Hey there, I'm Devin!
Most of the time you can catch me deep in the world of internal comms at Workshop (yes, the Happy Mondays folks!), and while I love AI, there are just some comms questions that need a human who really gets it… that’s me!
Hey Devin — I’m scripting a podcast episode structured as a conversation with our CEO, who just published a book about AI and the role of humans in it. I want him to come across as human — not overly polished or corporate. We’re a Spanish-owned company, and I’m hosting in English. Any advice on a strong opening, and maybe a way to nod to our roots without it feeling forced?
Ooh — okay, I love this one. There’s something so satisfying about a CEO interview that actually lands like a conversation instead of a press tour.
Here’s where I’d start: sit down with your CEO ahead of time and talk through what actually matters to him about this book — avoid going over the summary here! Anyone can get that. What you’re after is the why. Why this book, why now, where did the idea even come from? Those are the questions that get you past “I wrote a book about AI and the role of humans” and into the actual reason he felt strongly enough to spend a year (or however long!) writing the thing. Once you’ve got his answers to that, you basically have your talking points — and they’ll come out sounding human because they are human, not because you engineered the interview to feel that way.
Now, the Spanish roots piece — I think it’s great that you want to honor that, and here’s my honest take: don’t have your CEO switch into Spanish mid-interview if you’re hosting in English and aren’t fluent yourself. That’s more likely to throw both of you for a loop than land as a tribute. Instead, I’d pull that thread elsewhere. A couple ideas: translate the episode transcript into Spanish so Spanish-speaking employees can read the key takeaways even if the audio itself is in English — we do something similar with translated email at Workshop, and it’s honestly one of the simplest ways to make sure people get comms in the way that actually works for them. Or, if you’ve got the capacity, film a short teaser with your CEO speaking Spanish — something as simple as “hey, I’m going to be on this podcast” — to build a little excitement leading up to the episode. You get the tribute without forcing a format that isn’t yours to carry.
One more thing, and this is more of a bonus tip than a rule: it’s worth figuring out which format your CEO actually excels in before you assume podcast is the move. Some CEOs are incredible writers and stiff on mic. Some come alive on stage and freeze in front of a written brief. Sounds like yours already wrote a whole book and is comfortable enough to sit down for a conversation about it, so — lucky you, honestly, that’s not everyone!
