt Edmundson:

He's the best friend that passed away and there was some lessons

Matt Edmundson:

that Chris passed on to him.

Matt Edmundson:

So when he's talking about Chris in the interview, that's

Matt Edmundson:

who he's talking about, right?

Matt Edmundson:

Yeah.

Matt Edmundson:

Yeah.

Matt Edmundson:

And it's just really, it's a really powerful story that Lee has.

Matt Edmundson:

But Lee's a legend, just an absolute legend, just so

Matt Edmundson:

down to earth from Chorley.

Matt Edmundson:

Yeah.

Matt Edmundson:

Chorley.

Matt Edmundson:

My Chorley accent's not good, so I'm not going to, that's as far as

Matt Edmundson:

I'm going to go, but Lee, legend.

Matt Edmundson:

Thanks for coming on, man.

Matt Edmundson:

Have we got Lee again next week?

Sadaf Beynon:

We do.

Matt Edmundson:

Excellent.

Matt Edmundson:

So we're going to get some more wisdom from Lee.

Sadaf Beynon:

Yes.

Matt Edmundson:

So yeah, what did you make of that?

Sadaf Beynon:

I thought it was really good.

Sadaf Beynon:

I thought it was really interesting.

Sadaf Beynon:

Some of the things he pulled out.

Sadaf Beynon:

I think what you like from the conversation, from where it started,

Sadaf Beynon:

it sounded like you guys had already been talking about some of the ways

Sadaf Beynon:

that the, like the interview skills have evolved, but really when it came

Sadaf Beynon:

down to it, it was yourselves that had.

Sadaf Beynon:

There was a lot of personal growth and development in the process,

Sadaf Beynon:

which I thought was really cool.

Sadaf Beynon:

Do you want to comment on that?

Matt Edmundson:

Sure, if I have permission.

Sadaf Beynon:

Yes, you have permission.

Sadaf Beynon:

I just felt like maybe I shouldn't do all the talking this time.

Matt Edmundson:

Yeah no, it's fine.

Matt Edmundson:

You crack on.

Matt Edmundson:

You're much more interesting than I am.

Matt Edmundson:

I think it's interesting.

Matt Edmundson:

We've talked about this before, haven't we, with podcasting, that it is a journey.

Matt Edmundson:

You grow on that journey and the podcast changes.

Matt Edmundson:

We're on episode 19 of Podjunction.

Matt Edmundson:

I've not listened to Episode 1 for a little while but I imagine it's

Matt Edmundson:

going to be a little bit different.

Matt Edmundson:

And there's going to be some more changes coming probably in the next five or

Matt Edmundson:

10 episodes that we've got planned.

Matt Edmundson:

And so the podcast does evolve and you do change it and you do tweak it.

Matt Edmundson:

And you think if we did this, we could do that.

Matt Edmundson:

And we'll have a little play.

Matt Edmundson:

But the thing that does change the most is yourself, especially

Matt Edmundson:

if you're interviewing people.

Matt Edmundson:

And you become a lot more confident about your show.

Sadaf Beynon:

Yeah.

Matt Edmundson:

So now I think when you're starting out.

Matt Edmundson:

You're just in awe of the whole thing.

Matt Edmundson:

And anybody that comes on your show, you're just super grateful for.

Matt Edmundson:

And don't get me wrong, I'm still super grateful for guests, but

Matt Edmundson:

now I think actually I'm much more confident in the show.

Matt Edmundson:

And so when we get big guests on, I'm not surprised.

Matt Edmundson:

Whereas when you're starting out, you'd be like, what?

Matt Edmundson:

Wetting yourself a little bit, but that's okay.

Matt Edmundson:

I think the biggest change in podcasting is on the podcast host, especially in

Matt Edmundson:

these conversational style interview ones, which we're a big proponent of.

Matt Edmundson:

Yeah, and that was definitely Lee's finding, that's definitely mine.

Sadaf Beynon:

Yeah.

Sadaf Beynon:

And I also, to add to that, like how he's, he talked about going from post it notes

Sadaf Beynon:

and being really it was really structured.

Sadaf Beynon:

He was so caught up in what question is going to come

Sadaf Beynon:

next that he wasn't listening.

Sadaf Beynon:

And it went from that part of his journey to where now it's

Sadaf Beynon:

more conversational, more fluid.

