Stop Asking Questions: How to Lead High-Impact Interviews and Learn Anything from Anyone

by Andrew Warner

"An essential read for podcasters, salespeople, startup founders, and anyone who wants to lead deeper conversations with people they admire. Andrew Warner's book not only teaches you how to interview, it teaches you how to learn." Nir Eyal, bestselling author of Hooked and Indistractable "Andrew generously reveals how he mastered the craft of interviewing, giving readers a tactical roadmap to create winning conversations with people they admire." Espree Devora, host of "Women in Tech," Voted a Top 10 Podcast by Harper's Bazaar "This is a book about respect. Respecting others enough to interview them well. Respecting your audience enough to do the work. And respecting yourself enough to be clear about what you're doing and why." Seth Godin, founder of Akimbo (Home of the AltMBA) and Author of 20 bestselling books - - - - - - - - - - - - Andrew Warner has interviewed over 2,000 of the world’s best entrepreneurs to uncover the real factors behind their success. But he’s also learned something even more How to learn anything from anyone through high-impact interviewing. Great interviewing is more than just asking questions. To do it right, you need to be part therapist, part researcher, and part storyteller. After a decade of honing his craft, Warner shares how to lead deeper, more meaningful conversations with people you admire. He also reveals his strategy for building a multi-million dollar podcast How to book exciting guests, prepare for interviews, scale your revenue, and much more. Every ambitious person should add interviewing to their learning stack. Whether you’re a podcaster, entrepreneur, journalist, or just a lifelong-learner, “Stop Asking Questions” will show you the way.

Genres: Communication, Business, Leadership, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Relationships, Personal Development

207 pages, Paperback

Published October 13, 2021

Reviews

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute must read for podcasters. I’ve been doing interviews for years and this book helped me immensely. Andrew’s experience and actionable advice is invaluable. And he does something well others don’t: his stories are more helpful than self aggrandizing.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a really neat read with a lot of applicable ideas for leading conversations, not just podcast interviews. I tried some of them out at holiday gatherings they worked really well.

[Maxime Lenormand · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started my own podcasting journey a year ago at the time of writing this review, wanting to have more meaningful conversations with people I looked up to in my own field, around building maps. This book has been a important resource in rethinking the way I prepare, execute and think about interviewing.
It’s made me think about the purpose of the interviews I want to have, and simply about what kind of interviewer I want to be, what kind of insights I want to uncover for my audience & myself.

This is a practical book, I like how efficient it is, diving into applicable advice early on. I also find it complete, touching on topics such as making a business out of conversations, thinking about finding good guests and how to also grow an audience. All in all, this has become my go to reference for any conversation, well around conversations.

[Anushka Kalaskar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stop Asking Questions by Andrew Warner covers the basic and essential concepts of giving an interview and taking one. Having interviewed more than 2000+ people on his platform Mixergy, he has shared some valuable insights regarding interviewing.
This is a must-read book for anyone interested in podcasting and interviewing.

Verdict: 4/5

[Visnja Zeljeznjak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Immediately useful.

I had to put down the book so many times because I had to improve my processes, while the new knowledge was still fresh in my head. The first live video podcast I streamed in which I implemented this advice was really better than what I did before.

[Paul Bard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read, well written to be read quickly, full of practical experience and deep understanding of the role of interviewer.

Lots of great tips in general on communication.

One golden take away: people prefer to be heard more than helped.

[Niall Doherty · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of Mixergy and really admire all the work Andrew Warner has done over the years. I bought the premium Holloway edition of this book mainly as a way to support Andrew and say thank you. I started to skim through it and ended up reading the whole thing, even though I have no plans to become an interviewer.

I found that it's much more than a book about interviewing. It's really a book about how to have better and more meaningful conversations with anyone. Andrew shares lots of techniques for connecting with people and getting them to open up. All in a genuine way, so the other person doesn't feel tricked or manipulated later.

The most inspiring thing to me about the book are all the examples of "going the extra mile" that make Andrew's interviews so good. All the prep work, reading back over transcripts to find ways to improve, hiring coaches, etc. I love hearing those details, as it motivates me to go the extra mile in my business.

