Anne Bogel has spent the last six years of her life doing something uncanny: Every week on her hit show, What Should I Read Next, she excavates a guest’s reading life in fine detail. Then she recommends books that always seem to be the perfect choices for that guest, no matter who they are.

It’s not just her unusual ability to pair book with reader that keeps her show at the top of the charts. It’s also the way Anne approaches hosting – as the art of practicing deep hospitality for her guests. That keeps her in listeners’ hearts, year after year. 

It also makes Anne in-demand as public speaker. As intimate as she is with her podcast guests, you might never guess how raucously fun she is in front of a live audience! 

If you dream of moving effortlessly between studio and stage, this episode is for you. 

Anne Bogel is an author, the creator of the blog Modern Mrs Darcy, and host of What Should I Read Next? podcast and Modern Mrs Darcy Book Club. Anne loves talking to readers about their favorite books, reading struggles, and of course what they should read next. Anne lives in Louisville, Kentucky, with her husband, four children, and a yellow lab named Daisy. Follow Anne on Instagram.

What Should I Read Next episodes discussed on today's show: 
Ep 350: “Book mail keeps us together”
Ep 351 “Book Club Favorites: LIVE from Bookmarks!”

Anne Bogel's holiday gift book recommendations for your favorite hosts and producers: 

1. The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker (discussed at 38:54)
2. Out on a Wire: The Storytelling Secrets of the New Masters of Radio by Jessica Abel with forward by Ira Glass (39:29)
3. I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai, due out in February 2023 (40:13)

Scroll down for hosting takeaways from today's show. 

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Takeaways

1. We may not think of it this way, but the word “host” comes from the word “hospitality.” Anne takes that literally – she and her team practice hospitality consciously. They do everything they can to make their guests feel welcome and at ease. That hospitality starts with the way they invite guests, to how they prepare them, to the ways in which Anne calms their nerves at the start of an interview. The result of such care shows in the relationships she builds with her guests – and, as a consequence, with devoted listeners. 

2. Anne practices hospitality in the manner that Priya Parker describes in her book The Art of Gathering – and that means understanding and explaining the purpose of that gathering or interview at the very beginning. “It can feel silly at first to name your purpose,” she said. But it helps you and your guests immensely to say: "What is our purpose in being here today, in having this conversation? What do we hope you take away from this?" Don’t let these important guideposts remain unspoken. 

3. You’re not the same host in a quiet studio as you are in front of a live audience. Or at least you shouldn’t be. Before you host an episode – or a live event – visualize how you want the audience to feel. As Anne says, the visual for a conversation with a single guest might be two people at a table leaning over their lattes. But the visual for a panel discussion in a room of hundreds of readers is big! As she put it, “Come on in. The water is warm! Big Momma’s shepherding! There’s room here for all of us, and we’re gonna have a ball.” They’re both positive kinds of energy, but they differ dramatically. 

4. Hosting a great roundtable takes a different kind of expertise than hosting a conversation with a single person. It requires deft moderation, an ability to think like an orchestra conductor and sometimes a tightrope walker – along with the diplomacy to manage several egos. Anne plans ahead to give guests equal time and to ensure a lively flow of conversation. And she also thinks about how to inspire guests to tell stories that they haven’t told before – by artfully asking for specifics…like a memorable experience at a book club. And remember – sometimes that first story sets the tone for all the rest. 

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Subscribe to Sound Judgment, the Newsletter, our twice-monthly newsletter about creative choices in audio storytelling. 

Connect:

Facebook | LinkedIn | Instagram

✉️ Email Elaine at [email protected]

💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts

🟢 Leave a rating on Spotify 

🗣️ Share the show by word of mouth and on your socials

Help us find and celebrate today’s best hosts
Who’s your Sound Judgment dream guest? Email me: [email protected]. Because of you, that host may appear on Sound Judgment.

Credits 

Sound Judgment is a production of Podcast Allies, LLC. 

Host: Elaine Appleton Grant

Podcast Manager: Tina Bassir

Production Manager: Andrew Parrella

Audio Engineer: Kevin Kline

Production Assistant: Audrey Nelson