How do you learn to ask great questions like Chicago Public Radio's Gretchen Helfrich (Odyssey radio program)?

December 13, 2006 1:38 PM

How do you learn to ask great questions like Chicago Public Radio's Gretchen Helfrich (Odyssey radio program, now cancelled ) ?

Obviously she is/was one of the most , if not the most, intelligent radio hosts on radio.

Because she seems to be brilliant in finding points of departure and inconsistencies from what her guests said earlier in the same show and come up with great questions based on them , seemingly on an impromptu basis.

Don't take my words for it. Listen to a couple of her shows at http://www.chicagopublicradio.org/audio_library/od_ra1.asp and you can tell for yourself this radio host asks really penetrating questions and is a very special host . A one in a thousand .

Even http://crookedtimber.org/2005/07/14/odyssey-cancellation/ would agree she is one of the best, if not the best.

I have listened to quite a few hosts and interviewers on radio and tv and in print and nobody else seems to come close to asking penetrating questions or exploiting weaknesses in a guest's arguments or is great at summarizing complex ideas just espoused by her guests and make more sense than most guests can.

So how does one go about learning to ask great questions like Gretchen Helfrich ?

I have a feeling her ability in asking great questions has to do with:
being present , listening with the whole body , having a curious mind , a keen interest in ideas and concepts and philosophy,reading widely, making it a habit to write down great questions , having a healthy dose of skepticism , not making assumptions , and having the calm of mind to break a problem down into manageable pieces and analyze a challenge logically and think under pressures.

But don't some hosts and interviewers already do this?

What do you think ?

What am I missing?

Thank you very much.

posted by cluelessguru to education (12 comments total)

A common problem with interviewers is to have a list of canned questions and ask them, one after another, without paying attention to the previous answers. Even if you spent days researching "great" questions, if you don't listen to what they are saying now and take notes you can look back on, it's all pretty worthless.
posted by JeremiahBritt at 1:52 PM on December 13, 2006

Is this a question or just a gush of praise for Gretchen Helfwich?

You seemed to answer your own question pretty well, but I'd highlight listening with the whole body. Or, to put it another way, listening selflessly - not listening and actively thinking "How can I relate / respond / react to that point?" but listening intensely - trying to get the full picture of what the user is saying by focusing solely on just that.

Also, I like the tactic of turning around things that a person may have said and forcing them to re-examine them. For example, I recently heard Michael Abrashoff speaking on leadership. He talked about how he had a tactic of asking his sailors what they liked least about his ship, what they liked best, and what the one thing they would change would be. When the Q&A time came in our session, I asked him the same 3 things about his experience with the Navy.
posted by allkindsoftime at 1:58 PM on December 13, 2006

I'm actually taking a university course in interviewing! It's been fascinating.

I think it's a skill that takes practice.

Obviously the best interviewers are prepared beyond just reading a Wikipedia entry like the rest of us hacks. They've done proper research on the subject, possibly with the help of staff who do the groundwork for them. As you said, they're usually well-read people with curious minds.

If they've done their research and written thoughtful questions they may not have to deviate from their notes much. I recently was allowed to sit in live on an hour-long interview show, and the host asked only one additional question to the 13 he had prepared. His questions followed an arc; his research had provided him with a sense of where the conversation would go, and he was always on top of things.

The vital skill that I know I need to work on is the ability to think and listen at the same time. (Disclosure: I have ADD.) On the same interview show, I watched a panel discussion with five experts. Yet the host was able to pay attention to what each was saying and there was a flow to the conversation with his guidance. Pretty fascinating.

If you have a journalism school near you I'd look into a course on interviewing. It could really help if you're in a related field or are just interested in how to communicate effectively.
posted by loiseau at 2:02 PM on December 13, 2006

Thank you very much for responding.

I am glad you guys bother to answer my question.

This is really a question about learning how to think and listen at the same time. And I know it is not easy.

I am a member of Toastmaster public speaking group and an improv acting group and I am still far from where Gretchen is.

So I really want to know what I am missing.

The suggestion about interview class is great.

What I also want to know is what works for you.
posted by cluelessguru at 2:32 PM on December 13, 2006

Well, she seems to stay away from chatfilter. That might help you in crafting better questions.

(I've found the key to great questions is research, research and more research. It also helps to take notes during the interview.)
posted by klangklangston at 2:34 PM on December 13, 2006

Here's an example of how NOT to do an interview.
posted by LeisureGuy at 3:12 PM on December 13, 2006

I learned a lot from this book.

The two most important rules, as stated by most of the previous posts are:

1. Prepare
2. Listen

But it takes practice. I conducted my first interview thinking I could be Terry Gross and I came off sounding like an pompus idiot. Listening to it while writing an article was painful. I still have the MiniDisc somewhere and hope that someday I'll be able to listen to it and laugh, but not yet.
posted by Kronoss at 8:28 PM on December 13, 2006

Also, Charlie Rose is a master of the interview. Try to watch him and take notes.

Oh, and ditto on the research.
posted by msittig at 8:53 PM on December 13, 2006

I've never heard Gretchen Helfrich, but I host my own public radio interview program, so I can speak to this a bit.

The first element is preparation. For a half hour interview, I usually spend at least two or three hours preparing, and that's when I'm already familiar with the guest.

