SECOND DRAFT
27
Better interviewsEPISODE 27 · Better interviews
Leave room for an answer
With Mara Bell, interviewer
Original fictional excerptSource timestamps included
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EPISODE 27 · EXCERPT
Leave room for an answer
Mara Bell · Interviewer
SOURCE TIME00:12:36
Mara BellGuest
After I ask a question, I count three quiet beats. If I jump in to rescue the silence, I often replace the answer the guest was about to give with my own. A pause is not a failed interview. It can be the moment someone stops giving the rehearsed answer.
Original fictional transcript · Time labels supplied in the example text
SOURCE TIME00:24:10
Mara BellContinued
For a follow-up, I pick up the last concrete thing the guest mentioned. If they say they threw away their first draft, I ask about that draft. I do not move straight to the next question on my list just because it is there.
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