For hosts
Podcast Interview Template
A podcast interview needs a shape before it needs questions. Here is the run of show most good interviews follow, a template you can copy, minute splits for 30, 45 and 60 minute episodes, and the scripts for the prep sheet, the five minutes before you press record, and the close. Among the shows in our feed sample that book guests, the typical published episode runs 41 minutes.
7 min read
Most interviews that go wrong do not go wrong on a bad question. They go wrong on shape: twelve minutes of warm-up, the best story arriving at minute fifty with no time left, and an ending that is just the host saying thanks while the guest wonders whether they are still recording.
A run of show fixes that. It is a one-page outline of the episode's parts, in order, with a rough time for each. It is not a script: you still follow the conversation where it goes. It is what tells you, at minute thirty, whether you have time for that tangent.
This page gives you the structure, a template to copy, timing for three episode lengths, and three short scripts for the moments hosts most often improvise badly.
How do you structure a podcast interview?
In seven parts: a cold open, a short introduction, a warm-up question, the core of the conversation in two or three blocks, one harder question, an optional lightning round, and a close that tells the listener where to find the guest. The table below is the full structure, in the order it runs.
The cold open is usually cut in the edit from something the guest says later, so it is recorded last even though it plays first.
| Part | What happens | Why it is there |
|---|---|---|
| Cold open | A 15 to 45 second clip of the best moment of the episode | It gives a new listener a reason to stay past the first minute |
| Introduction | Who the guest is and why they are on this episode, in under a minute | The listener needs to know why this person, today |
| Warm-up | One easy question the guest can answer with a story | Guests relax on their second or third answer, not their first |
| Core blocks | Two or three topics, each with a main question and follow-ups | This is the episode. Everything else frames it |
| The turn | One harder question: a failure, a disagreement, a change of mind | It is usually the moment listeners remember and share |
| Lightning round | Three to five quick questions with short answers (optional) | It changes the pace before the end and shows another side of the guest |
| Close | The guest says where to find them; you thank them and say what is next | It is the credit the guest came for, and the listener's next step |
A free podcast interview template (run of show)
Copy this into your notes before each episode and replace everything in square brackets. The times are for a 45 minute episode; the next section has splits for 30 and 60 minutes. Keep it to one page: if you need to scroll during the recording, it is too long.
Episode: [number and working title]
Guest: [full name] ([how to pronounce it])
Recording: [date, time and time zone] | Link: [recording link]
00:00 Cold open
[Leave blank. Pick the clip in the edit.]
00:00 Introduction (1 min)
[Read the intro from the prep sheet. End on why they are here today.]
01:00 Warm-up (4 min)
[One easy question with a story in it. Example: "How did you end up doing [their work]?"]
05:00 Block 1: [topic] (11 min)
Main question: [question]
Follow-ups: [the story to pull out] / [the number or example to ask for]
16:00 Block 2: [topic] (11 min)
Main question: [question]
Follow-ups: [follow-up] / [follow-up]
27:00 Block 3: [topic] (9 min)
Main question: [question]
Follow-ups: [follow-up] / [follow-up]
36:00 The turn (4 min)
[One harder question. Example: "What did you believe about [topic] five years ago that you do not believe now?"]
40:00 Lightning round (3 min, optional)
[Question] / [Question] / [Question]
43:00 Close (2 min)
[Ask where listeners can find them. Thank them. Say what is next on the show.]
Must mention: [the guest's link, book or project, exactly as they asked]
Do not raise: [anything the guest asked you to avoid]How long each part of a podcast interview should take
Size the run of show to the episode you publish, not to the hour you book. In our read of public podcast feeds on September 16, 2026, the 78 shows that were still publishing, reachable and showing evidence they book guests had a median published episode of 41 minutes. That is a median of each show's own typical episode, so it tells you what length is common, not what length is right for you.
The splits below are a starting point, not a measurement. They keep the warm-up short and give most of the time to the core blocks, which is where an episode earns its length.
- 30 minute episode: introduction 1, warm-up 3, two core blocks of 10 each, the turn 4, close 2. Skip the lightning round.
- 45 minute episode: introduction 1, warm-up 4, three core blocks totalling 31, the turn 4, lightning round 3, close 2.
- 60 minute episode: introduction 1, warm-up 5, three core blocks totalling 40, the turn 6, lightning round 5, close 3.
Book 15 to 20 minutes more than the published length: the pre-record talk, false starts and anything you cut in the edit all come out of that margin.
For how episode length varies across the shows that book guests, and what it tells a guest before they say yes, read should you pitch short podcasts.
The one-page prep sheet
The run of show is the episode's shape. The prep sheet is what you need to know about this guest to fill it. Most of it comes straight from the guest's questionnaire, so ask for it when you confirm the booking, not the night before.
