Episode number 2 of the The Corporate Corner Podcast is out and I am so happy to share this conversation with Mike Kubena.
This was my first interview and it was important for me that it was Mike, I really like to talk to him and I knew it wouldn’t overly stress me.
So off we went to Denver to see Mike, this was back in August this year and we were in California so Colorado was only 2 hours flight away.
We started the day with a 70 kilometer bike ride. We had been saying for years we were going to cycle together and this was the opportunity and I knew it was also a good chance for me to get Mike a little tired before the conversation.
Very nice cycling roads around Denver and the ride took us out to beautiful Cherry Creek State Park and on the way a coffee pit stop at the nicely located Starbucks at the Platte River Trail.
Finally the conversation. First I couldn’t find the dongle needed to connect the RODE mics to the Iphone and I was a bit panicking but finally found it.
Clipping these microphones on your chest is a nightmare and of course mine is not correctly adapted and you’ll hear it in the interview, the sound is too low. Fortunately Mike’s mike is sitting perfectly and his voice is bearing loud and good. W
Was I nervous?
No, nearly 4 hours bike ride and talking to someone I often talk to in the past made it easier. But before the first question I felt a chill of excitement, this is so cool to be able to do!
Were the questions prepared?
I had an idea what I wanted to talk about, but nothing specifically written down. Detailed preparation is not my best thing and I do believe it is important to follow the flow of the conversation.
Mistakes and lessons learned
While listening to it I can see I ask far to many closed questions. Never ask a question that can be answered with yes or no, but fortunately Mike picked up on them and elaborated.
I also see many missed opportunities to go deeper. This usually happens, as in real life conversations, when you are so focused on the next thing you want to ask and you stop listening and only want to place the next questions. We could for sure have dived much deeper into some of the subjects and afterwards we both agreed on that and that we can follow up with a conversation on some of these topics.
Equipement
Despite all recommendations read that you need to have sophisticated audio equipment to perform an interview at the end the easiest is to use the phone. Probably not as good sound quality as a studio equipment would bring, but the alternative to perfection could easily be nothing is happening. So here is what is used:
- Voice Memos on IPhone 8
- Smartlav + microphones from RODE
- GarageBand on MacBook Air to edit
- Music bits from Storyblocks
The editing process
This was definitively the most difficult part. It took forever, like 20 times the length of the interview. I was so annoyed with my own voice that I tried to cut out as much as possible and at the end I had to start all over again several times as I more or less removed myself from the talk. Doing it with GarageBand was also new to me so it took a while to get the hands around that and it is clearly an art in itself.
Conclusion
Happy that if finally is being put out and grateful for Mike who talked so openly about his experiences.
