It is a standard and often annoying habit of television reporters to ask questions, then constantly interrupt people before they can finish their answers. Reporters will do this when they don’t like the answers or think the responses are going on too long. It’s a method reporters use to control the interview.
If you are being interviewed, however, it’s your goal to control the interview. And that means you don’t allow a reporter to interrupt you, especially when you’re in the middle of delivering a key message. If you give in to an interruption, your message will often be lost.
During an appearance on ABC with correspondent Martha Raddatz, Delaware Senator Chris Coons was asked whether he agrees with the Biden Administration’s policy of withholding certain weapons from Israel if it invades the town of Rafah. During Coon’s answer, Raddatz tries to interrupt him. But as you will see in the clip below, Coons doesn’t give in.
To his credit, Coons didn’t allow Raddatz to interrupt him. Instead, he confidently continued with his answer and delivered his message. And he did so in an inoffensive manner.
Raddatz appeared frustrated and probably wasn’t pleased by Coon’s refusal to be interrupted. But it wasn’t Coon’s job to please the reporter. It was his job to deliver an important message and he succeeded. It’s a valuable lesson to anyone who deals with the media.