How to Prepare for Your DrTalks Guest Interview

We’re so glad you’re joining us. To make sure your recording session goes smoothly, here’s everything you need to know before we hit record.

Get Your Tech Ready

The single most important thing you can do is wear headphones or earbuds. Plug them directly into your computer rather than through an external microphone, audio interface, docking station, or monitor. Going direct helps Riverside correctly detect your audio devices and avoids the routing issues that can quietly derail a recording.

If you have an external microphone, use it. If you’re working with your laptop’s built-in mic, find a quiet room and close as many background apps and browser tabs as you can. A wired internet connection is ideal, but sitting close to your router works too.

We record on Riverside.fm, so make sure you’re using the latest version of Chrome or Edge. When prompted, allow microphone and camera access, then join using the link we send you. If you can restart your computer beforehand, even better. It frees up memory and clears out any background processes that might get in the way.

Tech checklist:

• Headphones or earbuds plugged directly into your computer
• External microphone (if you have one)
• Latest version of Chrome or Edge
• Riverside link ready to go
• Strong internet connection (wired or close to your router)
• Background apps and browser tabs closed
• Computer restarted if possible

 

Set the Scene

Lighting matters more than most people expect. Face a window or a lamp rather than sitting in front of one. A light source behind you will put your face in shadow, and that’s hard to fix in post.

For your background, keep it simple and uncluttered. Virtual backgrounds look fine in Zoom calls but tend to be distracting in recorded content, so a real wall or bookshelf is always the better choice.

Position your camera at eye level and frame yourself from the chest up. Looking slightly down into a laptop camera is one of the most common things we see, and it’s an easy fix: a stack of books under your laptop does the job.

Camera and environment checklist:

• Light source in front of you, not behind
• Clean, uncluttered background (no virtual backgrounds)
• Camera at eye level
• Framed from the chest up

 

Right Before We Start

If you can join five to ten minutes early, that gives us time to run through audio and video checks together and sort out any last-minute issues before we’re actually recording. Put your phone on silent, close your email and messaging apps, and silence any desktop notifications.

Before you join checklist:

• Join 5 to 10 minutes early
• Phone on silent
• Email, messaging, and notification apps closed

That’s it. We’ll handle the rest. Can’t wait to record with you.