The Art of the Interview
Fall 2015 | By Eric Michael 鈥�96
Growing up in Puerto Rico, Ybeth Bruzual听learned to love politics at a young age. 鈥淚n Puerto Rico, politics is a national听sport,鈥� she says. 鈥淢y main influence was my grandmother, Aida. As a little girl, I would see her read this big El Mundo newspaper from cover to cover and ask, 鈥楢re you reading certain parts?鈥� She would say, 鈥楴o. I鈥檓 reading the whole thing, because we need to know what鈥檚 going on around the world.鈥� 鈥�
That deep seed of influence would grow in Bruzual as she studied political science at 激情快播 and built a career in television journalism, first as an intern at Telemundo Orlando and WKMG and later as an assignment editor and anchor at News 13, where she learned the art of the interview from her mentor, Scott Harris 鈥�74.
鈥淚 would watch him do ‘Political Connections,’ and I just fell in love with it,鈥� she says of the veteran anchor and analyst. Bruzual was named Harris鈥� successor after he died in 2011. 鈥淚 told myself, 鈥楽cott would want you to make the show go on,鈥� and I did not want to let him down, so I chose to swim in the deep end and try to stay afloat and make it work.鈥�
Today Bruzual splits her on-air time anchoring the weekday morning news and hosting 鈥淧olitical Connections,鈥� along with contributing to the Spanish-language version, 鈥淩evista鈥� on InfoM谩s. 鈥淚t is a privilege every single day to be where I am and to sit with these people and ask them all kinds of questions,鈥� she says. And through her experience behind the desk and in the field, the journalist has learned how to ask the right questions 鈥� a skill that everyone can use to benefit their professional and personal lives, from job interviews to networking and social interactions.
Here鈥檚 how Bruzual gets the answers:
Prepare for Anything
Research is key. Before an interview, Bruzual reads everything she can find about her subject so she鈥檚 ready to pivot when an interesting detour presents itself during the conversation. 鈥淪ometimes when I鈥檓 already sitting next to them, I鈥檓 looking down at my phone, Googling their name, and checking their Facebook or Twitter just to see if they鈥檝e posted something recently that I could use in that interview.鈥�
Make It Personal
To break the ice, Bruzual begins interviews with personal questions to establish a rapport. 鈥淚 want them to trust me just like I trust them to give me the truth,鈥� she says. 鈥淲hen you talk about personal things it makes [people] feel comfortable, then I go in for the meat of the interview.鈥�
Look People in the Eye
Engagement is impossible without eye contact. 鈥淭he number one thing I do is I look people in the eyes,鈥� she says. 鈥淲hen I look at someone,听I feel I鈥檓 engaging them on a very personal level. I鈥檓 not just looking at you, I鈥檓 having听a conversation with you.鈥�
Listen More, Speak听Less
You can鈥檛 learn from someone when you鈥檙e talking. And to Bruzual, keeping your mouth shut is the most important skill for an interviewer to master. 鈥淭he art of the conversation is to listen more and speak less,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hat really has helped me professionally and privately.鈥