In my first post of 2021, I spoke about a quote from fictional character George Costanza that helps ground me when I stress too much.

In my second post, I cited NPR great Ira Glass and one of my favorite authors, Anthony Doerr, and discussed their ruminations on chasing perfection.

Now comes Post #3, and I’m again inspired by a kernel of wisdom in an unexpected place.

Kevin Hart, the ridiculously accomplished standup comedian/actor/content creator, now hosts a podcast. It’s called Inside Jokes, and it follows a familiar format: comic superstar interviews another comic superstar for nearly an hour.  The first episode dropped Monday. Hart’s guest? Jerry Seinfeld.

I couldn’t help but click, and within five minutes, I heard an observation from Seinfeld that gave me a jolt about my own line of work.

The two icons were volleying back and forth about interview shows – and what Hart sought to gain by starting one of his own. Seinfeld brought up his own recent foray, Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, on which Hart appeared in a memorable episode. (Their 30-second riff about long talkers in this clip is a classic.)

And then he said this:

“When you’re doing these types of interviews, you see a map in front of you. You’re almost like a Boy Scout in the woods, and you’re looking at the trail, and you go, ‘I could go down this trail, or I could go down that trail.’ And it really gets your mind going. But the trick is to go down the trails. Don’t just ask your questions.”

That’s a damn good analogy.

It’s also damn good advice for anyone who conducts interviews en route to telling stories.

I want to spotlight it here because I know the temptation that lures broadcast journalists to do the opposite. Particularly if you work alone, with demanding deadlines and brim-filled timelines, you might feel drawn toward an easier storytelling path. A TV news story is far from a podcast episode, particularly in the time allotted to tell it. Often in our days, we broadcast journalists can’t always afford to meander down trails as Seinfeld describes.

But we should still be on the lookout.

I was never the kind of reporter who showed up with a list of questions written on a notepad or my phone. Particularly on daily turns, I generally memorized the main questions I wanted to ask and rolled down that path during the interview. But even in that crunch, I took my time. If I heard an answer that surprised me or piqued my interest, I couldn’t resist digging a little further and exploring a particular subject longer than perhaps I needed.

I didn’t have a name for that technique, but in retrospect, I was going down trails. And those trails often led to revelations that changed fundamental truths about my story.

These days I typically cover long-form stories where my interviews more closely resemble podcast episodes. (I also, of course, host a podcast about storytelling, where I can really trek.) The trail concept is easier to apply, but it’s no less important.

Why? Because it signals – in my head, anyway – that I’m approaching a story with an open mind.

One of the most expedient but damaging shortcuts a reporter can take is to write a story in advance. I fully support and encourage brainstorming, whether ideas, particular lines of script, or thematic thrusts. But if a story becomes something different, we must be willing as storytellers to throw out our original conceptions and embrace a new direction.

When we do so, we tell stories that are true to the specifics of a situation, rather than fit a familiar rubric. And that helps properly inform our viewers.

I enjoyed much of the 45-minute exchange between Hart and Seinfeld; after all, you don’t need to be a storyteller to enjoy banter between two friendly comedians. But I appreciate the guidance I hadn’t expected and didn’t realize I needed.

The Solo Video Journalist is available for purchase. You can find it on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and the publisher’s web site.

Matt Pearl is the author of the Telling the Story blog and podcast. Feel free to comment below or e-mail Matt at matt@tellingthestoryblog.com. You can also follow Matt on Facebook and Twitter.