The subtle art of steering an interview
Written by Mandy Minick
There is a natural power imbalance to any interview, if for no other reason than because interviewees are subject to the questions of interviewers. The tradeoff for interviewees is they, presumably, will get the opportunity to talk about an issue, event, project or organization they want to promote as long as they endure whatever other questions the interviewer decides to ask. If and when you find yourself in the shoes of the interviewee, knowing how to deftly pivot conversations back to your main points is an invaluable skill to have. Below are some tips to help you steer a conversation, even if you’re technically not the one in the driver’s seat.
1. In a previous resource titled, “Tips for better on-camera interviews,” I recommended identifying and memorizing no more than three brief main points you want to make and then tying all answers back to one or more of those points. The best way to do this is to know those main points inside and out, and understand how they connect to larger issues. This way, you’re able to seamlessly weave your main points into an answer about almost any topic. If you do nothing else to prepare for an interview, you need to do this. Know your main points and ALWAYS come back to them.
For example, if the year is 1919 and your main point is that women should have the right to vote, if you are asked a frivolous and unrelated question about an upcoming bake sale, you could pivot back to your main point by saying, “I’m glad you mentioned the bake sale since it is among the most successful fundraisers in the county. The primary organizers, contributors, supporters and participants of the bake sale are women. It is a perfect example of the significant economic and civic contributions women make to our community which is all the more reason they should be able to vote on issues affecting the community.”
2. Now, this tip is very important because it’s the one where I advise you to flag or highlight your most important points. See what I did there? Flagging or highlighting is simply telling your audience that what you’re about to say is very important. This is a very helpful way to prevent an interview from veering off track. When you preface your main point by saying, “This is very important,” it focuses attention on what you’re about to say and it’s more likely to elicit a related follow-up question from the interviewer.
3. What happens if you are asked a question for which you don’t know the answer? A simple way to handle this is to acknowledge what you don’t know while using the opportunity to provide information you do know that relates back to your main point. It’s very important in this situation to NOT speculate, guess or make up an answer. NEVER give false or unverified information. If you don’t know, don’t pretend you do.
For instance, if you are a product designer who is being interviewed about the amazing new product your company is launching and an interviewer asks you a question about the impact rising gas prices will have on shipping costs for the product, you may not know the answer. Here is an example of how to acknowledge what you don’t know while providing helpful information you do know that brings the conversation back to your main point (which, presumably, is how great your product is): “I don’t know about shipping costs, but I do know this product was designed to take advantage of the latest, most efficient manufacturing technologies which have kept our production costs low, and we’ve passed those savings on to our customers in the form of a lower sale price.”
Mandy Minick is the principal and founder of Minick Public Relations, LLC. She is the immediate past chief communications officer for the Ohio Department of Education and has 20 years of public relations and entrepreneurial experience. Find Minick Public Relations on LinkedIn.