Sadaf Beynon:

It's a lot more of listening to the other person and then responding to what

Sadaf Beynon:

they've said rather than Yeah, exactly.

Sadaf Beynon:

It's pulling something out off of the post it note,

Matt Edmundson:

yeah.

Matt Edmundson:

And I think, again, that's going to come down to the style of

Matt Edmundson:

podcast you want to do, right?

Matt Edmundson:

So if you want to do the more Diary of the CEO kind of interview style podcast

Matt Edmundson:

or the Carey Nieuwhof style interview podcast, then I think you have to

Matt Edmundson:

spend a lot of time researching your guest because these guys come on the

Matt Edmundson:

show, they're probably authors, there's stuff that they want to talk about.

Matt Edmundson:

And they're expecting you to ask them really good questions around

Matt Edmundson:

certain topics or certain ideas.

Matt Edmundson:

And if you don't know what they are, then this is the danger

Matt Edmundson:

of doing something quite broad.

Matt Edmundson:

Whereas both Lee and we chat around topics which are quite narrow, quite niche.

Matt Edmundson:

So I'll talk, say, for example, about eCommerce.

Matt Edmundson:

I'm pretty confident in that whole, and I actually don't mind looking

Matt Edmundson:

like a fool in the sense of I don't understand what you're talking about.

Matt Edmundson:

Please explain that.

Matt Edmundson:

You know what I mean?

Matt Edmundson:

But I think I can't imagine.

Matt Edmundson:

That happening say on Diary of the CEO, because he wants to know, he'll pull out

Matt Edmundson:

things from the guest's history because they're usually quite well known guests.

Matt Edmundson:

He'll pull out things from their history or things that they've

Matt Edmundson:

written and go, let's talk about that because that really interests me.

Matt Edmundson:

And so I think you have to do some research if you

Matt Edmundson:

want to do that style show.

Sadaf Beynon:

Where

Matt Edmundson:

Lee and I do it and where I think it, it

Matt Edmundson:

differs from that is actually.

Matt Edmundson:

I'm not looking for a polished interview that's going to take a lot of, I was

Matt Edmundson:

talking to a chap yesterday, Sean O'Neill, who's a legend, actually, we'll get him on

Matt Edmundson:

the show at some point because he's just started out in podcasting on episode 20.

Matt Edmundson:

Check it out sean O'Neill.

Matt Edmundson:

And he's very much done the high studio production.

Matt Edmundson:

We're going to get nice cameras, we're going to edit the video, we're

Matt Edmundson:

going to polish it up quite nicely.

Matt Edmundson:

And I think it's a good thing to do.

Matt Edmundson:

But the style that I prefer, I like the conversational style

Matt Edmundson:

rather than the interview style.

Matt Edmundson:

Cause conversation is more about discovery.

Matt Edmundson:

Yeah.

Matt Edmundson:

Whereas interview, I want to talk about a specific topic and I want to make sure

Matt Edmundson:

the questions I ask don't sound stupid.

Matt Edmundson:

Whereas conversational is in my head, it's if you're in a pub.

Matt Edmundson:

Do you know what I mean?

Matt Edmundson:

And you're just catching up with somebody and you've got to make that conversation

Matt Edmundson:

interesting because other people are gigging in and they're listening into it.

Matt Edmundson:

And I think if you can do that's powerful.

Matt Edmundson:

And the way you do that, tying it back into my teleportation superpower is

Matt Edmundson:

the ability to ask good questions, which is what Lee was talking about.

Matt Edmundson:

And yeah, I think you've got to decide your style.

Matt Edmundson:

So for Lee, he had post it notes.

Matt Edmundson:

He was trying to do that research, heavily questioned research style.

Matt Edmundson:

And what he discovered was for him, that's not the best fit.

Matt Edmundson:

He's much more, and he's just super chatty and it's not for everybody.

Matt Edmundson:

I get that.

Matt Edmundson:

Some people like to be uber prepared.

Matt Edmundson:

Yeah.

Matt Edmundson:

Question.

Matt Edmundson:

Yeah.

Sadaf Beynon:

So you, just going back to what you were saying about, you're

Sadaf Beynon:

not afraid to look like a fool and just say, what do you mean by that?

