This is exactly what to say when you don’t want to answer a question. One lesson from politicians and union leaders.
Politicians and union leaders have been in the trenches for so long and have constantly faced the pressures of hard questions so much so that the techniques to manoeuvring themselves out of tight positions are now hardwired in them.
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I’ve written before about what I learned from my Governor on getting myself out of pressure by using one word ‘noted.’
Today, I want to write about a trick leaders use all over the world to get themselves out of difficult questions they don’t want to answer such as media interviews or heated discussions.
When the tactic is employed, they don’t only appear to be listening but it also makes them appear smart.
They do this in two steps. First, they acknowledge the question, “that is a good question.” Then they say, “but an even better question is…” Then they reframe the question and answer their own question. Sometimes, they don’t even attempt to reframe the question, they ask an entirely different one. That way, they completely remove the pressure on them.
Example:
Interviewer: It’s said that the people in your state have become poorer since you became Vice President of the country. Does it mean that your position didn’t have any positive impact on them?
Politician: That’s a good question. But an even better one is how have I contributed to the human capital development of my people knowing that human capital is globally recognized as the single most important factor in the wealth of nations?
To answer that, I’ve built a university where I engineer human capital. Not only that, I’ve built businesses and have populated them with skilled labour which has generated sustainable income from many households in my state.
These are the real things I did to uplift my people. You can see them. You can touch them. Not some fancy statistics – some of which we are not even sure how they are cooked.
Interviewer: Yes, I agree that you’re one of the largest employers of labour in your state. But you’ve not built other billionaires like you.
Politician: That’s another good question. But the point is, experts agree that what I’m doing is the best way to build sustainable wealth for nations where everyone is well-off.
Above, I tried to recreate the exchange between former Vice President Atiku and Kadaria Ahmed. There was a viral video where her questions appeared to have rattled Atiku.
The former VP had the facts and the smarts to achieve a favourable outcome from that face-off. But the mistake he made was trying to answer Kadaria’s questions instead of his own.
Kadaria even admitted that she researched the statistics she used before coming to the interview. This means she also prepared her follow-up questions accordingly. So how could Atiku have won that?
But he should have prepared his own questions, including anticipating attacks on his position as well as responses to them.
What if the interviewer says you’re dodging the question? Let them. The interviewer has a limited time, so they wouldn’t continue to argue with you over one question. They would, instead, move on to another question. Or if you’re lucky, they just let you talk.
So instead of saying you’re wrong, say “an even better question is…” then answer it.
When I shared this article as a social media post, someone raised the observation that one couldn’t get away with this strategy with some interviewers such as Mehdi Hassan. Maybe so. But I want you to note two things: this strategy gives you something to say; and if you have something to say, you can run out the clock by reframing the questions and answering your questions even when facing the best interviewer.
I’ve seen it work against Mehdi Hassan too. Even though Hassan wasn’t the interviewer, he was on a panel discussion with another British Muslim and the guy kept reframing the questions until he ran out the time and Hassan couldn’t get his point in.
I didn’t enjoy watching it because I wanted Hassan to nail him, but the slippery guy would not allow it.
The key is preparation. This technique is one way to start your preparation because it gives you the structure and the foundation to build your responses.
PS: You can use it in negotiations too.
PPS: Where else do you think we can apply this tool?
