There’s been a lot of talk lately, I think due to the ease of anyone being able to podcast, of really bad interviews out there. David Pogue wrote about this the other day, and Om Malik weighed in today. I agree with all.

“Five Things Not To Do

1. Finish their sentences. You are not the subject. They are. So let them lead. Otherwise you get the answer you expected, not the one that was coming. (JG: THIS IS THE WORST. SHUT UP. ONLY JUMP IN TO CLARIFY FOR VIEWER/LISTENER.)

2. Volunteer your own references. Every time you name-drop, you redirect the conversation back through yourself. The subject stops leading. You get zero revelation. (NOBODY CARES. I TUNED IN FOR THE SUBJECT, NOT YOU.)

3. Mention your other work. Nobody you are interviewing cares about your other work. Unless they specifically ask or comment about it, it just gets in the way. (AGAIN SHUT UP UNLESS THE GUEST ASKS YOU DIRECTLY.)

4. Ask only comfortable questions. Agreement is not a conversation. It is applause. The interesting stuff lives precisely where the conversation gets uncomfortable. (IF YOU LOVED THEIR MOVIE OR ALBUM, I DON’T CARE. LET THE GUEST TELL ME ABOUT IT. ASK UNCOMFORTABLE QUESTIONS ARTFULLY.)

5. Fill the silence. Silence is the ultimate pressure. Pressure produces truth. The instinct to rescue the subject from a pause is the interviewer protecting themselves, not the reader. (THIS WORKS BETTER ON TV THAN AUDIO, BUT AGREED.)”