Thank you very much for your interest in being interviewed on the Business Diplomacy Today podcast! We will agree on a central topic in advance. Depending on where you’re based, we will record the interview face-to-face in Frankfurt, at another location, or remotely via the Internet.
Interview structure
Remember that the interview is not live. We can take a break whenever you need one. If you stumble or lose your thought, pause and repeat the sentence. We will edit it afterward. Since it’s only audio, you don’t need to worry about how you dress or move.
The interview will take 45 minutes to an hour to record. Each edited episode is between 20 and 45 minutes long. You will get the final edited version before publication; if there’s anything you’re not happy with, we’ll change it. Likewise, we reserve the right to cut certain parts. In extreme cases, we may decide not to air the interview if we don’t think it adds value to our audience.
We have two fixed elements in every episode:
A bold prediction: The world in ten years
Our host will ask you for one prediction about the world of international relations and geopolitics in ten years and its implications for business.
Executive Briefing – what you should read now
Our host will ask you to give the audience one reading recommendation: a book, an article, a journal, or something similar.
Please prepare for both segments.
Setup for remote interviews
If you’re not with our host on location, there are a few things you need to remember.
The room
You should be in a quiet environment. People talking in the background, traffic noise, and barking dogs negatively affect the audio quality and, ultimately, the likelihood of people listening to the episode. Likewise, ventilators and air conditioning produce humming noises. Please switch them off for the recording.
The equipment
We will record through the internet using Riverside. You will need a laptop or desktop PC with a reliable internet connection. If possible, connect to the internet via a network cable rather than Wi-Fi.
Riverside works best with Chrome. Close all applications you don’t need during the recording, particularly those that might try to use your camera or microphone. We will use webcams to see each other during the interview, but we will only record the audio.
The microphone
Good sound quality is extremely important for the success of a podcast episode. Therefore, please never use your computer’s inbuilt microphone, which rarely has good sound quality.
Are you looking for a high-quality microphone that’s easy to use? We recommend the Shure MV7 or the RØDE PodMic USB, both of which you can plug into your computer via USB. The Samson Q2U and the Audio-Technica ATR2100-USB are good budget alternatives. If you go for another device, make sure it’s a dynamic microphone, not a condenser one.
Please use headphones rather than loudspeakers, as the sound from the speakers will “bleed” into the microphone, creating annoying distortions and echoes.
Guest information
We need a few items from you to announce and promote your episode.
