Kelly And Pompeo: How A Journalist Masterfully Combated Gaslighting

Stephanie Sarkis Contributor
Forbes Magazine

Mary Louise Kelly, the host of National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered,” hosted a master class on how to handle gaslighters when she interviewed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo about Ukraine.

In just a 53-second recording, Kelly gives a master class how to confront interviewees whose purpose is to misinform, and she also refused to be used as a conduit for that misinformation. Even if you aren’t a journalist, Kelly shows how to handle manipulative people, regardless of where you encounter them.


Don’t Let Them Set The Agenda
In an interview with Rachel Martin, Kelly said Pompeo “didn’t want to field a lot of questions on Ukraine.” Kelly said on air that the previous evening Pompeo’s staff had agreed that Kelly and Pompeo would speak on Iran and Ukraine, after Pompeo said he never agreed to it. Pompeo did what seasoned and trained interviewees do when they want to avoid a question — they change the topic and talk about how great things are going in another area. Kelly didn’t let Pompeo steer the ship. She gets the interview back on track by again simply bringing up the topic that Pompeo is avoiding.

More: https://www.forbes.com/sites/stephaniesarkis/2020/01/25/kelly-and-pompeo-how-a-journalist-masterfully-combated-gaslighting/?fbclid=IwAR2NgUMlZrZer3N9-lpfTU3yGLRv3Q1C2tC_6z7PpxB2F0jwgeX9aqF-Eco#7149caa778ba