Tuesday, March 31, 2020

"That's a great question!" is not a great answer

We have probably all watched more medical question-and-answer sessions in the last few weeks than ever in our lives before. And, if I hear one more medical expert say, "That's a great question!" one more time, I think I'm gonna SREEEEEAM!
I've been watching Parkinson's Disease and environmental Q&As for years, and I've seen the "That's a great question!" bromide arise and become the sine qua non of interviewing techniques. But 1. it's patronizing, and 2. it's just totally redundant.
Can we just take it for granted that questions have been pre-vetted, and the stupid ones pre-deleted? So, all questions are great questions, and there is no need to put on false humility, or to build up the possibly fragile egos of unknown or anonymous questioners.
Just answer the question, already! That's what we're all there for.

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