The last of the experiments with a longer thought piece and fewer sections. The writing was different, and it took longer to write, edit and rewrite. Original thoughts take longer to form and shape than informed analysis. Next week the format will go back to more sections with less commentary, but the extended form writing will find a place as we move forward. Next week is a big week; next week, we will cross the 300-published newsletter threshold.

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In The Guardian’s Inside Saturday email, Charlotte Edwardes writes an overview of a longer piece interviewing Cillian Murphy, who stars in Oppenheimer's upcoming movie. In the overview, Edwardes says that Murphy hates doing interviews. An actor that hates doing interviews is not uncommon; it's how Murphy explains it that got me thinking today – Murphy says he loves to chat; he could talk about books or Ireland for hours, but answering interview questions about acting or his personal relationships is done purely to fulfill contractual obligations. Does that mean if an interview was turned into a chat (British) or conversation over food and/or drink, it would be better for the person being interviewed? If so, could you reframe other conversations using similar techniques?

I wrote on the same category in Friday's newsletter called Questions, and in that piece, I talked about reframing conversations using questions. In this piece, an interview is nothing but questions, but the reframe is more about the environment and the purpose of the questions. An actor who is expected to go on a press tour for a movie and is asked similar questions repeatedly would feel like a product trying to sell features and benefits. In contrast, sitting down with someone for a chat and coffee might feel different.

Could you use this same technique when interviewing a job candidate? How about a babysitter? If you pull back and look at the goal of the interview, it might be easier to get to it in a conversation vs. an interview. Getting the person you are interviewing to ask you a question can take the conversation in a different direction. Answering questions night after night on a press tour could be exhausting. Having a conversation over drinks is not. I read something in the past that suggested it was a good idea to audit your relationships and your conversations to determine if they add to or subtract from your energy levels after each encounter. The same could be said for an interview; if two people leave an interview with more energy, the result of the content will be better. To that end, a writer should hold themselves to a similar standard, re-read your stories and articles and ask yourself, will this piece leave my readers with more energy or less?  

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Check out this mashup video by Alex Melton – He plays a cover of a Beyonce tune if it was written and performed by Blink 182. Both artists are on tour this summer; will they ever be in the same city?

New Goo Goo Doll’s.

Click on the Apple Music image to listen to the song on Apple Music or on the Spotify Image to listen to Spotify.

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With A Shout newsletter is written by Johnny Christian with the support of a thousand idea bits and the help of many people.

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