Before hosting an industry leader or niche expert, if you’re looking to connect with them on a deeper level, you’re expected to prepare some personal podcast questions to be asked before the interview session. Obviously, you’re required to do your homework on your guest, and tailor your questions to be personalized for your guest.

For a general overview on conducting a smooth interview, look up our article on interviewing your guest the right way. 

But if you just need some samples to get your juices going, we’ve got you covered. We’ll be giving you some good examples of personal questions to ask any guest on your show.

Categories and Examples 

Be mindful of the timing of your personal questions, you don’t want to start with them right off the bat as they might intimidate your guest, bring them up slowly as you see fit once you’ve broken the ice and have set the mood of the conversation and you feel like your guest is relaxed and trusting you.

Now let’s look at some of the examples.

Personal Relationship Questions

I’ve heard such and such about your relationship with … would you confirm?

This gives them the opportunity to tell their own story and expand on the situation, your role here is to follow up smoothly to get the full picture and let your audience understand the situation better.

Tell us about your family

Find out if your guest is a family person.

Personality revealers:

What do people misunderstand about you the most?

This gets the interviewee talking about their personal life. Your audience will most likely relate to the speaker’s words and find some comfort in the challenges they experience in their personal relationships. 

What annoys you the most?

A question of this nature makes the respondent self-reflect on the dark side of their character. Unconsciously, they start wondering on what brings them the most frustration in life, make sure you parallel this move with a laugh to be sure the conversation won’t get suddenly frustrating for your guest and listeners.

How do you find yourself with making decisions in life? 

To find out what type of person your guest is, for example they might be quick at making decisions, find it hard to make a decision or the type that thinks about it a lot in order to make a decision, this in retrospect let you understand better some of the decisions they made in life and what got them to where they are.

Profession Related Questions

What do you wish you had known when you started out?

The interviewee takes the listeners through memory lane, revealing the wrong approaches taken in their journey that could have been avoided if they knew better and also to acknowledge that everyone will make mistakes however the success they made in life.

Do you work better alone or with a team?

Your guest opens up about their work relationship with colleagues. Expose your listener to some of the practices for exploiting the advantage of a work environment. 

Is it true that being a family man limits the possibility of rising to your full potential in a field? 

It’s nice to smash some of the common misconceptions that people hold on certain subjects. Professionals enjoy the pleasure of disproving fables surrounding their field. 

Lifestyle Questions

How much sleep do you get every night?

A good question to ask if you’re hosting a successful entrepreneur. Listeners are interested in how they manage time and organize their schedules. 

What’s your diet like?

To see what are their beliefs around food and how they treat their body.

What are you passionate about?

Find out about your interviewee’s lust for life.

If you had a superpower, what would it be?

Such an off-the-wall question breathes a sigh of relief into the show. It’s good to take a pause from the intensity of the discussion and have a few laughs.

Conclusion

Your mind is probably exploding with personal podcast question ideas at this point. Write down any fresh ones that pop up without judgment and you’ll find yourself where you need to be after understanding your guest better.

Equip yourself with some techniques that will help you stand out and build the podcast of your dream by checking out The Ultimate Guide to Narrative Podcasting, a comprehensive article on producing an enticing story on your podcast.