Preparing Questions That Invite Specifics, Not Generalities
Launch library · evergreen read
A question like what was that period like invites a vague, well rehearsed answer that a subject has likely already given many times before to many different listeners, whereas a question about one particular morning, one specific decision, or one exact conversation tends to invite something much closer to genuine memory instead.
Preparing this kind of precise question takes real work well before an interview begins, since it requires already knowing enough about the subject to ask about something specific rather than something merely broad and easy to deflect with a familiar, well worn answer given many times before to many other people.
The payoff shows up almost immediately in the quality of the resulting answer, since specific questions tend to surface specific, genuinely usable detail, while broad ones tend to surface the same polished summary a subject has already told many other people many times before this conversation began.