Guest: [full name] Pronunciation: [how they say their name, and their company's name] Intro (read on air): [two or three sentences, from the bio they sent] Why this guest, why now: [the one reason this episode exists] Three topics: 1. [Topic] | The story to ask for: [story] 2. [Topic] | The story to ask for: [story] 3. [Topic] | The story to ask for: [story] Something they have said before that I want them to go deeper on: [quote and source] What they want to mention: [link, book, launch, exactly as they asked] Do not raise: [anything off limits] Recording setup: [their mic, headphones yes or no, quiet room yes or no]
For the questions that fill most of this sheet before you ever speak, see the podcast guest questionnaire template.
The five minutes before you press record
Guests are most nervous in the minutes before the recording starts, and those minutes decide how the first ten go. Use them to check the sound and to take the pressure off, not to rehearse answers: a rehearsed story is always flatter the second time.
"Thanks for making the time. Before we start, a few quick things. Can you say a sentence or two so I can check your levels? [Check for echo, fan noise, a laptop mic.] Could you put headphones on, if you have them? It stops your mic picking me up. Here is the shape: I will introduce you, start with an easy one about [warm-up topic], then we will get into [topic 1], [topic 2] and [topic 3]. It is about [length], and we will stop at [time]. It is not live, so if you want to restart an answer, just pause and say so and we will cut it. If there is anything you would rather not talk about, tell me now. Is there anything you want to make sure we mention? Great. I will count us in."
Running the conversation
The run of show gets you through the hour. These are what make the hour worth listening to:
- Ask one question at a time. A double question gets the easier half answered.
- Follow the answer, not the list. The best follow-up is usually a word from what they just said: "You said it nearly failed. What nearly failed?"
- Ask for the example. "Can you give me a specific time that happened?" turns an opinion into a story.
- Signpost the blocks out loud ("Let's talk about pricing") so the edit has clean places to cut and chapter markers have somewhere to go.
- Glance at the clock at each block, not each question. If a block runs long because it is good, cut the lightning round, not the good part.
If the core blocks still need questions, the free interview question generator drafts them from your guest and topic.
How to end a podcast interview
The close is the part guests remember as the credit, and it is the part hosts most often rush. Give the guest the last word on where to find them, then end the recording on your terms so the edit has a clean last line.
"[Guest's first name], this has been great. Where is the best place for people to find you and your work?" [Let them answer. Do not talk over the link.] "We will put that in the show notes. Thank you for coming on [Show Name]." [To the listener:] "If you got something from this one, [one call to action]. Next week, [what is next]." [Stop the recording. Then, off air:] "Thanks again. The episode should go out around [date]. I will send you the link and a couple of clips you can share."
For the notes that go out with the episode, including a guest credit block, see the podcast show notes template.
Five podcast interview mistakes
- A long warm-up. Ten minutes of "so tell me about yourself" is ten minutes a new listener spends deciding to leave.
- Reading the question list in order. The list is a safety net. The conversation is the episode.
- No time left for the best topic. Put the topic you care about most in the first or second block, not the third.
- Ending on thanks. Give the guest the last substantive word, then thank them, then stop.
- Mispronouncing the guest's name. It is on the prep sheet for a reason. Ask before you record.
Sources and benchmark date
The episode length figure above is derived at build time from our own read of public podcast feeds, not typed in. The method and its limits are published with the measurement:
- Should you pitch short podcasts?
The episode length measurement: 382 feeds read on September 16, 2026, split into four length bands, and why a duration tag cannot tell an interview from a monologue.
Frequently asked questions
How do you structure a podcast interview?+
In seven parts: a cold open clip, a short introduction of the guest, one easy warm-up question, two or three core topic blocks with follow-ups, one harder question, an optional lightning round, and a close where the guest says where to find them. Write it on one page with a rough time for each part, and follow the conversation inside that shape.
What is a run of show for a podcast?+
A one-page outline of an episode's parts, in order, with a rough start time for each. It is not a script: it tells the host what comes next and how much time is left, so a good tangent can run without the episode losing its ending.
How long should a podcast interview be?+
Long enough for two or three topics to go somewhere, which for most interview shows is 30 to 60 minutes published. In our read of public feeds on September 16, 2026, the median published episode among the 78 shows that book guests and passed our checks was 41 minutes. Book 15 to 20 minutes more than you plan to publish.
How many questions do you need for a podcast interview?+
Fewer than most hosts write. For a 45 minute episode, three main questions (one per core block), two or three follow-ups for each, a warm-up and one harder question is usually enough. Most of the best questions in a good interview are follow-ups you could not have written in advance.
What should you say before you start recording a podcast interview?+
Check the guest's sound, ask them to wear headphones if they have them, tell them the shape and length of the episode, tell them they can restart any answer, and ask whether there is anything they want to mention or avoid. Do not rehearse their stories: they are always flatter the second time.
How do you end a podcast interview?+
Ask the guest where listeners can find them and let them answer without interruption, thank them by name, give the listener one call to action and say what is next on the show. Then stop the recording and tell the guest, off air, when the episode will go out.
More on the interview itself
Book guests worth structuring an hour around
List your show, say what you are looking for, and let guests who fit your topic come to you with a pitch, a bio and the link they want credited.