Most impactful 15 minute interview

Meet John Oltman — he took me in when my business had been robbed.

I’d established my new web marketing company in 1998 in a side office of my dad’s injection molding company out in Addison. After getting robbed twice, that second time, I called John and asked if I could take a corner in his office to run my business and he took me in like the friend’s always been.

Listen to the rest of the story below.

I was testing my theory of how rich a twenty minute conversation (edited down to 15 minutes) can be. I’ve added a touch of sound design to help designate changes in topics — transitions in the conversation.

This remains an example of the easiest interview and post editing interview I’ve done to date.

John had a simple structure to follow which was easy to do in his head — almost no editing was required for ums, gaps or misfires. It flowed naturally and authenticity while still imparting his talents and services.

Let me know what you think below in the comments.

10 to 20 minutes feels like the sweet spot in length.

The TED Radio hour produces 48 minute podcasts which build upon a theme and then combine edits and interviews with guests from previous TED talks. The lengths of the individual guests is not strict (though the final show is) but seems to average around the 10 - 20 minute mark.

Listen to any individual segments at The TED Radio Hour site to gauge how impactful 10 minutes can be.