20 B2B Podcast Interview Questions to Get You Started

As the host of a B2B podcast, it's up to you to guide each show’s conversation with well thought out interview questions.

Remember, your guest is the star, so you want to tailor your questions to them to give your listeners the authentic, relevant answers they're tuning in for.

To save you some time, we’ve compiled 20 questions to get you started on the path to success. 

Let’s dive in with questions about your guest’s professional and personal life.

Dive Into Your Guest’s Profession and Personality

Digging into your guest’s personal life may feel like a professional foul.

However, you can phrase a question in a way that allows the guest to touch on something personal as an option. 

Consider these effective open-ended questions that give your guest a choice and start the conversation on a positive note:

• “To get us started on a good note, what’s something you’ve celebrated recently?”

• “I always love to begin with some good news. Could you share something positive that's happened for you lately?”

• “Let's kick things off with something positive. What's going well for you right now, personally or professionally?”

This type of question gives the guest a perfect opening to elaborate on a highlight of their personal life or avoid it altogether.

If you’d prefer to keep your interview strictly business, that’s okay! But bear in mind that your guest and your listeners are all human beings. And humans are emotionally invested in experiences. 

People care about personal branding. So by giving your audience a sneak peek into your guest’s personality, you will build an emotional bridge for your listeners.

With that said, here are ten more direct questions you can ask your guest about their professional or personal life:

1. How was your summer/winter/holiday/vacation?

2. What is your team working on right now?

3. What has been the most significant challenge for your team this year?

4. How do you handle interdepartmental disputes?

5. If you could go back in time, what would you tell your younger self before taking this job?

6. What’s a common misconception about your job?

7. How do you keep your team motivated when you run into a roadblock?

8. Who or what inspired you to pursue this career?

9. What have you found most rewarding about your role?

10. Where do you hope to see your company in 3/5/10 years?

Expand on Your Guest’s Field

You should also ask questions about your guest’s field to establish their credibility. 

After all, while you are well aware of their experience, your audience may not be!

Here are five questions you could use to draw great content from your guest about their industry:

11. What are the biggest changes your industry has seen since you started?

12. What are you most excited about for the future of your field?

13. What is the number one thing that is wrong with your industry today?

14. What direction do you hope your industry takes given (X)?

15. How well do you think the industry has dealt with (Y)?

Explore Your Guest’s Continuing Education

By “continuing education,” I don’t mean strictly academic pursuits. 

How is your guest staying motivated and growing? 

Your audience is listening to your show to learn. So what is your guest doing to keep their wits sharp, personally or professionally?

These questions can also tie into your guest’s work-life balance (yet another reason why I encourage you to give your guest the chance to bring personal points into the conversation!):

16. What’s your go-to brain fuel?

17. What tip would you give the listener about what we discussed today?

18. If you could pick one person's brain, who would it be and why?

19. What line of thinking in your industry do you think is flawed?

20. Is there anything we failed to cover that you’d like to share?

Know When to Deviate From the Game Plan

Remember, game planning your interview is essential, but some of the best conversations happen organically.

The critical takeaway is asking questions that focus on your guest’s perspective. 

When your guest hits on an interesting topic, don’t be afraid to follow up with real strategy questions: why, what, and how.

• “Why is that, [Guest]?”

• “What do you mean by (X), [Guest]?”

• “How do we do that, [Guest]?”

Expanding on your guest’s answers can give the audience a unique insight they may not find anywhere else.

Load Up With Thoughtful B2B Podcast Interview Questions

Listeners want to harvest the wisdom and knowledge your guest brings to the table. 

So always ask questions about your guest’s unique background and perspective.

Your audience will thank you for it by remaining engaged with your product.

If you’d like some more help prepping great questions for your podcast, drop us a line!