Sadaf Beynon:

Is that so I know you're talking about it in, in the sense of a

Sadaf Beynon:

conversational podcast, like you podcast, like you do, but is there an

Sadaf Beynon:

element of like even in that, was that part of your journey or of being more

Sadaf Beynon:

confident where you're at and, Yeah.

Sadaf Beynon:

Conversation.

Matt Edmundson:

Yeah.

Matt Edmundson:

Yeah.

Matt Edmundson:

Very much I think, again, the more comfortable you feel, again, just

Matt Edmundson:

touching back on something Lisa said about comfort, the more comfortable

Matt Edmundson:

you feel with what you're doing, the less polish you feel like you've got

Matt Edmundson:

to make it in some respects, unless if you are going for that highly polished

Matt Edmundson:

podcast, then that's a different story.

Matt Edmundson:

But I prefer the way we do it because one it's just more me, two, it's

Matt Edmundson:

an awful lot easier on everybody.

Matt Edmundson:

We're not spending 10 hours at editing a podcast.

Matt Edmundson:

It's all done quite quickly.

Matt Edmundson:

It's all very conversation.

Matt Edmundson:

It's all very natural.

Matt Edmundson:

And I think as your confidence grows in that, actually being quite vulnerable

Matt Edmundson:

with people that you're interviewing is a way to get them to be vulnerable back.

Sadaf Beynon:

And

Matt Edmundson:

especially if you're doing something that like with Push, eCommerce,

Matt Edmundson:

vulnerability over search engine optimization is probably not necessarily,

Matt Edmundson:

what we're after, but as we're growing the podcast out, we're going to get

Matt Edmundson:

eCommerce entrepreneurs onto the show.

Matt Edmundson:

Actually, there'll be some vulnerability from them about their

Matt Edmundson:

story and about their journey.

Matt Edmundson:

And I think if I can be vulnerable, which often for me is just going

Matt Edmundson:

I'm lost on this or can you explain that a little bit more to me and

Matt Edmundson:

Yeah, I think it's super important.

Matt Edmundson:

And actually, sometimes I say to guests on the show, I don't

Matt Edmundson:

really understand what you mean, not because I don't understand it.

Matt Edmundson:

But because I know somebody listening to the show won't understand it.

Matt Edmundson:

So I'm always, I suppose the questions I'm thinking of are not

Matt Edmundson:

just the questions in my head.

Matt Edmundson:

But if I was listening to this show, what would I ask now?

Matt Edmundson:

And if I'm new to eCommerce, I'd probably ask this.

Matt Edmundson:

If I'm experienced in eCommerce, I might ask that.

Matt Edmundson:

And so it's a bit of a judgment call, but quite often I'll get people to

Matt Edmundson:

clarify terms, which makes me look like I don't know what I'm talking about.

Sadaf Beynon:

But as a host, do you find that's like you're constantly

Sadaf Beynon:

going back and forth because one, you want to have that natural conversation

Sadaf Beynon:

where you're just chatting and you're getting like discovery as you call

Sadaf Beynon:

it, and then the other side of it.

Sadaf Beynon:

It's keeping your audience in mind because you don't want to forget the

Sadaf Beynon:

fact that there's going to be other people listening to this and it needs

Sadaf Beynon:

to appeal to them too, or these are the kind of questions they might want to ask.

Sadaf Beynon:

So is that difficult going back and forth in your head or does it just

Sadaf Beynon:

become second nature the more you do it?

Matt Edmundson:

That's a really good question.

Matt Edmundson:

I think it actually, I think it's difficult.

Matt Edmundson:

Something that if you've been in business a while, you probably can do anyway,

Matt Edmundson:

because I think you business, any, anything where you've been successful

Matt Edmundson:

like business, or we were talking about this last night in the marriage course,

Matt Edmundson:

marriage, anything like that, where communication is needed, a successful

Matt Edmundson:

communicator has the ability to put themselves in other people's shoes.

Matt Edmundson:

So you as the host have to put yourself in the guest's shoes.

Matt Edmundson:

What are they thinking, feeling, experiencing?

Matt Edmundson:

. And you have to go beyond that and put yourself in the listener's shoes and go,

Matt Edmundson:

what questions would a listener have?

Sadaf Beynon:

Yeah.

