The Art of Interview

Brian YS Wong July 19, 2024 22:13

Over my not particularly long career (thus far), I have had the opportunity and honour of interviewing politicians, statesmen, academics, and thinkers – from near and afar. And what a privileged experience it has been – one conversation would take me to the depths and intricacies of contemporary Kosovan and Montenegrin politics, and the other would see a heated debate over the present and future trajectory of the Paris Agreement in an increasingly geopolitically fractious world. Each and every interview I see as an invaluable learning opportunity: one that has enabled me to grow, mature, and harness my intellectual capacities in asking questions that – in my view – matter, and that should matter.

I can’t say I have any expertise on this subject matter – after all, I was never trained as a journalist. Yet I also can’t say that I haven’t some views on how interviewing should be conducted. And as I wrap up a trip in which I interviewed the sitting Secretary-General of ASEAN, I thought I’d spend some time going through my notes in the lounge, so as to share my personal reflections accordingly.

Firstly, take research and prep very seriously – but not so that you can draft polished, un-engaging, and formulaic questions that others have asked. Do extensive reading and focused studying in advance, to find the questions that have never been asked before. Don’t regurgitate, don’t parrot, and certainly don’t fall back on cliched questions that many in the audience are likely to have heard before. You are not here to act as a copy-and-paste machine ripping off the hard work of other journalists. You are here to present a new vantage point, a new story that few have heard before – to shed light onto the ‘sides’ that the subject has not considered before. Some of the best interviews I’ve watched saw the interviewee stumped, pause for thought, then gratefully compose genuine, robust answers to probing and unyielding questions. Don’t be lazy – have the courtesy of doing the ‘due diligence’ of sorts: that is, the studying that is due on behalf of the interviewer.

Secondly, go into the interview with an open mind, but also detailed and substantial knowledge about the subject. Where did they grow up? Who are they close with? What are their political allegiances and affiliations – their party, their faction within the party, and points of agreements disagreements with their counterparts. Why should they interest the layperson who has no clue whom they are? What are their flaws and strengths? Knowing such features will prove pivotal not only to your crafting the most enticing and ‘juicy’ questions, but also to your interactions with them. Are there topics that are immediate ‘switch-ons’ (e.g. political theory and authoritarianism for yours truly), or ‘switch-offs’ (e.g. anything to do with fashion, unfortunately, is not my cup of tea) that make the subject tick – or not? Having access to these quasi-hidden, quasi-secret heuristics would enable you to pierce the layers of cover your subject dons, way more quickly than if you hadn’t such knowledge.

Thirdly, your questions are to you, what sword and shield are to a warrior. An interviewer’s questions are the ultimate tools with which they engage in intellectual combat – musings make for excellent rants, but poor targets for response; hesitant mumblings are worse, for they carry neither weight nor purpose. To stay mum in the face of absurd assertions that merit calling out, would be a cardinal sin. To ask questions is both privilege and responsibility on the part of the interviewer – who should be neither deterred nor dazzled by the most grandiloquent of answers. Compel your interviewee to cut to the chase but do so in a way that is courteous and respectful of not just them, but also the time and floor that you share with them.

Fourthly, get accustomed to your own voice. This is an oft-overlooked point: many journalists walk into interviews wanting to emulate Stephen Sackur, Christiane Amanpour, or Hu Shuli. Or Wallace, or Cronkite, or Simpson. Yet at the end of the day, there is only one You on the planet, and only one voice that is truly, unmistakably, fundamentally yours. Harness it. Don’t lose it. Don’t blur it out just for the sake of blending it. As you strive to take on and hold to account figures from across the world – leaders of flailing autocracies, fumbling fools presiding over democracies, or buffoons masquerading as prophets – you must be prepared to speak up and speak out, to ask questions that few want to answer and even fewer dare ask. That, to me, is the true art of interview.

Brian YS Wong

Assistant Professor, HKU