To Podcast guests

Dear guests of IQ Labs podcasts,

First and foremost, thank you for accepting my invitation. Your time and knowledge mean so much to me and my audience. Please do not underestimate your potential. You were invited because you have something valuable to share. Think of this podcast as a conversation between two friends. I realized over the years conversations are more effective in the initial stages of learning something than following a lecture. Once curiosity is induced, then the listener can follow a lecture and proceed. For example, if a friend asked me about the essence of calculus – I start with something interesting without going over the mathematical equations and proofs. I talk about the juicy gossip and historical side of things.

I am not an expert in your field, so feel free to suggest me topics that we should talk about. Powerpoint slides from previous guests can be found here.

 To get an understanding of what the podcast is, I have prepared a series of Q&As from previous guests:

1. This is not a live recording. Incase we make a mistake; I retake them and edit the rest.
2. We will converse in casual Sinhala – using English terms when necessary. Not like Doramandalawa. There are students who are not native Sinhala speakers.
3. Who watches these videos? From school children, teachers, parents, undergrads
4. Questions are sent in advance. If there are topics, articles, papers you want to talk – please send them to me (with links)
5. Podcast will be held on Zoom. It’s good to have headphones. Make sure there is light striking your face. It helps with the video quality.
6. Please don’t use virtual backgrounds or blurring effects. It’s okay if your room looks messy. Mine looks worse (I have two kids – you can imagine what my room looks like)
7. Share your screen if you need to show something. Have links/images ready beforehand on a PowerPoint.
8. What to wear? Smart casual is preferred. I usually wear a collared shirt. My wife says I look good in it (she might be biased).
9. How long will this recording take? After edits, a video would be 30 – 45 minutes in length. However, the meeting can take 1 hour or more. I will not keep you against your will 😛

Please send me the following:

1. A photograph of yourself – for the video thumbnail
2. A short bio/description about yourself
3. Links about your work, where people can reach out to you

Sample playlist of previous recordings: