Twenty years with LAPD taught me the difference between an answer and a press release. This is everything I know about asking, listening, and telling a story worth hearing, written for the people who run Santa Clarita's businesses and for anyone who puts other people in front of a camera.
Twenty years taking statements for LAPD taught me that most people asking questions are really just waiting to talk. Here is what actually gets an honest answer.
Read it →Somewhere around year three of taking statements I learned to hear the difference between a real answer and a rehearsed one. Here is how to spot it, and what to do next.
Read it →The most effective interview tool costs nothing and requires no skill. Most people cannot do it because it feels unbearable. Here is how to use silence properly.
Read it →Rehearsed answers have a signature. Once you can hear it, you cannot unhear it. Here are the tells, and what to do when you spot one.
Read it →The prepared question is a door. The follow-up is the room. Here is how to build a second question out of what somebody just said.
Read it →People use the words interchangeably. They are opposites in intent. Here is the difference, from someone who did one for twenty years and now does the other.
Read it →You can ask somebody anything if you have earned it and they know it is coming. Here is where the line actually sits.
Read it →Most body language advice is folklore. Crossed arms mean nothing. Here is the short list of what is genuinely useful, and the much longer list of what is not.
Read it →Five minutes of the right prep beats two hours of the wrong kind. Here is exactly what to do before your first interview, and what to skip.
Read it →Nerves before an interview are normal and mostly useless information. Here is what actually reduces them, from someone who has put a lot of first-timers in the chair.
Read it →Most owners can describe what they do and cannot tell a single story about it. These three cover almost every question you will ever be asked.
Read it →The most common question in business gets the worst answers. Here is a structure that works on a podcast, at a networking event, and at a barbecue.
Read it →Everybody blanks eventually. It is far less visible than it feels and there are three clean ways out. Here they are.
Read it →Naming what is off limits does not make you a hard guest. It makes you an easy one. Here is how to do it in one sentence.
Read it →Two minutes of setup separates a video that looks professional from one that looks like a hostage tape. Here is the whole list.
Read it →Most guests have no idea what happens between the recording and the release. Here is the whole pipeline, and what you should expect to receive.
Read it →First-timers need different handling than practised guests. Here is how to get a real conversation out of somebody who is quietly terrified.
Read it →Some questions cannot produce a good answer no matter who is answering. Here are the worst offenders and a replacement for each.
Read it →Send topics. Never send the question list. Here is the difference and why it decides how the conversation sounds.
Read it →Short shows respect the listener. Long shows respect the subject. Here is how to decide which one you are making.
Read it →Sometimes a conversation stalls, wanders, or gets uncomfortable. Here are the specific recoveries for each, and when to stop recording entirely.
Read it →Over-editing is as damaging as no editing. Here is what to cut, what to leave, and the line you should never cross.
Read it →Most interviews just stop. The ending is the most memorable part of the episode and almost nobody plans it.
Read it →Everybody wants to interview founders who raised money. The person running a real business in your town has a better story and nobody has asked for it.
Read it →Most origin stories are sanded smooth until there is nothing left to hold onto. Here is how to keep the parts that make it yours.
Read it →After twenty-seven years around business in this valley, the same three mistakes come up in almost every conversation.
Read it →A single fifty minute conversation is roughly four months of posting. Here is the actual breakdown of what comes out of one recording.
Read it →Audio is easier to make. Video is what a local customer needs to see before they trust you with their money. Here is the tradeoff honestly.
Read it →Most guests post their episode once and never touch it again. Here are the specific places it should live and keep working.
Read it →Release day is the smallest day in the life of a good interview. Here is the schedule that actually gets value out of it.
Read it →Twenty years ago I started interviewing the Santa Clarita business owners I actually trusted. Here is why the show is back, and what it is really about.
Read the story →Your background, what sets you apart, and the state of AI and the local economy. Here is the whole map.
Read the story →It costs nothing, it is a little therapeutic, and your episode gets syndicated everywhere. Why coming on does so well for local owners.
Read the story →Trades, restaurants, shops, health, services, and more. If you run something real in this valley, you belong here.
Read the story →