Curious Not Cursed Interviewing
Go in with zero prep so you ask the questions your audience actually has.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 3
- Confidence
- 78%
Dumas deliberately does zero prep for interviews. He argues that heavy prep gives him the 'curse of knowledge,' leading him to ask questions his listeners wouldn't. By going in curious and a little clueless, he naturally asks the questions his audience has — and his listeners' favorite compliment is that he always seems to ask exactly what they were wondering. Since listeners can't raise their hands, the host must be their voice. He frames it as a style choice, not a rule: the lesson is to know your own style, whether that's zero prep, heavy prep, or in between.
Origin
As a multi-million-dollar business owner far removed from his listeners' stage, Dumas realized prepping would make him ask advanced questions his audience didn't have, so he chose to stay a curious clean slate.
Core principles
- 01Deep prep can give you the curse of knowledge, so you ask expert questions your audience wouldn't.
- 02Going in curious and clueless surfaces the exact questions listeners are silently asking.
- 03The host's job is to voice the audience's questions since they can't raise their hands.
- 04Style is personal — the right amount of prep is whatever fits you, from zero to heavy.
How to run it
- 1
Know your own style
Decide whether you're a heavy-prepper, a zero-prepper, or somewhere in between rather than mimicking someone else — it's your show, your rules.
- 2
Enter curious, not cursed
For the no-prep approach, go in with genuine curiosity and without the curse of knowledge so you don't skip the basics.
Watch out Deep prep can pull you toward expert questions your audience isn't asking.
- 3
Be the audience's voice
Ask the questions your listeners have brewing in their minds, since they can't raise their hands and ask directly.
Pro tip The best compliment is a listener saying you asked exactly what they were wondering.
In the wild
Dumas goes into interviews with zero prep and genuine curiosity, asking newcomer-level questions rather than expert ones informed by research.
→ Listeners repeatedly tell him he always asks the exact question they had, and he stays sharp thinking on his feet.
Common mistakes
Over-prepping into the curse of knowledge
Heavy research can lead a host to ask advanced questions their audience never had, skipping the answers listeners actually want.
Copying someone else's style
Adopting a prep approach that doesn't fit you ignores that the right style is personal — the point is to know and use your own.
Is it for you?
Best for
Interviewers and hosts whose audience is less expert than they are.
Not ideal for
Deeply technical interviews or hosts whose brand is rigorous, research-heavy questioning.
From the transcript
“one thing that I like by the way is going into interviews curious not having the curse of knowledge”
“it just seems like you're always asking the question that I have when I'm listening to the show and I'm like yes that's my goal”
From the episode
John Lee Dumas: Productivity Hacks to Work Smarter, Not Harder
John Lee Dumas