# Guest preparation Filmsers · Podcast Launch Kit · Worksheet v1 Create a concise guest-facing brief and a six-question interview ladder that invites specific stories while making logistics, boundaries and unresolved permissions visible. ## How to use 1. Adapt the guest brief with real logistics and send it through your normal process. Nothing here sends an invitation. Confirm name pronunciation, role and what the guest is comfortable discussing. 2. Use the six questions as a route through the story, not a demand for rehearsed answers. Ask one question at a time; follow the answer before jumping to the next item. 3. Record the producer's confirmation of recording and intended uses before the session. This is an editorial checklist, not a legal release; use your own reviewed agreements where needed. Keep private contact details outside the shared demo. ## Fictional worked example — Behind the Decision Original planning examples, not actual guests, recorded quotations or completed media. Timing is estimated; source references must be verified after recording. ### Guest-facing brief Hi Sam — we'd like to explore one decision from a delayed shoot for Behind the Decision. We want to understand the alternatives, not ask for a polished success story. Please confirm a suitable date, timezone and recording location with Rowan. We will agree the session length and intended episode/clip uses before recording. No booking is confirmed by this draft. ### Readiness and boundaries Sam is a fictional guest. Role and pronunciation to confirm; recording/clip permission unresolved. Invite a non-confidential production example. No client documents, private crew details or footage should be shared without checking permission first. ### Question 1 — Put us there What was happening when you realized the original schedule would not hold? Follow-up: What could you see or hear that made the problem clear? ### Question 2 — Define the constraint Which constraint mattered most in that moment? Follow-up: Was that a fixed limit, or an assumption you later challenged? ### Question 3 — Surface alternatives What options did the team seriously consider? Follow-up: What made the alternative you rejected look attractive at first? ### Question 4 — Name the trade-off What did you choose to protect, and what did that choice cost? Follow-up: Who saw the trade-off differently, and how did you resolve that? ### Question 5 — Examine the consequence What happened immediately after the decision? Follow-up: Which part do you know from direct observation, and which part is your interpretation now? ### Question 6 — Make it useful What would you ask before the next schedule slips? Follow-up: When would that advice not apply to another crew? ## Blank worksheet Show / episode: ____________________ Version: ____________________ Owner: ____________________ Approval / reviewer / date: ____________________ ### Guest-facing brief Write the invitation with show promise, episode question, recording date/time/timezone, location/link, expected duration and contact person. Your notes: ____________________ ### Readiness and boundaries Confirm pronunciation, role, accessibility needs, topics to avoid, materials the guest may share and the producer's permission status. Your notes: ____________________ ### Question 1 — Put us there Ask for the specific moment and follow up on what was observable. Your notes: ____________________ ### Question 2 — Define the constraint Ask what could not change and how the guest knew that at the time. Your notes: ____________________ ### Question 3 — Surface alternatives Ask for the options that were actually available and one rejected path. Your notes: ____________________ ### Question 4 — Name the trade-off Ask what was protected, what was sacrificed and who needed to agree. Your notes: ____________________ ### Question 5 — Examine the consequence Ask what happened next and separate observed results from interpretation. Your notes: ____________________ ### Question 6 — Make it useful Ask for a practical next-time check and the limits of the advice. Your notes: ____________________ ## Review before handoff - [ ] Date, timezone, access and session expectations are confirmed outside the draft. - [ ] Guest boundaries and intended recording/clip uses are resolved before recording. - [ ] Questions invite evidence and disagreement without scripting or pressuring the guest. ## Handoff Save a versioned copy with your production files. Nothing here records, imports, sends invitations, creates a feed or publishes. The demo is shared; keep guest contacts and private production details in your own files.