Terry Gross and the Art of Opening Up (2015) • Hacker News Board

Re: Terry Gross and the Art of Opening Up (2015)

#51

Post by dventimi » Wed, Dec 20, 2023, 6:22 PM UTC

justin66 wrote: post #50

dventimi wrote: post #6

Pet peeves: - interviewers who ramble on when asking a question - interviewers who rely on declarative sentences (i.e. they don't even ask a question) - interviewers who rely on imperative sentences (e.g. "Talk about the time that such and such happened.") - interviewers who say "Um..." often. Terry Gross commits all of these interviewing mistakes, in my view. She's good at booking guests, but beyond that I'm unimpre…

> I'm unimpressive Your comments about Terry Gross seem completely off-base, but I nevertheless think you're being a little hard on yourself.

That's obviously a typo and one that I already addressed elsewhere. If you'd like to offer a serious response with actual substance, by all means go right ahead.

Re: Terry Gross and the Art of Opening Up (2015)

#52

Post by dventimi » Wed, Dec 20, 2023, 7:11 PM UTC

0ckpuppet wrote: post #32

You can't blame Terry Gross for being one of the leading virtue signals for the just smart enough to resemble smart people circle jerk. I think her interviews are sincere.

I don't blame her for anything. I just don't think she's worthy of the praise that's heaped on her.

Re: Terry Gross and the Art of Opening Up (2015)

#53

Post by ethbr1 » Wed, Dec 20, 2023, 7:46 PM UTC

dventimi wrote: post #31

ethbr1 wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

- They like something you don't - They like it because others do - It's thus not worth considering more deeply why they like it Did I map that unfairly?

No, it isn't unfair. It's just not accurate. A more accurate portrait would be: - People make educated guesses about the internal states-of-mind and emotional states of other people all the time. We do it with friends, lovers, marketplace counter-parties, poker adversaries, etc., and there's nothing inherently wrong about that. - I have made an educated guess about the internal state-of-mind and emotional states of "…

Anecdata: I enjoy it from time to time because I feel Terry Gross does a better job of listening to her guests' answers and asking follow-up questions on what they're expressing.

Most interviewers seem to have a rigid playbook, and effectively treat their guests' responses as scripted theater. Ask the pre-written question, allow the guest to perform for the listener, then move on.

E.g. the patently boring "Tell me about your new movie" > (canned story) > (laugh together) > (next topic)

IMHO, one of Terry's best skills as an interviewer is listening and being actively curious.

Re: Terry Gross and the Art of Opening Up (2015)

#54

Post by seesaw » Thu, Dec 21, 2023, 3:28 AM UTC

city41 wrote: post #13

dventimi wrote: post #6

Pet peeves: - interviewers who ramble on when asking a question - interviewers who rely on declarative sentences (i.e. they don't even ask a question) - interviewers who rely on imperative sentences (e.g. "Talk about the time that such and such happened.") - interviewers who say "Um..." often. Terry Gross commits all of these interviewing mistakes, in my view. She's good at booking guests, but beyond that I'm unimpre…

Terry Gross is the worst interviewer I've ever heard. She seems to make a lot of the people she interviews uncomfortable, and not in a good way. Trent Reznor in particular seemed especially annoyed.

I have felt the same. In the interviews I have listened to, she came across as robotic and fake. I know I am in the minority, but I can’t think of an interview of hers that I enjoyed.