Weirding Word®

The Hardest Habit To Break: Bob Edwards on the Art of Interviewing

Award-winning radio journalist Bob Edwards recently delivered a candid, intriguing presentation on the art of interviewing for MediaBistro at the National Press Club.  Between audio clips of his interviews and stories about the making of those interviews, Edwards answered several questions.  His answer to my question surprised me most.

When asked about his biggest lesson in the field, Edwards didn't talk about ensuring balance in a story, or question preparation, or even mastering new topics.  He talked about finding your own distinctive voice.  His hardest habit to break was abandoning the voice of a journalist he admired, and creating that unique sound, style and cadence we've all come to recognize through his more than 30 years in radio.

And, this advice is relevant not only to broadcasters, but to those of us who conduct interviews, focus groups, client consultations, and any number of person-to-person forms of inquiry.  That includes journalists and freelancers, social researchers, recruiters and headhunters, performers, consultants and more.  Discovering and wielding our authentic voices -- through the flood of others' voices inside and outside our own heads -- is a skill that's key to success.  It's that unique voice that inspires and engenders confidence, trust and respect in those with whom we communicate.

What are some ways to harness your unique voice?

• Use your own words and terminology
• Approach the interview as a conversation
• Convey your interest and happiness to be there
• Begin with smalltalk instead of diving into the questions

I'd love to hear other recommendations for drawing on and using your own unique voice when interviewing people.

Gaea Honeycutt
blog@weirdingword.com

Weirding Word®, a division of G.L. Honeycutt Consulting, LLC, is a virtual publication department that provides editing, freelance writing, and publication and web design services.

Copyright 2007-2010 Gaea L. Honeycutt. All rights reserved.

Obfuscate at Your Own Peril: Deliver Information People Can Understand

A guest blog by Sally Strackbein

Has this ever happened to you?

You're listening to a high powered speaker give an impressive presentation. But at times it's like you are hearing a foreign language. You have a good vocabulary, but you feel like you should have brought a dictionary. You find yourself jotting down words to look up later, and discover that you've missed key parts of the presentation.

You've been bamboozled by an obfuscator.

Obfuscation: "The activity of obscuring people's understanding, leaving them baffled or bewildered. To make so confused or opaque as to be difficult to perceive or understand." (www.Dictionary.com)

Beware of obfuscators. They sound brilliant. They must be brilliant because their vocabularies are so superior. Their incomprehensible erudite commentary must be important because no one can understand it.

I first learned the "value" of obfuscation when I decided to major in philosophy in college. I was searching for the meaning of life. I began with introductory classes. I read the assigned readings and wrote papers analyzing what I had read. My papers were clear, easy to understand and to the point. I received grades of "C" or "B-". Those grades confused me. What was I missing? I thought I understood what I was reading. I was not accustomed to getting poor grades. I was upset.

I decided to try an experiment. I used my thesaurus to find obscure words to replace my clear ones. I obfuscated everything I said. I replaced my easy to understand paragraphs with cognitive opaqueness yielding professorial accolades: grades of B+ and A.

I learned to communicate at a college level, using the most opaque words I could find in my thesaurus. My professors were impressed. Many business journals are written in this academic style as well. When I began to write computer user manuals and train people, I discovered that my language needed to be more accessible. I had to unlearn my college lessons and use language people could readily take in and remember.

As a communicator, is your goal to sound impressive? Or is it to deliver information that people can understand and use?

If you really want people to understand you, if you really want to make your point, don't force people to reach for a dictionary when you speak or write.

Weirding Word®, a division of G.L. Honeycutt Consulting, LLC, is a virtual publication department that provides editing, freelance writing, and publication and web design services.

Copyright 2007-2009 Gaea L. Honeycutt. All rights reserved.