Interviewing is a foundational skill in journalism. Even Kristen Welker, moderator of “Meet the Press,” knows it’s one of the most difficult to master.  

“The best advice I ever received on interviewing is that interviewing is not about talking, it’s not about asking — it’s about listening,” said Welker. “If you are armed with the facts, if you’re armed with a good set of questions and follow-up questions, then when you hear something really significant, you’re present and you’re in the moment and ready to follow up.” 

To prepare for the Sunday morning news show every week, Welker does extensive research, notetaking and mock interviews to anticipate various directions that conversations might take. 

“When people come on ‘Meet the Press,’ they know that it’s going to be the most challenging interview that they could possibly have — and fair,” Welker said. “That is my goal with each interview.”

To see Welker’s interviewing approach, check out the video above and read some of her tips below.

Why do journalists do interviews?  

There are a few key goals with every journalistic interview.

First, to make sure that the person you’re interviewing gets to express their perspective and their opinion. I try to never interrupt the person I’m interviewing, even when I’m interviewing them over satellite. Sometimes it’s a little challenging, but you want to let everyone get out their perspective.  

The next goal is to make sure that you are asking them challenging questions, holding them to account for their words, for their actions. Part of that requires going back in time, looking at their past statements, looking at their past interviews, to make sure that you’re holding them to account not just for what they said this week, but what they may have said several years ago.  

And then finally, it’s to educate the viewer. You want to make sure you are educating the public with every interview. You hope that the viewer, that your reader, that your listener comes away from every interview with new and important information. 

How do you prepare for an interview?  

When I’m preparing for an interview, I absolutely try to commit as much to memory as possible. I also have written notes in front of me and I take notes throughout the course of the interview. I conduct mock interviews so that I can anticipate where the interview might be going, but sometimes it takes a turn that I’m not necessarily prepared for. 

But if I’ve done enough mock interviews, if I’ve read enough, if I’ve researched enough, hopefully I’m nimble enough to ask a follow-up question, to elicit the type of information or answer that will be valuable to our viewers. 

How do you prepare for an interview that you know might be confrontational?   

The way to make sure that you start off on the right foot with people is to go big picture at first, to let the person say what they want to say … to give them space to talk about their viewpoint on an issue that they really care about. 

[Former “Meet the Press” moderator] Tim Russert had a really wonderful stylistic approach of ending sometimes on a somewhat lighter note, and that enabled him to show a little bit of his personality to the audience, and for the person he’s interviewing to feel like they got to end on a slightly lighter note. 

Politicians sometimes say journalists ask too many “gotcha” questions. What’s your opinion on “gotcha questions”? 

I try not to ever ask “gotcha questions,” and what I mean by that is, I try to ask questions that the person I’m interviewing can answer, is equipped to answer, has the expertise to answer. I try to make these open-ended questions. I try not to ask yes or no questions.  

But I really try to give people the space and the breadth to give their perspective. I think if you’re viewing every question through that lens, you’re going to cut down on that notion of whatever someone might consider to be a “gotcha question.”   

What tips do you have for people who someday want to work for “Meet the Press”?  

In order to get a job like “Meet the Press,” which is truly the greatest honor of my life, it took years and decades and, quite frankly, of a lot of hard work. And I enjoyed the journey. My advice to people who are starting their careers: Get that first job. Say yes, learn as much as you can. Raise your hand. 

My first job on-air was in Redding, California, about five hours north of San Francisco. I did all my own camera work. I carried a tripod around. I carried a battery bag around. I operated the teleprompter with my foot. I even did the weather.  

And it was one of the best experiences of my life, because I learned so much about how broadcast news works. I have so much respect for everyone who works in every newsroom, because I lived a mini version of it. 

Special thanks to Kurtis Ming, Kerry Loring, Toby Lyles, am Kessler, Joe Gabriel, Tom Craca, Caitlin Hartman and Louise Rath.