Guest prep

# Guest prep

Welcome to Signals & Subtractions! This document tells you what to expect, what to send us before the show, and how to be at your best on air. Read it once before your episode. The whole thing is short on purpose.

If you are also one of our rotating cohosts, the cohost-specific guide lives at https://sigsub.show/prep-cohost so read that one too.

Contents

• The show in one paragraph
• The two things you bring
• Before the show
• The day of
• On air: what to expect
• After the show
• What NOT to do
• FAQ
• Tech support

The show in one paragraph

Signals & Subtractions is a weekly live editorial show on applying AI and the recomposition of work. Three voices each episode: host, a rotating cohost, and you our very special guest. 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.

The two main things you bring

1. 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.
2. 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."

Send both to your cohost 24-48hrs before your show. Two sentences each is fine. We are not looking for an essay, we are looking for the kernel we can build around.

Not sure how to actually come up with them? Follow the fifteen-minute method: https://sigsub.show/find-yours

You will also need:

• 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 thing you want viewers to leave with at the close. A URL, a CTA, a question, a project to look at. We give you 30 seconds at the end. Have it ready so we are not scrambling on air.

Before the show

• 48 hours before: Your cohost will reach out to confirm topic, your signal and subtraction sketches, and any topics you want to steer toward or away from. Reply same-day if you can. Surface any concerns now, not on air.
• 24 hours before: Sam Rogers (host) will send the Riverside session link via email or calendar invite. Test it: open the link, make sure your browser loads it, confirm camera and mic permissions are allowed. Then close it. Let us know if you have any issues or concerns hours before your show, while we can still make adjustments, rather than minutes before when we no longer can.
• Day before: Post a note to your network that you will be on (i.e. LinkedIn, Substack, etc.). One sentence is fine. Tag https://sigsub.show. We will reciprocate.

The day of

Thirty minutes before air

• Strong internet signal is required. Wired internet if you can, tethering not advised. If you have any doubt about your connection: https://www.speedtest.net
• Lights and camera before action. Background should not be a window, a lamp, or anything bright 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. Even if you do not feel like wearing them, have them ready for echo.
• 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, bio statement, etc. that you provided us the day before.

Five minutes before

• Open the Riverside link Sam sent you.
• You are now "live and on-air." Riverside is recording from session start. There is no "go-live" button on your end. Assume everything from join to disconnect is captured.
• Sam and the cohost will be in the session waiting. Say hello. We chat informally for a few minutes as people filter into the live stream. None of this gets edited into the polished video, but the live audience sees and hears it.

On air: what to expect

The show is approximately 45 minutes on air. Here is the default format:

1. Livestream banter. Sam opens, mentions the show is being livestreamed and recorded, intros the cohost and you to live audience (not for recording).
2. Show open. Theme music, host & cohost intros, you're off-screen but will be mentioned as special guest.
3. Current State News from the last week, host and cohost handle while you are off-screen.
4. Signals

1. Guest Intro. Host/Cohost bring you on and read your one-sentence bio. Brief response like "It's great to be here, thanks" is good. Add statement/commentary to Current State if we left something out. 2. Your signal. You go first. Two minutes target. Specific and recent. 3. Cohost signal. 2min 4. Host signal. 2min 5. Discussion & audience questions, aiming to conclude by half-past. Bring your opinions, experiences, wisdom, humor, and/or humility.

1. Sponsor segment. Short, you're off camera but may not be muted.
2. Subtractions

1. Your subtraction. You go first again, 2-3min. 2. Cohost subtraction. 2min 3. Host subtraction. 1min 4. Host synthesis. Sam closes the editorial spine and ties the three threads.

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

A few things to keep in mind on air

• 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/serious.
• 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.

After the show

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. If you want to reshare with a sentence of your own, please do. Authenticity beats volume, only reshare if it feels natural.
• Friday (polished video release): Sam posts the YouTube link (and makes the livestream link "unlisted"). Again, reshare with your own framing if and when it fits.
• Sunday (newsletter): the recap 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.

What NOT to do

• Do not pitch a product, book, or service outside your scheduled closing CTA. Mentioning generally "my book" 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, make it 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.

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 Riverside? 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. Riverside should sort it out.

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 + mic is fine if your environment is quiet. External gear is welcome but not required.

What browser? Riverside works best in recent Chrome-based browsers. 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. A polished 20-to-30-minute video releases Friday on YouTube. The cuts typically preserve all three signals, all three 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.

Where will this be shared? Live on YouTube, Substack, and LinkedIn simultaneously. Polished video Friday on YouTube. Sunday newsletter on Substack and LinkedIn, along with social clips. Podcast feeds on Apple and Spotify are coming soon, and will feature the polished cut 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. Riverside has its own help docs: https://riverside.fm/support

Tech support

If something is broken the morning of: text or email Sam directly.

Questions?

Email hey@sigsub.show. We respond quickly because we want you to look good and feel good when you come on air.