Guest prep

What a guest should expect, send ahead, and do to be at their best on air.

Welcome to Signals & Subtractions! Everything you need is on this page. The top is what you actually have to do, and it is short. Everything under it is reference: open a section when you want it, ignore the rest.

If you are also one of our rotating cohosts, read https://sigsub.show/prep-cohost too.

The show in one paragraph

Signals & Subtractions is a weekly live editorial show on applying AI and the recomposition of work. Usually three voices: host, a rotating cohost, and you our very special guest. The cohost seat rotates and is not filled every week, so some episodes are host and guest only, which means more airtime for you. Your episode brief says which one yours is. Every voice brings one signal worth watching and one subtraction worth making. The conversation is editorial. Please be precise about what matters, and ruthless about what does not. Tight, playful, fast-paced, human, energizing. We are not the show where AI experts explain AI. We are the show for people AI-ing about AI: shipping into production, breaking things, and figuring out what to stop doing since the world just changed.

Send us five things, 24 to 48 hours ahead

Send them to whoever reached out to you, the host or the week's cohost. Two sentences each is plenty. We are not looking for an essay, we are looking for the kernel we can build around.

One signal. Something you are tracking right now in your field. Specific, recent, first-person. Not "AI agents are getting smarter." Yes "I rebuilt our intake flow around a small local model last Tuesday and these three things broke." Concrete examples beat abstractions every time.
One subtraction. Something you decided to stop, kill, or refuse to engage with. Yours. Specific. The thing you stopped doing this month and would tell a friend over coffee. Not "stop doomscrolling." Yes "I stopped attending standups and our team velocity went up."
A one-sentence bio for the on-air intro. Make it fun, not generic. Nobody on the show wants to read "passionate thought leader passionate about passion." Tell us what you actually do and one thing about you that humanizes the LinkedIn bio.
One link you want traffic on. LinkedIn, Substack, your own site, wherever. It goes on your episode page, in the descriptions, and in your on-air close.
A headshot, square if you have one, 1500 pixels or larger. It becomes your episode's artwork in Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and a profile-photo download usually goes soft at that size.

Stuck on the first two? The fifteen-minute method: https://sigsub.show/find-yours

Before the day: terms, the check-ins, and the session link

Terms. If you have not already replied "agreed" to the booking email, read https://sigsub.show/guest-terms (version 1.2, about a minute) and do that now. Anything you want handled differently, raise it before the session, not after.
48 hours before, Sam or the week's cohost reaches out to confirm the topic, your signal and subtraction sketches, and anything you want to steer toward or away from. Reply same-day if you can. Surface concerns now, not on air.
24 hours before, Sam sends the session link by email or calendar invite. Riverside or Ecamm depending on the episode; either way it is a browser link, nothing to install and no account to create. Open it once, confirm camera and mic permissions, close it. Flag problems while we can still fix them.
The day before, post a note to your network that you will be on (LinkedIn, Substack, wherever). One sentence is fine. Tag https://sigsub.show. We will reciprocate.

The day of

Thirty minutes before

Strong internet. Wired if you can, tethering not advised. Any doubt: https://speedtest.net
Lights and camera before action. No window or lamp behind you. Preview your camera; if a shadow makes you look haunted, fix it.
Bathroom, clean glasses, change shirt if needed. We will see all of it.

Fifteen minutes before

Water, tea, or coffee within reach. Whatever keeps your voice working.
Headphones plugged in. Required, not optional. The show records multi-track and speaker bleed ruins it.
Mic and camera connected and tested. Built-in is fine if it works; external is not required.

Ten minutes before

Reboot. Even though we live in the future now and this sounds ridiculous, it still helps.
Mute your phone. Mute desktop notifications. Close email. Close Slack. Close anything that dings or pings.
Quick refresh on the signal, subtraction, and bio you sent us.

Five minutes before

Open the session link Sam sent you. From the moment you join, you are on tape: the session records from join to disconnect and there is no "go-live" button on your end.
Sam and the cohost will be there. Say hello. We chat informally for a few minutes as people filter into the livestream. None of it gets edited into the episode, but the live audience sees and hears it.
Just before the open, Sam names the guest terms and asks everyone to say yes. One word is all it needs. Doing it in the warmup keeps it out of the episode while still putting it on tape, so there is a timestamped record that you agreed.

On air: the running order and what to expect

The show targets 40 to 45 minutes on air, and runs shorter or longer as the conversation goes. Below is the default, which assumes a cohost and a livestream. Two common departures: some episodes are host plus guest with no cohost, in which case you get roughly double this airtime; and some sessions are recorded without being streamed, so there is no live audience, no chat, and nothing about the livestream applies. Your episode brief carries the real run of show and says which it is.

Livestream banter. Sam opens, mentions the show is being livestreamed and recorded, intros the cohost and you to the live audience (not for recording).
Show open. Theme music, host and cohost intros. You are off-screen but mentioned as special guest.
Topic setup. Host and cohost frame the episode and hype you while you are off-screen. No news segment: anything about this week's headlines stays in the livestream banter and never reaches the episode.
Signals

1. Guest intro. They bring you on and read your one-sentence bio. A brief "great to be here, thanks" is good. Add anything to the topic setup if we left something out. 2. Your signal. You go first. About a minute for the signal itself, then a few minutes of discussion. 3. Cohost signal. About a minute, plus discussion. 4. Host signal. About a minute, plus discussion. 5. Discussion and audience questions, aiming to conclude by half-past. Bring your opinions, experiences, wisdom, humor, and humility.