Matt Edmundson:

And also I'm just a genuinely interested, but

Matt Edmundson:

I'm just interested slash nosy.

Matt Edmundson:

. So I've got the questions in my head as well and I think, I don't,

Matt Edmundson:

I dunno if in my head now I'm intentionally switching between them.

Matt Edmundson:

But I know when we started doing them, I would jot, I would have

Matt Edmundson:

like different columns on a notepad.

Matt Edmundson:

. Like with different avatars.

Matt Edmundson:

Okay.

Matt Edmundson:

So who I thought was listening to the show and I'd glance at it every now and again.

Matt Edmundson:

And I'd just, I'd write a question in that column.

Matt Edmundson:

So if they're a newbie then I'd wonder what they would ask

Matt Edmundson:

now, or if they're this person, I wonder what they would ask now.

Matt Edmundson:

And then there's me.

Matt Edmundson:

I don't do that anymore.

Matt Edmundson:

Maybe I should, I don't know.

Matt Edmundson:

If you listen to the eCommerce podcast, tell me, should I do that?

Matt Edmundson:

I don't know, but I do think you get better at it the more you do.

Sadaf Beynon:

Yeah, and I think it's about talking about eCommerce Podcast,

Sadaf Beynon:

we have quite a variety of different listeners and as in the different

Sadaf Beynon:

stages of their eCommerce journey.

Sadaf Beynon:

And actually you're, you are really good at pulling out parts of what the

Sadaf Beynon:

guest is saying and make it pertain to different parts of our audience.

Sadaf Beynon:

Yeah, whether your lists did that for you or what, but they used to, yeah,

Matt Edmundson:

I think it like, to answer your question, you do grow in, as your

Matt Edmundson:

confidence grows, you become more and more aware of it, but this is all part of the

Matt Edmundson:

journey of becoming a better podcaster.

Matt Edmundson:

I think you start to understand, you need to think about

Matt Edmundson:

things slightly differently.

Matt Edmundson:

And what's interesting, what always makes me laugh is when you take these

Matt Edmundson:

same skills and you sat around a dinner table with somebody and you

Matt Edmundson:

almost go into, I'm podcast host mode.

Matt Edmundson:

So I'm going to start asking you questions.

Matt Edmundson:

And they can almost feel like there's a barrage of questions coming.

Matt Edmundson:

And sometimes I'll even do the podcast voice.

Matt Edmundson:

So I'm sitting around and saying, so tell me about, and I'll throw a bit

Matt Edmundson:

of emphasis in because you need to do that with podcasting or and just sit

Matt Edmundson:

at the table going, who is this leader?

Sadaf Beynon:

And as you leave, do you say bye for now?

Matt Edmundson:

Yeah.

Matt Edmundson:

Bye for now.

Matt Edmundson:

You are awesome.

Matt Edmundson:

It's normally what happens.

Matt Edmundson:

Sorry, it's a bit of an in joke if you've never listened to one of my podcasts,

Matt Edmundson:

Sadaf won't let me do it on this show because this is technically Sadaf's show.

Matt Edmundson:

But at the end of every, not that you would know, because you've

Matt Edmundson:

still not introduced any yet.

Sadaf Beynon:

My time is coming.

Sadaf Beynon:

Yeah.

Sadaf Beynon:

Yeah.

Matt Edmundson:

Post COVID.

Matt Edmundson:

But yeah, on all my podcasts, I always end with you are awesome, create awesome.

Matt Edmundson:

It's just a burden you have to bear.

Matt Edmundson:

And then I'll say the guest name, they have to bear it.

Matt Edmundson:

I've got to bear it and then I'll point to the camera and

Matt Edmundson:

saying you've got to bear it too.

Matt Edmundson:

Talking to the list now, it's just one of those things I've just

Matt Edmundson:

started doing, I don't know, two years ago and just carried on with

Matt Edmundson:

it's become like a little trademark.

Sadaf Beynon:

Yes, it has.

Matt Edmundson:

So yeah, I do that at the dinner table.

Matt Edmundson:

You're awesome.

Matt Edmundson:

Created awesome.

Matt Edmundson:

It's just a burden you've got to bear.

Matt Edmundson:

And the person in front of me is looking at me like,

Matt Edmundson:

This is very

Matt Edmundson:

You to say so.

