A lot of interviews start the same way. "So, tell me about what you do!" "What makes your company different?" "Was that a challenging experience?"

They're not wrong, but they're vague.

And vague questions tend to produce vague answers. The kind people have given in their sleep. Answers that sound fine, but don't really say much.

That's where a lot of content loses its steam.

I've seen this play out from both sides of the table. Before Franckly Creative, I spent years working as a journalist, interviewing people across industries and beats. And the biggest lesson I carried with me into content strategy wasn't how to write faster or shoot cleaner video.

It was how to actually listen.

Because when you're truly listening, not just waiting for your turn to ask the next question, that's when the better questions come.

On one of my first assignments as a journalist, I was covering a local rodeo event. While interviewing the rodeo event coordinator, he mentioned that most of the proceeds were going to a local charity. I didn't ask a single follow-up question. I just moved on to the next one on my list. When I got back to the station, my director asked me why I didn't go down that avenue. That was the story. The charity. And I missed it because I was too focused on getting the questions out rather than actually listening to what was being said.

I learned quickly that active listening isn't a soft skill. It's the whole job. And the quality of a conversation almost always comes down to how well you're paying attention before you ever open your mouth.

Bad Questions Create Rehearsed Content

When someone knows exactly what's coming, they stay in their comfort zone. You get polished responses, surface-level insight, and language that could belong to almost anyone.

Safe questions lead to rehearsed answers. Rehearsed answers lead to generic content. And generic content is easy to scroll past.

This was true in journalism, and it's just as true now as I help founders and brands shape their content.

Better Questions Unlock the Story

The most compelling moments usually come when you ask something that makes your subject pause for half a second. And those questions? They don't come from a prepared list. They come from actually listening to what someone just said.

Questions like:

• "What problem were you trying to solve when you started this?"

• "What's something you believed early on that you no longer agree with?"

• "What part of that experience surprised you the most?"

These questions ask for reflection, not a sales pitch. And they're only possible when you're present enough to know when to ask them.

I've gone into plenty of interviews with a clear plan, only to throw it out halfway through because someone said something unexpected. That's not a failure of preparation. It's the whole point.

Good content requires being comfortable going in with one idea and coming out with another.

You Can't Edit Your Way Out of a Bad Question

This is where a lot of content teams get stuck.

They'll record an interview, realize the story isn't quite there, and say, "We'll make it work in post."

But if no one was really listening in the room, the questions will show it. And if the questions didn't invite honesty, nuance, or specificity, no amount of cutting, polishing, or repurposing will make the content resonate.

This Is the Part AI Can't Replace

AI is a powerful tool. We use it. We're not anti-AI.

But AI can't replace genuine curiosity. It can't read the room. It won't notice when an interview subject's tone shifts or their expression changes. And it definitely can't listen, not the way it counts.

The human part: listening closely, asking the follow-up, sensing when there's more beneath the surface. That's still where the best content comes from.

The Takeaway

If you're creating content this year, whether it's a podcast, a brand video, a blog, or a thought-leadership series, start by paying attention. Really paying attention.

Not just to the questions you're asking, but to the answers you're getting.

Better listening leads to better questions. Better questions lead to better conversations. Better conversations lead to content that actually connects.

And no algorithm can replace that.