The Urge to Explain Is Where Interviews Start to Unravel

In a recent media-training workshop, I asked a participant a straightforward question during a mock interview.

He answered it exactly as I’d hoped.
Clean. Clear. Accurate.

Then, without pausing, he added: 
And just to give you a bit more context…”

That one sentence changed the interview.

The extra detail prompted a follow-up question.
That question opened a new angle.
Within moments, we were deep into territory he hadn’t planned—or wanted—to discuss.

I stopped the exercise right there.

Nothing had gone wrong. But something important had happened.

Under pressure, the urge to explain had taken over.

It’s a familiar impulse, especially for thoughtful, conscientious people. The instinct is to be helpful, to make sure the answer feels complete, to head off potential misunderstandings before they arise.

But in a media interview, clarity isn’t about sharing everything you know.
It’s about knowing when you’ve said enough.

More explanation doesn’t make answers safer.
It often creates new lines of inquiry.

The skill here isn’t silence.
It’s restraint.

Answer the question that was asked.
Land the point you prepared.
Then let it stand.

When structure holds, interviews stay focused.
When the urge to explain takes over, control quietly slips away.