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3 Ready-Made Podcast Structures

This time, I'll show you three universal templates that make it easy to build a conversational podcast show.
Recently, a friend planning her first business podcast came to me for a consultation. The idea is simple: they and three friends will gather in front of microphones and discuss what they usually chat about over a glass of beer - personal stories, business dilemmas, and anything that genuinely concerns them. But how do you prepare for such a recording? How to moderate it? What if guests have nothing to say? Or will they all start to pull in different directions?
Structure will help with this.
While most podcasts sound like spontaneous chatting, each one actually has a logical structure at its core. It helps podcasters prepare a script in advance, then moderate the conversation during recording, and finally edit the episode in post-production. This way, the structure helps organize the material at all stages.
Now, I will tell you the difference between the three structures and show you how to use them in practice.

1. Collection

It consists of several disparate exhibits that are united by a common theme. Exhibits can be rearranged without serious damage to the meaning. Here's how to construct such an episode.
Topic: "3 stories about people who achieved business success using the most unexpected skills"
Exhibit 1: Jennifer worked in intelligence forces and then used it in business.
Exhibit 2: Michael worked in a cleaning service and then used it in business.
Exhibit 3: Bob did stand-up comedy and then used it in business.
Bottom line: Looks like you can make a business out of any skill.
A podcast compiled using this principle may not even have a single thesis or conclusion. The main value of the Collection is its selection of interesting exhibits, just like at an exhibition.

Examples where this structure works:
  • Benjamin (BJ) Pirus, the host of the "Crypto Trading Secrets" podcast, asks all guests questions relating to the show’s three main segments — finding the bottom, trade secrets and the next bull run. Guests come from different industries and backgrounds, and their answers vary, but standardizing the questions sets the format, expectations, and consistency.
  • In one show, "There Was Such a Case," the host-entrepreneurs answered 3 questions from listeners in each episode. The questions relate to different topics, and the answers can lead in different directions. But the Collection format helps organize this chaos.
  • Esquire magazine had a column "Rules of Life": they talked with celebrities from different industries but published a concentrated Collection of aphorisms instead of full conversations.
  • The same structure is used for selections in media, tourist guides, or LinkedIn carousels: "5 of the loudest WEB3 startups of 2023", "10 best beaches in Portugal", "3 reasons to work on your personal brand".
  • This is the same structure used for this article: "3 Ready-Made Podcast Structures."
All these examples deal with different media and concepts, but they have one thing in common - they adhere to the same structure. All these podcasts, articles, and posts are essentially Collections.

2. Pyramid Structure

In this case, you build a pyramid of reasoning: you start with the main question, then break it down into several sub-questions and arguments. In the end, you arrive at a reasonable conclusion. Unlike the Collection, this structure requires a thesis and conclusion - after all, everything is built around them.
The main question: "Is it possible to start a business regardless of your background?"
Argument 1: Upbringing doesn't matter. Look at Jennifer, who was discouraged from doing business at school but eventually became an entrepreneur. Education doesn't seem to be a barrier.
Argument 2: Initial capital isn't necessary. Look at Michael, who started without any money. You can succeed without funds.
Argument 3: An MBA isn't required. Bob used his stand-up comedy skills to build a successful business. Any skill set can lead to entrepreneurship.
Conclusion: It turns out that you can start a business with any background.
This structure suits complex topics requiring multiple aspects of the same problem. Its main value is the comprehensive study of the topic, leading to a well-reasoned belief based on facts and sound arguments.
Examples where this structure works:
  • Most workplace reports and presentations follow the pyramid principle: "Should we increase our content marketing budget? I think yes. Here are my arguments... As you can see, increasing the budget will strengthen our market position."
  • In the podcast about cultural and language barriers, "Fucking English," we also use a pyramid structure. Each episode has a main question: for example, "How can you invite yourself to a bar with your colleagues if they forgot to do so?" And within the framework of this question, we always consider three aspects, for example: "How to remind politely?", "How to extend an invitation without being too pushy?", "How to gracefully refuse and accept refusals?". Each subtopic has its own English and cultural history lesson, and together they all contribute to the broader understanding.
  • These Newsletters often use a parallel structure (e.g., "How long should a podcast be? Arguments for long durations. Arguments for short ones. Conclusion: ask your listeners.")
The pyramidal structure requires organization and discipline, but it makes even complex topics understandable. This is why it's favored for onboarding, training, and presentations.
💡 I call this the "pyramidal" structure as a tribute to Barbara Minto, the McKinsey consultant who studied and described it in detail. But I imagine it as a rhombus: the main question at the top, arguments forming the widest part, and the conclusion at the bottom. Perhaps visualizing it as a rhombus will also help?