Matt Edmundson:

I just don't know what to do with this information.

Sadaf Beynon:

But the chicken is good.

Sadaf Beynon:

Yeah.

Matt Edmundson:

Oh, brilliant.

Sadaf Beynon:

All so do you have any thoughts

Sadaf Beynon:

On anything else that he said?

Matt Edmundson:

I thought what was interesting was the two things that

Matt Edmundson:

he said were active listening, the ability to listen and riff off the

Matt Edmundson:

questions or the ability to riff off of that to create questions.

Matt Edmundson:

Yeah, that's a natural way.

Matt Edmundson:

We do conversation and bringing that into the podcast is really good.

Matt Edmundson:

And I think that in itself is a skill that when you start doing podcasts, my advice

Matt Edmundson:

is, and some people hate this, right?

Matt Edmundson:

But my advice is always go listen back to that podcast and ask yourself, was

Matt Edmundson:

there a better question to ask here?

Matt Edmundson:

Because quite often when we're having conversations with people, we go to that

Matt Edmundson:

default surface level question, right?

Matt Edmundson:

Now, bearing in mind, you've got a time limit on your podcast.

Matt Edmundson:

So you need to get to stuff quicker.

Matt Edmundson:

And so asking yourself and training yourself maybe to go beyond the typical

Matt Edmundson:

question, maybe take it a level or two deeper I think is a really helpful thing,

Matt Edmundson:

but actively listen To what they're saying to create the next question, but just

Matt Edmundson:

do a mental check to say, is there a way to make this question more interesting

Matt Edmundson:

or take it a little bit deeper?

Sadaf Beynon:

Yeah.

Matt Edmundson:

And that might be just thrown in a story

Matt Edmundson:

for you from your own life.

Matt Edmundson:

It might be asking a question about something, whatever it's going to be.

Matt Edmundson:

That's the thing I think you need to do is like, how do I get a better

Matt Edmundson:

response or a deeper question here?

Matt Edmundson:

And I thought it was really interesting what Lee talked about in terms of

Matt Edmundson:

he stopped asking why, because he thought it was a bit too personal.

Matt Edmundson:

Whereas I get that on eCommerce because people, listening to eCommerce, it's

Matt Edmundson:

very practical based depending on who they're listening to, but you want

Matt Edmundson:

to get to the practicality of it.

Matt Edmundson:

Like how do I do this?

Matt Edmundson:

What do you do?

Matt Edmundson:

And I think with Leigh's podcast, that makes sense in terms of business.

Matt Edmundson:

How do I solve cashflow issues, for example?

Matt Edmundson:

Let's talk about that.

Matt Edmundson:

But I'd say for push or what's the story, why is the great question?

Sadaf Beynon:

Yeah.

Sadaf Beynon:

Why questions are my favorite.

Matt Edmundson:

Cause you're really nosy.

Sadaf Beynon:

Yeah.

Sadaf Beynon:

And I think it also, it helps you understand the person better because

Sadaf Beynon:

they keep digging into why is that?

Sadaf Beynon:

And sometimes actually they don't know why.

Sadaf Beynon:

And so they're thinking about it.

Sadaf Beynon:

And yeah,

Matt Edmundson:

but actually, sometimes if you start off with the what and

Matt Edmundson:

the how questions that can actually lead into nicely, if it makes sense

Matt Edmundson:

for your show to get into the why questions and gets people thinking.

Matt Edmundson:

I think sometimes if you leap in with the why questions, there's a bit too much of a

Matt Edmundson:

quantum leap for people to make that shift mentally and give you the right answer.

Matt Edmundson:

And so I think sometimes you have to lead them into that would be a suggestion.

Matt Edmundson:

But yeah, I think I really like that

Matt Edmundson:

. So my takeaway from this was can I ask more what and how questions

Matt Edmundson:

yeah, how could I ask more what and how questions, and I'm doing some podcast

Matt Edmundson:

recordings later, so I might have a little, I'll just see how we go on.

Sadaf Beynon:

Okay.

Matt Edmundson:

Yeah.

Sadaf Beynon:

Something he didn't actually say this, but I think as part of his,

Sadaf Beynon:

as part of the journey of being cause he talked about the personal growth

Sadaf Beynon:

that, that comes with it over time.

