I enjoyed this recent ATC story about the interview skills guru, John Sawatsky. “The Sawatsky Method” contrasts sharply with the confrontational attack dog methods most of us associate with people like Mike Wallace:
Sawatsky’s rules are simple, but he says they get broken all the time: Don’t ask yes-or-no questions, keep questions short and avoid charged words, which can distract people. In his seminar, Sawatsky points to Mike Wallace of CBS’ 60 Minutes and CNN’s Larry King as examples to avoid. In Sawatsky’s illustrative clips, King favors leading questions that generate curt answers, while Wallace’s rapid patter fails to get a subject to speak candidly.
More on Sawatsky here and here, including this gem:
The best questions, argues Sawatsky, are like clean windows. “A clean window gives a perfect view. When we ask a question, we want to get a window into the source. When you put values in your questions, it’s like putting dirt on the window. It obscures the view of the lake beyond. People shouldn’t notice the question in an interview, just like they shouldn’t notice the window. They should be looking at the lake.”
Even for non-journalists, if you need to conduct the occasional interview, Sawatsky’s got some golden tips.