The Most Important Five Minutes After Your Show

We are largely defined by our habits. A few positive keystone habits have a ripple effect on several others. Peter Lassally has been executive producer for Johnny Carson, David Letterman, and Craig Ferguson. After each show, Lassally made it a habit to sit down with these iconic hosts and go through an exercise that we call The Post Show Review.

The ripple effect from this exercise is that your content, character definition, and execution will all steadily improve on multiple levels. Patterns will emerge, and it will become clear which content connects with your audience and which does not.

The Post Show Review

Zero-in on the quality of the content. Is it A, B, or C-level content?  Look at the depth of character defining moments, including viewpoints, reveals, stories, etc. for each host. Examine how effectively the content was executed (setup, impact exit, what else, etc.).

Take five minutes to answer these key questions:

1. What were the content highlights on today’s show? Why?
2. What could have made it even better (if anything)?
3. What content didn’t work well? Why?
4. What could we have done differently to make it work?
5. What’s left over that can go on tomorrow’s show?

Make this exercise a habit for at least 120 days. It takes that long for a practice to become a habit. This model can be applied to public appearances and presentations, videos, vlogs/blogs, television shows, and interviews.

You may be surprised to find that your show or podcast organically takes on a life of its own as you make this exercise a habit.

Photo credit: flickr.com/photos/wwworks/