SF Interview with the Deputy Prime Minster of the UK

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Permalink Reply by Paul Z Jackson on September 25, 2011 at 18:01

Nice one, Matthew. How interesting that he was so reluctant to engage with scaling or to give straight answers to some of your questions – a real ingrained suspicion endemic to politicians, I imagine.
Your persistence with an SF approach did get him eventually to propose what he (and the party) would be doing differently.
I wonder if he found the interview unusually odd and unusually constructive. Depending on what you (the interviewer) want to achieven, you might need a slightly different structure for an SF politics interview than an SF coaching/therapy approach.
Well worth further exploration. Cheers, Paul Z

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Permalink Reply by Matthew Gibson on September 25, 2011 at 21:31

Thanks Paul, I wasn't given much time to prepare as it was a short notice interview so I went with the scaling question. In such a short time it is difficult to get a good conversation using SF techniques but the biggest barrier is that politicians want to give a message and I'm not sure it matters what you ask? He really struggled with naming specific things that he himself would be doing differently so I imagine he did find the questioning a bit odd! Do you have any ideas for the SF angle or question to use in such an interview?

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Permalink Reply by Paul Z Jackson on September 26, 2011 at 16:33

It really depends on the purpose of the interview.  As a journalist I used to ask questions to elicit something that would be new/interesting for the reader.  As a coach, I ask questions to serve the client.  Paxman asks questions from a very aggressive aim of getting admissions.

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Permalink Reply by Matthew Gibson on September 26, 2011 at 20:42

I have no experience of journalism - so this was my first attempt! If Paxman is looking for admissions he goes into it looking to back up his assumptions/beliefs? I suppose I had my assumptions but I just wanted to try some SF questions with him but you raise a very interesting point about the purpose of the interview. If you were going to SF interview Nick Clegg what would you have said?

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Permalink Reply by Mark McKergow on September 26, 2011 at 19:58

Hi Matthew,

 

Good work - a very bold effort.  I will read it again in detail.  One thing that strikes me is that just be giving you an interview he maybe isn't totally a 'customer for change', and that a good platform might take a bit longer to do. Also he may have been slightly concerned about what might happen to the answers!  :-)  Can I mention this interview in my own blog please?

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Permalink Reply by Matthew Gibson on September 26, 2011 at 20:39

Hi Mark,

 

Looking back at the interview I think I was naive going into see him thinking he would want to answer all the questions! But I realise that was not the case and I think you are right - he is not a customer for change, he is a customer for defending the decisions he has taken to date. My belief is that this won't win back Lib Dem voters who he has lost - but he doesn't get that yet so I guess he isn't ready to change yet. So I thought his answers at the end were quite good from an SF point of view.

 

Of course you can mention it wherever you like

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Permalink Reply by Mark Mitchell on September 28, 2011 at 16:06

I commend you for doing the interview and your excitement about it. It certainly would be hard in such excitement to "go slow." I have thought of such an interveiw with Obama over here in the US.My belief is he might be more open to the  solution focused interview but who knows.Maybe before asking Clegg a scaling questions asking him his best hopes for the interview.What is his goal for the interview might be.

 

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Permalink Reply by Matthew Gibson on September 29, 2011 at 22:49

Hi Mark, thanks for the comments and that would be a good approach. If I ever get a chance to do another I'll think about incorporating in to the interview. Would love to hear someone SF interview Obama.

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Permalink Reply by Regina Reinhardt on September 29, 2011 at 16:21

thank you!

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