In summary, I'd say Stop Asking Questions is a must-read for any aspiring interviewer. And a great read for any aspiring conversationalist.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't think there's any one best way to run podcast interviews, but Andrew acknowledges that. It's not a book of rules, per se, but a book of lessons he has learned through interviewing thousands of leaders in tech and entrepreneurship. I found some of the tips straightforward, but most of it was novel and useful. If you run a podcast, definitely read it. Even if you don't, it's probably useful for other types of business conversations and interviews.

[PJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 - closer to 3 than 4

Andrew clearly has a breadth of knowledge. Podcasters can take away a lot of tidbits and best practices ; especially the question frameworks and pipeline intake flow.

Overall was an engaging read but did seem a bit fluffy at some points. Given the topic it was concise, but just felt a bit surface level. I think it could’ve benefitted from more question Breakdown analysis. Possibly a podcast setup ‘must have’ setup list could be a nice addition.

[Marcella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful ways to avoid common interviewing pitfalls: self-promotion, rejecting guests that aren't a good fit, and more. I particularly enjoyed the audio snippets at the end of certain sections. The illustrative examples of how Andrew implemented each strategy helped solidify the concept for me. Great resource!

[Kjell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stop Asking Questions was a book I just had to read to get better at interviews and improve my podcasting skills.

I was lucky enough to get to test some of this on Andrew Warner himself. However, I wish I had read it two or three more times before the interview (https://coffeeandpens.com/andrew-warner). There are so many techniques in the book it's hard to interiorise them all at once.

[Monika · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stop Asking Questions is divided roughly into 2 parts; the first is about how to interview and ask questions that get people to open up, the second section is more about logistics of creating podcasts like getting great guests. I think the first part is very interesting and insightful for anyone but the second part isn't that relevant unless you want to start a podcast.

[Brigham Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm always interested in becoming a better conversationalist. this book of advice from a tech interviewer had a couple useful prompts:

- Ask because...., to get them to go deeper
- Instead of me saying the opposing view, say, what would you say to someone (customer/friend) who thought X
- Use "tell me about a time when...."

[Jesse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Immensely Useful Tips for Podcasters

This guide was full of actuonable tips, right from the start. I had planned to read just a few chapters to prep for my first podcast interviews, but ended up reading the entire thing in just a few days. You won't regret getting this book.

[Danielle Barak · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not an interviewer per say, but I do talk to people all day - asking them questions to help them with their finances. I found most of the book applicable and the rest just interesting. Would recommend.

[robert buice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Your podcast toolkit

Everything you ever wanted to know about starting and growin
your skills as a podcaster are found right here. It's your antidote to podfade

[Chuck Meyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good tips about interviewing in the front half of the book, if you can wade through the finance bro garbage of scotch tastings and name dropping.

[Louis Shulman · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you host a podcast you will learn A LOT from this book… even if you’ve been podcasting for a while.

Also, very easy to read.

[Oscar Pettersson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great for podcasters, but parts from the first third is an absolute must for everyone interested in having great conversations.

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listen

Sound advice for interviewing but also for developing a plan to talk to people you haven't met yet but are planning to. Let them talk while you gain the information you seek.

[Josue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad book; the first part is the most worthwhile although the whole book is littered with neat anecdotes and useful tips that can used across various topics.

[Patricia-pattiecake Potter · Rating 5 out of 5]

great book

Great book. Helped me have conversations and stop asking questions. Highly recommend. I’m thinking of gifting this book to my niece

[Tobias · Rating 5 out of 5]

Andrew cares deeply about his craft, his guests, and his audience and it permeates the entire book. This genuine concern manifests in him consistently going the extra mile, even trying to have it rub off on the reader. Coupled with a systematic, data-driven approach to improvement and refinement, which Andrew shares as a multitude of practical tools and tactics, it’s not wonder he’s enjoying the massive success he’s had. This podcasting bible is a must-read for the budding a veteran interviewer alike!

[Andrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though I'm not into interviews, the first half was extremely interesting and helpful!

[Turi Coppola · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stop Asking Questions by Andrew Warner is definitely a must-have for everyone wanting to learn how to become a professional podcaster and conduct memorable interviews.
It gave me many valuable insights, and I highly recommend it.