I know what's going to be fruitful ahead of time, and I also know when the guest says something surprising, because I know what they've said before.

Some general tips:

* People are generally most interesting and eloquent when they're talking about what they're passionate about. One of the things you're trying to do is tap into that passion.

* You mentioned curiosity, that's really important. Seems obvious, but if you feel curious about something during an interview, your audience may well feel the same way.

* I never write questions before an interview. I usually make sure there are some areas I know I want to talk about, and I have sort of in my head some general questions I might want to ask about them, but I try to let the conversation flow.

* You always want to hear stories. Terry Gross is wonderful at this. Listen to her interview, and after she asks an idea question, she'll always go for a story about that idea. She's also fond of asking people about their childhoods, because that's obviously full of stories.

* The question that always works: what did you think it would be like, how did it turn out to be, and what surprised you about that?

* If you're interviewing in a medium where there's going to be editing (like a pre-taped radio interview, or a print interview), you can always ask the same question twice. Obviously, change it so it doesn't annoy the person you're talking to, but there's no rule that you can't just do-over.

* Be interested in the person you're interviewing and what they have to say.

* Don't be afraid to prod people a little. In the radio world, Stern is amazing at this. He never gets confrontational with his celebrity guests, but he always prods them in a gentle, friendly way until they say something they clearly wanted to say in the first place.

That's plenty for now, if you have any specific q's, I'll keep tabs on the thread.
posted by YoungAmerican at 8:59 AM on December 14, 2006

And the most basic of all... ask open ended questions. ALWAYS ask open ended questions.
posted by YoungAmerican at 9:00 AM on December 14, 2006

I've never heard Gretchen Helfrich either, but I am the executive producer of a public radio program, so I can speak to this a bit as well.

The first element is preparation. For a half hour interview, I usually read their book or read 20-30 pages of material about them if they are not authors. I am usually not familiar with guests, but I am often familiar with the particularities of their faith traditions or viewpoints.

Some general tips:

* People usually want to talk about what they have written or talked about. I usually let them tell me what they think is important, challenge their beliefs and what they perceive are truths, and then look deeper into how they formed their opinions.

* Curiousity is very important, but more important is active listening. Active listening is really only possible if you know your questions and the subject. It is also hard when you have the guest by phone or ISDN, so knowledge and prepared follow-up questions ahead of time.

* I always write questions before an interview, even if I don't stick to them. It can often waylay an interviewer to 'leave' the interview to go back and read the next question from a piece of paper and interviewers can lose the conversational touch if they don't know what they are going to say beforehand.

* You always want to hear stories. Terry Gross is wonderful at this. This is because she is fundamentally interested in getting the most out of her guests, but she also has a staff who reads and researches information about every guest. Musician interviews really do shine on Fresh Air and worth the effort to listen to.

* You have to make sure that when you frame questions that you know that the audience may not be as familiar with you about the topic. So while you might think a question is good because it will make you look 'on top of it', think: "Would my listener know to ask this question?" If the answer is no, and it usually is, rephrase the question to explain before the question what you are talking about.

Example:

Do you think Nostra Aetate will have a lasting effect on relations between the Catholic Church and the Jewish people?

Consider:

I want to ask you about Nostra Aetate. This is the 40th anniversary of the Vatican's statement that the blame for Jesus' death cannot be held on the Jewish people. Do you think Nostra Aetate will continue to have a lasting effect on Vatican relations with the Jewish people?

* If the guest is meandering or not answering the question, consider being harsh. I have in taped interviews told a guest that if they were not going to be succint, I was just going to stop the interview. Remember, you run the show. But keep in mind that you may also have to push someone to answer a question, and repeating it, for that sake, is rarely done but often effective.

Above all: Do not mumble.

If you need anything else, I mentor a number of people working in radio and would be willing to answer any of your questions or speak over the phone. My e-mail is in my profile.
posted by parmanparman at 1:05 PM on December 14, 2006

Thank you all very very much for your answers.

Thank you in particular parmanparman and YoungAmerican for caring enough to write such a long response and offer mentoring.

I will definitely take up your offers when I am stuck. Sometimes I really need others to save me from myself.

Wow, I never thought lurking in this forum we have so many public persona from the radio industry. May be next time I should ask some questions about the porn industry and see what comes out of the woodwork.

If you have never heard Gretchen Helfrich's cancelled program you are missing a lot. Lucky for you they are archived in the website I mentioned above.

Here it is again:
http://www.chicagopublicradio.org/audio_library/od_ra1.asp

The reason I admire Gretchen Helfrich so much is because the subjects she tackled are generally philosophical in nature .

I think she is the radio host to beat.

And as you probably know the philosophical field is full of 'experts' who talk about their subjects designed to confuse rather than to enlighten.

But Gretchen Helfrich seems to grasp the gist of her guests' arguments pretty well and dumb it down for dummies like me.

Current affairs programs (such as interviewing politicians ) seem like child's play compared to interviewing philosophers and intellectuals who are accustomed to confuse rather than to enlighten.

I suspect most intellectuals do not know what they are talking about and are hiding behind big words and tortured concepts.
posted by cluelessguru at 2:35 PM on December 14, 2006