Sadaf Beynon:

I was thinking like also being comfortable with silence.

Matt Edmundson:

Yeah, he did say that.

Matt Edmundson:

Oh, did he say that?

Matt Edmundson:

Yeah, he did say that.

Matt Edmundson:

He was getting more comfortable with silence.

Sadaf Beynon:

Sorry.

Sadaf Beynon:

I was, I thought I was listening.

Sadaf Beynon:

But yeah, I think actually that's something really important, isn't it?

Sadaf Beynon:

Because especially when you're starting out, you're so focused on asking the

Sadaf Beynon:

questions and not allowing there to be any gaps because you want it to be fluid.

Sadaf Beynon:

Yeah.

Sadaf Beynon:

But it's so structured that.

Sadaf Beynon:

Yeah.

Matt Edmundson:

It's really interesting, because if you use something like

Matt Edmundson:

Descript to edit your podcast, there's a button in there, which you can press,

Matt Edmundson:

and it would remove all the silences.

Matt Edmundson:

Yeah.

Matt Edmundson:

And it will shrink them down to a third of a second, or whatever time you set

Matt Edmundson:

point three, I think is the default 3.

Matt Edmundson:

3 seconds, which is fine.

Sadaf Beynon:

For a reel.

Sadaf Beynon:

For

Matt Edmundson:

a reel.

Matt Edmundson:

Yeah.

Matt Edmundson:

For the short form video content.

Matt Edmundson:

But for a conversation, yeah.

Matt Edmundson:

It just makes it super intense.

Matt Edmundson:

And the lesson here is actually natural conversation has pauses and silence.

Matt Edmundson:

So don't be afraid of a little pause and silence.

Matt Edmundson:

But the most powerful thing about a silence is the guest

Matt Edmundson:

feels uncomfortable with it.

Matt Edmundson:

And this all due respect to every guest, obviously it's been on my podcast, but

Matt Edmundson:

sometimes you just, you're listening to people talk and I know the best

Matt Edmundson:

question to ask is not a question.

Matt Edmundson:

And it's just to sit there silently because they will.

Matt Edmundson:

Start to fill it and you can feel like you're getting into something

Matt Edmundson:

interesting and if I ask a question here, I don't know if that's going

Matt Edmundson:

to go where it needs to go to.

Matt Edmundson:

But if I just look at them and just go nod my head, keep it silent, they will

Matt Edmundson:

100 times out of 100 fill that silence.

Matt Edmundson:

I've never had anyone go, why has it gone quiet all of a sudden?

Matt Edmundson:

That's a bit awkward, isn't it?

Matt Edmundson:

No, they just, there's a bit of silence.

Matt Edmundson:

And so then they carry on that thought and that conversation and you

Matt Edmundson:

can get some real gold out of that.

Matt Edmundson:

But I think that's a skill in its own right, because.

Matt Edmundson:

Silence makes the guest feel uncomfortable, but it can make you

Matt Edmundson:

feel uncomfortable as the host.

Matt Edmundson:

Like again, you've got to fill it.

Matt Edmundson:

And this was one of the things I learned when I lived in the States

Matt Edmundson:

when I was 18, took a year out.

Matt Edmundson:

I was hanging around with a guy called Jack.

Matt Edmundson:

He was this sort of 60 year old, real Southern gentleman, just a lovely

Matt Edmundson:

chap, was never in a rush for anything.

Matt Edmundson:

And quite often you would ask Jack a question and he would

Matt Edmundson:

just look at you for 30 seconds.

Matt Edmundson:

And when I first got to, when I first met him, I'm like, what's going on?

Matt Edmundson:

Does he, do I, I don't understand yet.

Matt Edmundson:

I'd say the question differently or I'd say it louder, I'd word it.

Matt Edmundson:

And it wasn't because he couldn't hear me.

Matt Edmundson:

It wasn't because he couldn't understand me.

Matt Edmundson:

It's just, he needed time to think and that was just his way.

Matt Edmundson:

He was not in a rush to give me an answer to my rushed question.

Matt Edmundson:

And I learned then to be happy.

Matt Edmundson:

With a little bit of silence between the question and the answer.

Matt Edmundson:

And my experience with Jack was when he was silent, you usually got a much better

Matt Edmundson:

answer . It always worked out well.

