This What Ted's Thinking, the Sydney-Sweeney interview, open-ended questions, and the pregnant pause,

breaks down a recent viral video to highlight three important interviewing techniques.

The interviewing module of Capital Alaceters University begins with the why behind

manager interviews. The goal of an interview is simple, to gather information and learn, so the

allocator can move the investment process forward. A well-run interview creates the groundwork

for better investment decisions, deepens relationships

with managers, and builds a reputation as a thoughtful, desirable partner in a competitive

market. In contrast, you can't learn much if you try to prove how smart you are or steer

others towards agreeing with your point of view. It sounds obvious,

but it happens all the time. I recently came across a poor interview that illustrates the power

of three timeless interviewing techniques, open-ended questions, short questions, and pregnant pauses.

Each is an essential tool for anyone looking to conduct

revealing interviews. Here's the setup. Three months ago, American Eagle launched an ad with the

tagline, Sidney Sweeney has great genes. The pun on jeans with the J and jeans with the G sparked both attention and controversy.

While the campaign was commercially successful, some critics inferred an undertone of white supremacy

in the mixed metaphor. Last week, a GQ journalist asked Sidney about it. Here's a 27-second clip from the exchange.

The criticism of the content, which was basically that maybe specifically in this political

climate, like, white people shouldn't joke about genetic superiority. Like, that was kind of

like the criticism, broadly speaking.

And since you are talking about this, I just wanted to give you an opportunity to talk about that specifically.

I think that when I have an issue that I want to speak about, people will hear.

In the interviewing module of Capital Alicators University, I share a slide on tips for asking good questions.

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