Using What I Taught You

You’re reading an excerpt of Stop Asking Questions, by Andrew Warner, a veteran podcast host of 2000+ episodes. The book explains how to lead high-impact interviews and learn anything from anyone. Master the craft of interviewing with this complete digital package. Purchase now for lifetime access to the book and extensive audio and video resources.

This isn’t a book of rules. It’s a book of tools.

My goal isn’t to bind you to what worked for me but to give you ways to enjoy interviews and learn from them.

I started writing this book at a challenging time. San Francisco, my hometown of nine years, went into lockdown to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus. I went from working at an office I loved to recording my interviews on a small card table in a corner of my bedroom. I was miserable about the change and didn’t fail to mention it in interviews.

I started writing this book to do something meaningful in my newfound solitary time at home. It was my chance to help interviewers.

As I wrote down my hard-earned lessons from over a decade of interviewing, I rediscovered each of them. The techniques that have become second nature through years of use became more useful as I remembered why they worked. The ones that I forgot about reentered my interviews.

Reconnecting with the craft of interviewing made each interview I recorded from the corner of my bedroom more fun. In the hour that I recorded with each guest, it didn’t matter where I was physically because I was vicariously experiencing life through my guests’ stories.

I missed having a drink in person with friends while our city was in lockdown, but in many ways, the hour I spent in an interview was better. Only experienced interviewers know how true that is. Regular conversations are full of small talk, fillers, and distractions. In an interview, you can avoid all that and focus on what you really care about.

After I got back to the fundamentals, I found myself getting more out of my interviews. I learned ideas to help me grow my business. I got marriage tips from people who were married much longer than me. And I laughed so hard you could hear me in every corner of our house.

Rediscovering these conversation techniques helped me enjoy interviewing so much that I started recording interviews with my wife and kids. It helped us spend focused time together, where I could hear their thoughts and experiences.

I’m curious to hear the interesting ways you end up using these ideas. Whether it’s in a formal interview setting, like the one I’ve done for over a decade, or the more casual interviews I started doing with my family, I’d like to know how you use what you learned in this book. Email me about them: HeyAndrew@Mixergy.com.

Stop asking questions. Start leading high-impact interviews.