Matt Edmundson:

Yeah.

Matt Edmundson:

Does that make sense?

Sadaf Beynon:

It does.

Sadaf Beynon:

Yeah.

Matt Edmundson:

Yeah, silence is golden, which is a bizarre thing in a podcast.

Matt Edmundson:

A very bizarre thing in a podcast.

Matt Edmundson:

But yeah, a little bit of silence is a great question.

Matt Edmundson:

Top tip.

Matt Edmundson:

Good.

Matt Edmundson:

I'm aware of time.

Matt Edmundson:

Look, we've been going 32 minutes, 55 seconds.

Matt Edmundson:

Are you closing out the show?

Sadaf Beynon:

No, you are.

Matt Edmundson:

And this is Sadaf's podcast, ladies and gentlemen.

Matt Edmundson:

Listen, it's been, Lee's a legend.

Matt Edmundson:

And we're talking to Lee again next week.

Matt Edmundson:

We've already ascertained this fact.

Matt Edmundson:

And yeah, I hope you got a lot out of it.

Matt Edmundson:

I hope you got a lot out with Lee.

Matt Edmundson:

Do connect with him.

Matt Edmundson:

Do listen to his podcast.

Matt Edmundson:

Podcast, we'll have a link to Lee and all that sort of stuff in the show

Matt Edmundson:

notes if you want to, do check it out.

Matt Edmundson:

Make sure you listen to the full conversation, the full story with this

Matt Edmundson:

one, because like I say, you want to hear what he has to say about Chris.

Matt Edmundson:

But yeah, if you want to know more, head over to podjunction.

Matt Edmundson:

com.

Matt Edmundson:

I'm very delicious website.

Matt Edmundson:

I don't know why.

Matt Edmundson:

We're going

Sadaf Beynon:

with it.

Sadaf Beynon:

Yeah, we're

Matt Edmundson:

just running with it.

Matt Edmundson:

This is great.

Matt Edmundson:

This is great.

Matt Edmundson:

So it's been great chatting to you.

Matt Edmundson:

If you haven't done so already, make sure you like, subscribe and do all that

Matt Edmundson:

good stuff with the podcast, wherever you get your podcasts from, because

Matt Edmundson:

we've got more great episodes lined up.

Sadaf Beynon:

Delicious episodes.

Matt Edmundson:

Delicious.

Matt Edmundson:

And we don't want you to miss any of them.

Matt Edmundson:

And in case no one's told you yet today, we shall be the first.

Matt Edmundson:

You are

Sadaf Beynon:

awesome.

Matt Edmundson:

Create it awesome.

Matt Edmundson:

It's just a burden you've got to bear.

Matt Edmundson:

Lee's got to bear

Sadaf Beynon:

it.

Matt Edmundson:

Sadaf's got to bear it.

Matt Edmundson:

I've got to bear it.

Matt Edmundson:

You've got to bear it too.

Matt Edmundson:

There you go.

Matt Edmundson:

We've done it.

Matt Edmundson:

Are you going to cut this out now?

Sadaf Beynon:

No, I won't do that to you.

Matt Edmundson:

Brilliant.

Matt Edmundson:

It might be the only time it ever happens on this show, but we'll see how many

Matt Edmundson:

more we can fit them in as we go along.

Matt Edmundson:

But now it's awesome.

Matt Edmundson:

Thanks for joining us, ladies and gentlemen.

Matt Edmundson:

We'll see you next week.

Matt Edmundson:

Bye for now.

Sadaf Beynon:

And that brings us to the end of today's episode at Podjunction.

Sadaf Beynon:

If you've enjoyed the insights from this episode and want to hear the full

Sadaf Beynon:

conversation with today's special guest, don't forget to visit podjunction.

Sadaf Beynon:

com where you'll find more information about how you can join Podjunction Cohort.

Sadaf Beynon:

Whether you listen while on the go or in a group.

Sadaf Beynon:

Quiet Moment.

Sadaf Beynon:

Thank you for letting us be a part of your day.

Sadaf Beynon:

Remember, every episode is a chance to gain insights and to transform

Sadaf Beynon:

your business with podcasting.

Sadaf Beynon:

So keep on tuning in, keep on learning and until next time, happy podcasting.

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