Jan 11, 2019
Have you ever watched an interview that went beyond boilerplate
questions and got to the heart of the subject? It takes skill and a
well-honed appetite for curiosity to move past the superficial and
begin to peel back layers of intrigue. You don’t have to be an
award-winning journalist to ask good questions. Embracing your
curiosity and developing proper research and listening skills can
help you in just about any career you choose.
Frank is an Emmy Award-winning journalist with more than thirty
years of experience reporting from around the world. Well known as
an anchor, Bureau Chief of CNN’s Washington, DC office White House
Correspondent and talk show host on CNN, Frank is also a nationally
renowned moderator who has engaged some of the world’s leading
personalities and appears regularly on U.S. and international
media. Frank currently serves as Director of The George Washington
University’s School of Media and Public Affairs, where he leads
nearly two dozen world-class faculty and teaches classes on The Art
of the Interview, journalism ethics, documentary and sustainability
reporting.
Frank also created PlanetForward.org, a user-driven web and
television project that brings students and experts together to
examine sustainable innovations that “move the planet forward.”
Have you ever watched an interview that went beyond boilerplate
questions and got to the heart of the subject? It takes skill and a
well-honed appetite for curiosity to move past the superficial and
begin to peel back layers of intrigue. You don’t have to be an
award-winning journalist to ask good questions. Embracing your
curiosity and developing proper research and listening skills can
help you in just about any career you choose.
Consider in-depth research, asking questions, and listening as
assets that you can use to engage with your peers and broaden your
abilities. Don’t assume that these are common traits that everyone
has; you can stand out and make an impact by training yourself to
become a good listener and questioner. If you’d like to go deeper
with this important topic, make sure to check out Frank Sesno’s
book, “Ask More.”
We’ve all been there, you attend a lecture, and you care about
the subject matter, but the presentation is dreadfully dull, what
do you do? Some people will power through the bland presentation;
others will pull out their smartphone for a quick escape. What if
there was a way to make data, statics, and research findings
relevant? According to Frank Sesno, the solution is to train
scientists and researchers to become better storytellers.
The last thing you think of when a scientist or research comes to
mind is a good storyteller. The good news is, these highly trained
professionals are not destined to languish in the realm of jargon
and insider lingo. Thankfully, innovative leaders like Frank Sesno
are hard at work creating new avenues for scientists and
researchers to get their message to a broader audience. In 2009
Frank formed Planet Forward to empower new voices and lead a global
conversation on the planet’s future. Engaging a diverse audience of
college students from across the country, Planet Forward uses
storytelling, media, and educational events to tell the stories of
invention and innovation that can move the planet
forward.
Make sure to catch Mark’s full conversation with Frank on this
exciting episode of When Science Speaks.