“Let me say this back to you and tell me if I got it right.”
Most productive line a reporter can utter, ever. I've run into so many journalists so worried about looking inexpert, they skate past complex or prolix topics, render them in superficial, zero-value terms, or, worse, mangle them in their telling. In my notebook-and-pen days I'd routinely say to subject matter experts, "I would rather look dumb in front of you, alone, right now than in front of thousands of viewers tonight, so... " and they'd laugh and set me on the right rail. A little humble listening goes a long way.
Amen! As a cub reporter, I definitely worried about looking ignorant but now that I actually know a couple of things, I don't care at all! Funny how that works...
Many subject-matter experts want their information out there, too, and may not realize they're not being clear as they're always surrounded by other SMEs constantly (and drop their TLAs as I just did, twice.)
“Let me say this back to you and tell me if I got it right.”
Most productive line a reporter can utter, ever. I've run into so many journalists so worried about looking inexpert, they skate past complex or prolix topics, render them in superficial, zero-value terms, or, worse, mangle them in their telling. In my notebook-and-pen days I'd routinely say to subject matter experts, "I would rather look dumb in front of you, alone, right now than in front of thousands of viewers tonight, so... " and they'd laugh and set me on the right rail. A little humble listening goes a long way.
Amen! As a cub reporter, I definitely worried about looking ignorant but now that I actually know a couple of things, I don't care at all! Funny how that works...
Many subject-matter experts want their information out there, too, and may not realize they're not being clear as they're always surrounded by other SMEs constantly (and drop their TLAs as I just did, twice.)
Ha! But your tongue-and-cheek tone always makes up for it ;-)