3. The Path

In this structure, you tell a story by listing events in chronological order (but sometimes breaking that order). This structure may not contain a selection of interesting exhibits, a thesis, or a conclusion. However, it cannot do without a character, their goal, plan A and B, obstacles, battles, and everything that makes up the mechanics of storytelling - the "hero's path."
I will discuss this mechanic in the next newsletter,s but for now, I will present this structure in the most general terms:
What is this story about: The hero strives to build a business because they long for freedom and self-realization, but their environment constantly creates obstacles for them.
The call to adventure: The hero lived in a military environment but saw that entrepreneurs lived a much more interesting life and wanted to do the same.
Plan A: She decides to join a corporation to learn the business from the inside. She faces obstacles and soon realizes that an office career is not for her.
Plan B: Finally, she decides to quit and start her own company, but then almost goes bankrupt.
The final battle: Everything is decided in a confrontation with others, herself, or circumstances. She wins using the skills she acquired in her previous military life.
Conclusion: Wow, she achieved business success using non-business skills! Maybe I can do this too!
The main value of "The Path" is to convey individual experience. A story creates a strong emotional connection, trust, and a sense of community. It appeals not to formal logic but to our humanity.
Some examples where this structure works:
In general, every time you follow the character’s story, "The Path" structure is present.

How to mix these structures

If you follow the three structures very literally, it can get a little confusing. For example, if you want to fill your podcast with the stories of real people, does that mean you have to build your podcast around the "Hero's Journey" principle? If you want to teach, do you have to build a pyramid? Nope.
These structures can be interchanged and mixed, for example:
  • If you want to teach, why not tell a thought-provoking story instead of piling up the Pyramid of Reasoning? Perhaps "The Hero's Path" will have an even stronger impact on listeners.
  • Why not make a selection of stories? Let each of them be structured according to the mechanics of the "Hero's Path", but together they make up the Collection.
  • Or create a Pyramid, but organize the arguments in it like a Collection: "Do we need to increase the marketing budget? Here are 5 examples where companies like ours doubled their budget and gained an advantage in the market. The conclusion is yes, we need to increase the budget." This works too.
In other words, these structures can be treated very freely. They should not limit you; on the contrary, they are needed to help you organize the flow of thoughts, theses, and stories that will emerge if you give the presenters microphones and allow them to talk about whatever and however they want.

How will this help organize the material?

If you already have ideas for what to discuss on your talking podcast but don't know how to organize them, try one of these three structures. For example, this is what I recommended to a friend for her business podcast:
Let's try to build a Collection?
Each episode begins with one of the co-hosts bringing a cool story for discussion: "Can you imagine, I fired an employee for the first time this week! This is how it went..." Then, each participant tells their story about the first or most difficult dismissal. Each episode becomes a collection of real-life stories on one topic.
The format is: topic; Jennifer's story, Michael's story, Bob's story; outro and goodbyes.
When hosting a podcast, lengthy discussions like "On the one hand..., and on the other hand..." can be gently avoided - leave that for the Pyramid.
Or let's build a Pyramid?
Let the presenter come to the recording with a question, for example: "My employees are missing deadlines, what should I do?" Then they, together with their co-hosts, will sequentially discuss each aspect of this problem: how to weed out unorganized people at the hiring stage; how to manage employees so that they don't miss deadlines; both fines and rewards; how to fire. At the end, the presenter sums up: "This is what I need to do so that my employees no longer miss deadlines."
Then the scenario will look like this: topic, subtopic 1, subtopic 2, subtopic 3, general conclusion.
During the podcast, all that remains is to moderate so that everyone stays on topic and subtopics - otherwise, the chaotic conversation will be difficult to edit in post-production.
Or let's organize a “Hero's Path”?
Every recording a new guest comes to you and tells her story: with ups, downs and final battles. And you, as the presenter, will guide her with your questions, and also sometimes tell her something relevant from your life.
Then the scenario would be: inciting event, plan A, plan B... final battle.
During the presentation, all that remains is to ensure that the hero describes all the key steps of the “Hero’s Path” that they managed to complete.

🦄🦄🦄
That's all. Structure your podcasts - either as a collection, pyramid, or "Hero's Journey"; experiment and explore. After all, podcasting is infinitely more diverse than any schemes we try to describe it with. For example, I'm considering making a podcast in the format of a cumulative fairy tale one day - to go beyond the three basic structures. Why not?
Don't forget that you can entrust this work to us - we do it brilliantly. For example, listen to our ongoing podcasts:
  • Crossing the Desert. This is the first reality podcast about business in the UAE. You're about to discover the journey of an enterprising individual who unexpectedly found himself in Dubai and is now striving to establish his roots here. Prepare for dozens of incredible stories!
  • Everything is Personal. Navigate the ups and downs of successful tech professionals with "Everything is Personal," a conversational podcast presented by Fortis and hosted by Victoria Belousova, Fortis' Chief HR Officer.

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