Billboard #4: The Cold Open

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Updated September 14, 2022
Stop Asking Questions

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A fourth option is to clip a highlight from the interview and play it for the audience before the interview starts. LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman often uses this technique on his show, Masters of Scale.

In his interview with Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group, Reid pulled a clip in which Branson talked about heading to a party at Las Vegas’s towering Palms Hotel. Upon arriving, Branson was surprised to learn he would be entering the party by jumping from the top of the building! The story is certainly interesting in itself, and it showed listeners that this wasn’t just another business interview.

Whether you choose one of these four suggestions or take another approach, the important thing to remember is this:

At the start of your interview, your listener is not asking, “What does this interviewer have in store for me?” but “Do I really want to listen to this interview?”

Listen: The Billboard

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