Natural Talent

Talent’s a funny thing. When I started interviewing writers for Author and its podcast Author2Author, I didn’t think I had a talent for interviewing. In fact, I wasn’t sure I even wanted to do it. Anyone could do it, I thought. I was just the one who was always available, so I was the one who ended up asking the questions. Sometimes, someone else would do the interviews and I’d be there to oversee things, and in the middle of it I would think of questions that should be asked – but this had nothing to do with talent.

Early on, the writers I interviewed would often comment afterward that they’d really enjoyed themselves. They’d say, “That was a great interview!” And I’d think, “Have you never had a conversation before?” It really confused me. I wasn’t doing anything. I was asking them questions that popped into my head and then listened to their answers. I was just trying to enjoy myself, looking for what I found interesting about them. How is that talent?

It’s only now that I understand interviews are a very particular kind of conversation. They’re unnaturally focused on one person more than the other, and the job of the interviewer is to make the conversation feel natural. For whatever reason, I knew how to do this from the get go. I might have considered it a talent if I’d ever admired that skill in another person, but I hadn’t. Like most artists, I never dreamed of interviewing people, I only dreamed of being interviewed.

This is the funny thing about talent. It’s easy to get it twisted up with approval and attention and admiration, a means by which those supposed rewards will be gained. Our talents have nothing to do with other people. They are entirely an expression of our natural curiosity and interests. I am interested in inspiring, hopeful, supportive, friendly conversations. I can never have enough of them. Someday I may really acknowledge this as a talent, but in the meantime, I’ll keep having those conversations for the same mysterious, immediate reward everyone receives when they do something that pleases them.

If you like the ideas and perspectives expressed here, feel free to contact me about individual coaching and group workshops.

Fearless Writing: How to Create Boldly and Write With Confidence.
You can find William at: williamkenower.com