The Art of A Great Question (Part 1)
Did you ever notice how interviewers seem to ask the same old questions again and again?
I can tell you what BBC Match Of The Day (football) post-match manager interview questions will be this coming Saturday.
It is so boring and predictable.And not just boring and predictable questions – we tend to get the same bland answers from the interviewees also.
This then becomes mind-numbingly boring.
Is this the same in South Africa? Or do the ‘journos’ there ask more interesting questions?*
Political journos very occasionally ask really great questions.
Even chat show hosts/interviewers
rarely ask their guests really interesting questions.
And more often than not, they’re reading questions from a card, or a pad, or maybe an on screen prompt.
‘Can you tell us about your new show or new book’ blah, blah bloody blah! etc. As they say in Ireland: ‘God Spare us!!’
There is one, a Yorkshire man, named Michael Parkinson who was a master of great questions. His interviews were beautiful. They flowed. Natural conversations. They are all still available. And worth a watch (e.g. he interviewed Mohamed Ali 3 times, I think!!). And peculiarly, he lives on after his death. His son is training a bot – feeding the bot all of his great questions and then the bot uses Parkinson’s accent, tone and pace, interviews a contemporary celebrity. Not my cup of tea. But each to his own – eh?
I was amazed to see one of the best music interviewers, Jules Holland, use no notes nor pads, just a flowing chat with several different musicians in between performances.
His show is called ‘Later with Jules’ on BBC TV and has run for 20-30 years. I highly recommend it – the sheer variety of outstanding artists – most of whom you won’t have heard of! (apologies for ending with a preposition!!) . Interestingly, all of the bands say it is the best music show in the world. Jules does ask one consistent question: ‘where did music start for you?’ type of thing.
But he does so with passion and genuine interest which is simply infectious.
BTW I was intrigued to see a BBC production assistant hold a large cardboard prompt with the names of the 6 – 8 different bands held high up for him! So as he walks around a massive circular studio/concert hall and briefly introduces every single band, where they’re from, where they’re touring – and, wait for it, …. it is all done in ‘one take’ (I’m including the general intro, the band performances, his comments in between, individual intro’s, his individual interviews oozing with genuine interest, constant eye contact and passion). Check out Jules on BBC iPlayer or youtube. One take! It must be the most cost efficient production in the world (as well as being interesting)!
But note, I’ll bet Jules, like all the greats, does his homework. His general music knowledge is vast. He also preps and reads up on his bands beforehand, I’m sure.
But after that, he goes with the flow. And asks questions, to which, you really want to hear the answers.
The art of a great question …. it is a rare skill …. when you hear a great question …acknowledge it….applaud it…save it.
Lastly, I was at a birthday party and in a small group of 4, someone said what do you do?’ to the person next to me who declared he was a doctor, followed by someone else who was an architect, me a writer and then this guy who was a bin-man. His declaration killed the conversation awkwardly. For those few moments the pregnant silence was agonising as everyone studied their toes. Then thank goodness, my sister in Law, Ruth, was passing by with a tray of drinks, stuck her head into our group and said: ‘a bin-man eh? I bet you don’t have to go to the gym after you finished work? How heavy is a full bin anyway?’ The conversation took off …. bins, waste, gyms, mirrors, fitness centres, and so much more rolled out – courtesy of an interesting question.
And it doesn’t have to be an aggressive confrontational question (as in political journalists) – it can be engaging, stretching, intriguing ….making people really want to hear what is the answer to that. And never forget our dear old friend – ‘a question from outside the box’, something wacky, weird or wonderful. You know what, the interviewees are often delighted and come to life with a smile when asked an interesting question. Why? Because they are so bored doing interview after interview – all packed with the same old questions. I watched a documentary about Radio Head on tour and they hated the interviews so much – they argued and forced each other to do the interviews as a penalty. But if you really do your homework, research the interviewee deeply, find something quirky and interesting and explore it with a good question – watch the interviewee light up! And watch the interview come to life!
And when you get a job and your boss asks you a difficult question that you can’t answer (and makes you think ‘I wish I prepared an answer for this question earlier’). That’s why they’re your boss. So anticipate and create, great questions.
Watch out. When you hear a really good question. Make a note of it. Write it down or record it. Admire it. Acknowledge it. Think about it. After all …it is special. Rare. Dying….. the art of asking great questions.
I believe in this new world of AI, critical thinking skills will prevail. So nurture this unique skill of asking great questions. In fact, you can improve all AI outputs by asking them great questions which will improve the quality of their output. Beyond the essential ‘can you cite all your sources?’, try asking ‘is there anything else I should be asking you?’ (I know its a bit lazy but it might just generate a great question you forgot to ask). Or try ‘What else do I need to know to make a great decision about xyz (NB define xyz in detail). I’ll leave you with one absolute peach of a question. Ask it selectively. Choose your recipient carefully. Try it around your own dinner table first. Then try it at a party. NB whether a party or a job interview always equip yourself with interesting questions (that you’d really like to know the answers to – so that you are guaranteed to have a much more interesting evening out by gaining some knowledge about something you are interested in. imagine collecting new thoughts every time you go out – just because you bothered to think of some interestiong questions before you go out. So the ultimate question….. Try asking: ‘What is your purpose?’
If you liked this, you might also like:
[] Creative AI – Public Invited to Chat with Dead Animals
[] HOW WE CAN STOP BROLIGARCHS CONTROLLING US (10 Steps)
[] Will ChatGPT + ChatBots + Avatars Make Us Immortal?
PR Smith
author and founder of SOSTAC® AI Assisted Plans sostac.org
Join in on his weekly AI, Innovation & Ethics chat every Fri 1pm-1.30pm (UK time) or listen later – on linkedin.
Images courtesy of www.tellingphoto.com
Paul is also author and founder of the Great Sportsmanship Programme sportsmanship.ie
