Field guide · Listening
Follow curiosity
The answer is not a pause between questions — it is the material. The prepared map matters, but the guest's answer is the new map. Follow the phrase actually spoken, not the question planned five minutes earlier.
Nine listening channels
What to monitor while a guest speaks. Each channel has a characteristic signal, a follow-up shape, and a discipline that keeps the follow-up honest.
| Channel | Signal in the answer | Follow-up form | Host discipline |
|---|
The follow-up ladder
Seven rungs from smallest intervention to largest. Start low; the echo of a single word often does more than a crafted question.
| Move | Question shape | Use when |
|---|
The interviewer should be able to name the exact phrase that justified each follow-up.
Drill it: Thread Spotting plants signals in guest answers and checks what you caught. Hold the Silence trains the tempo channel directly.