Don't emulate television journalists

There was a time when television journalists asked challenging, interesting questions. Then they’d come at you with a follow-up that packed a powerful punch that made the interviewee really think. The questioning methods were a good model for sales professionals.

But I don’t think that’s the case any longer. The new style of one-on-one television interviewing is to state a series of facts, ask no real question, then simply stop talking and hope the other person takes over. If they don’t give an elaborate answer, you state more facts, dominating the conversation, until their pride takes over and they strive to hold their own with you. Have you noticed this? It’s used most often with those awful, lifestyle celebrity interviews you can see on primetime “news” programs, but I’ve seen it with political and business leaders as well. It goes something like this:

Journalist: “You took over the company in 1998, a man on a mission some would say…made immediate changes by firing several well-known executives…in many peoples’ opinions completely changed the direction of the company within one year to becoming more narrow in your vision of what the company should be.”

Business Leader: “Yes, all hard decisions, but they had to be made.”

Journalist: “In fact, you were criticized in the Wall Street Journal as having acted like you were riding in on a white horse. You traveled the country, made appearances on television to hype the new direction of the company…we even have copies of several memos you reportedly let leak to the press that demonstrated where you wanted to take things. Many felt you betrayed the founders of the company, alienated long-time, loyal personnel, and were hasty in making changes. Assertive actions from a small-town boy from rural South Dakota. “

Business Leader: “Again, I was brought in to improve the value of the company for customers and shareholders. This is an exciting time for the company, we’ve got a great window of opportunity in our industry.”

Journalist: “You were the only son of two musicians…some say spoiled, some say idealistic…some say a hillbilly. Yet you faced a great deal of adversity early on in life…”

And so the conversation continues with paragraph questions from the journalist and two-sentence answers from the interviewee.

Really, these are ego exercises for journalists. They do all the talking. They demonstrate vast knowledge of the person, with no obvious point to the dialogue. Don’t emulate this style of questioning if you’re in sales.

Always remember that your interview appointments with clients and prospective clients is about them and their challenges, not about you and your knowledge.