Sponsor segment. Short, about a minute. You are off camera but may not be muted.
Subtractions

1. Your subtraction. You go first again; about 4 minutes with discussion. 2. Cohost subtraction. About 3 minutes with discussion. 3. Host subtraction. About 2 minutes with discussion. 4. Host synthesis. Sam closes the editorial spine and ties the three threads.

CTAs and outro. You get a short close: where to find you, one ask, one URL. Totally fine to pitch your service, product, or business here. Not fine to mention more than one.

A few things to keep in mind while the tape rolls:

The conversation is dialogue, not a presentation. We will ask follow-up questions. Lean into them. Keep it fun, especially if the content is heavy.
Concrete beats abstract. Examples beat principles. First-person beats third-person.
You are welcome to disagree with the cohost or host. Playful and civil disagreement makes good show.
Keep it SFW. No politics, no religion. Not because they don't matter, because they are not this show. We can't bleep you in the livestream.
If something goes wrong (your mic glitches, you lose your train of thought, your dog walks in), do not apologize repeatedly. Mention it once, calmly, and keep going.

What NOT to do

Do not pitch a product, book, or service outside your scheduled closing CTA. Mentioning "my book" generally is fine, plugging "my CAIO Playbook available on Amazon" is not.
Do not bring a signal that is just "look at this cool tool." We have a higher bar: specific to your work, and recent.
Do not bring a subtraction that is generic ("stop doomscrolling") or aspirational ("I am thinking about quitting Slack"). Make it real and made.
Do not arrive late. We start streaming at the top of the hour. If you arrive at quarter past, we likely will have started without you and folded your slot into the synthesis.

After the show: what happens, and what we ask

You are not required to do any of this. The show benefits when you share. Sharing benefits when it is genuine. We trust your read.

Within 30 minutes of the end: Sam posts a thank-you note with tags across several platforms such as LinkedIn and Substack. Reshare with a sentence of your own if it feels natural.
Thursday (the cut): Sam shares the edited episode with you before it goes out. Look at it if you can, same day if possible, since Friday is the release. Flag anything wrong, unclear, or worse than you meant it. This is a courtesy review, not an approval step: the final edit is Sam's call, but factual errors get fixed and reasonable asks usually get honored.
Friday (episode release): Sam posts the YouTube link and retires the Wednesday livestream recording, so the episode takes its place. Again, reshare with your own framing if and when it fits.
Sunday (newsletter): the newsletter goes out, typically with show clips as well. Same offer.
Anytime in the following weeks: if a clip from your episode lands on social and feels right to share, share it. We will tag you whenever we post your moments.

FAQ

What if something goes wrong on air? Don't panic. Mention it calmly. You are likely still being seen, heard, and recorded even if it doesn't feel that way.

What if I get kicked out of the session? Rejoin at the same link Sam sent. Apologize once if you like, then pick up where you left off.

Why do I hear an echo? Plug in your headphones. Turn off any other speakers connected to your device. If you've done that and still hear echo, stop talking for a few seconds and let the platform's echo cancellation catch up.

Do I have to wear headphones? No, but you have to have them ready to use within :30sec. The show is recorded with multi-track audio and speaker bleed ruins it.

What kind of camera, mic, or gear do I need? Anything that works. Built-in laptop camera and mic is fine if your environment is quiet. External gear is welcome but not required.

What browser? Recent Chrome-based browsers, whichever platform we are on. Safari, Firefox, and other non-Chromium browsers are less preferred.

What about clothes or appearance? Comfortable but professional. Whatever you would wear to a conference panel.

Will this be edited? Yes. The episode releases Friday on YouTube. It is cut to land where the argument ends rather than to hit a length, so nothing gets trimmed to make a number. The cuts typically preserve all signals, all subtractions, the sponsor read, and the synthesis. We may trim filler, tangents, or moments where the audio glitched. We will not put words in your mouth.

Do I get to see it first? Do I get approval? You see it first, yes. Sam sends you the cut on Thursday, before release. Approval, no. The final edit is the host's call, the same as it is on any show. What you get instead is a real hearing: tell us what is wrong, unclear, or lands harder than you meant, and we will look at it. Factual errors get fixed. If something genuinely damages you or breaches a confidence, say so and it comes out. What we will not do is re-cut the episode to a different argument because you thought of a better answer afterward.

How long is the livestream up? The recording is shared until the Friday episode is released, and then the episode replaces it. Nothing gets deleted, but people browsing YouTube, Substack, or LinkedIn after Friday find the episode, not the livestream. Practical upshot: if you want your network to see the unedited thing, point them at Wednesday. If you want them to see the version that lasts, point them at Friday.

Where will this be shared? Live on YouTube, Substack, and LinkedIn simultaneously. The episode Friday on YouTube. Sunday newsletter on Substack and LinkedIn, along with social clips. The episode is also an audio podcast, listed on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Pocket Casts, plus a video podcast on YouTube; every listen link is on https://sigsub.show. The podcast carries the episode, not the full livestream.

Can I get the raw recording? Yes. Ask Sam after the show.

Can you help me with my tech setup? Yes, but please ask before the morning of the show. If your episode is on Riverside, it has its own help docs: https://riverside.fm/support

Questions?

Email hey@sigsub.show. We respond quickly because we want you to look good and feel good when you come on air. If something is broken the morning of the show, text or email Sam directly rather than emailing the show.