no such thing as a dumb question

Picture this: at some point in an interview, a journalist asks an embarrassingly obvious question.

It'll start with something like "so if I understand you correctly ... "

It will be about 20% wrong, and possibly even 20% unfair.

The interviewee sighs, and then gives a dumbed down explanation, trying to conceal his irritation that this idiot hasn't done his homework.

Invariably, this is the grab that gets used in the report.

Why? Because it is the clearest explanation of the issue at hand.

And you know who else hasn't done any homework? The journalist's entire audience.

What does this tell you?

The dumb question is the one you should use to calibrate your messaging. Practice on it. Prep for it.

Because the journalist knew exactly what they were doing, and they were right to do it. (Full disclosure, I have been this journalist many times).

They were just getting an answer that makes sense to their audience.

They were trying to get you to not talk about synergies, whatever those are.

They wanted you to say something meaningful about AI, other than it's the future and may or may not take your job.

Etc. Etc. Etc.

The upshot? Test out your material on someone who doesn't sit next to you, and adjust it until they understand it.

That's how you find the sweet spot.