You’re on air. The interviewer asks a simple question:
“What led to the power outages in the Northern Region?”
And suddenly, you’re off. You start reciting a timeline: 1998, 2003, 2010. You mention dozens of figures: budgets, percentages, generation capacity, outage statistics. You trace policy changes across decades.
By the time you finish, the original question is long forgotten and so is the audience.
This is one of the most common mistakes leaders, CEOs, ministers, and experts make in interviews: overloading answers with dates, figures, and historical context. You think it shows expertise. It does but only in the wrong way.
Audiences don’t come to interviews for a lecture. They want clarity, relevance, and insight they can quickly grasp. When you overwhelm them with data, numbers, and backstory, you risk confusing them instead of impressing them. Your credibility suffers not from a lack of knowledge, but from the inability to communicate it clearly.
I once interviewed a senior policy adviser explain inflation. By the end of a ten-minute segment, he had referenced eight different years, five policy acts, and multiple economic indices. I eventually had to interrupt to ask, “So, what does this mean for the average household?”
That’s the question your audience cares about. Not how many policies were passed in 2007. Not the percentage of market fluctuation in Q2.
Here’s why you do it: pride in your knowledge. You fear oversimplifying might make you look shallow. You worry a short answer might be criticized. You assume more data equals more credibility.
But here’s the irony: in media, the opposite is often true. Clarity beats completeness every time. Simple, concise answers are remembered. Long, data-heavy responses are forgotten.
So, how do you fix this?
First, lead with the message, not the history. Answer the question directly and simply before layering in context. For example:
“The outages were caused by aging infrastructure and increased demand, and we are addressing both by upgrading networks and adding new capacity.”
That’s one sentence. Clear. Direct. And immediately relevant.
Second, use examples, not endless numbers. Instead of saying, “Electricity demand increased 14.3 percent between 2018 and 2023,” say:
“More households and businesses are using electricity than ever before, so we’ve had to expand our network to keep up.”
Third, if numbers or dates are necessary, round them or place them in context. “About 14 percent growth over five years” is far easier to follow than “14.3 percent from Q1 2018 to Q4 2023.”
Fourth, stories trump statistics. Audiences remember the human impact of your points, not the technical minutiae. Mention how families, farmers, or traders are affected. That makes your message tangible.
Finally, remember your audience is not a conference of specialists. They are watching breakfast television, listening in traffic, or tuning in during a busy workday. You want them to understand your point, not memorize a timeline.
The safest rule: answer simply first. Add context sparingly. Leave complexity for follow-up questions, not your first answer.
Overloading your responses might make you feel smart but clarity will make you credible. Your audience will remember what matters, not what you can recite.
Next time the question lands, resist the urge to impress with history and data. Speak clearly. Focus on relevance. Make your message easy to follow.
Because in media, being understood is far more important than being exhaustive. And when your audience understands you, your expertise shines far brighter than any list of dates ever could.
Got a media interview, webinar or recorded presentation coming up? Nervous about how you’ll sound or look? I’m offering 3 pilot 30-minute “On-Camera Confidence Rescue” sessions this week. We fix clarity, structure, nerves and delivery fast. DM “VIDEO” to +233240299122
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