So, you’re in the middle of an interview and you decide to mention a clever little anecdote that you saw on social media. But what if that anecdote or any other tidbit of information you might rely on is demonstrably false? Well, it will be obvious to the world you didn’t do your homework and your credibility will take a big hit.
Take Mara Gay, a member of the New York Times Editorial Board, who was interviewed on MSNBC. Gay repeated a woefully inaccurate tweet that Mike Bloomberg could have given every American a million bucks with the money he spent on his presidential campaign (the actual figure is just over a single, solitary dollar.) It didn’t help that the interviewer, Brian Williams, also had a bit of trouble with the math.
Okay, we all make mistakes and some of us are comically math-challenged. But the point is to check and double-check your facts. Do your homework before you do an interview. You just might save a million laughs at your expense!