The Power Imbalance in an Interview
Launch library · evergreen read
An interviewer typically holds more power in a conversation than a subject realises in the moment: control over the questions asked, the framing applied, and ultimately how the material is presented once the sitting has ended. Acknowledging this imbalance honestly is a basic ethical starting point.
The imbalance is not inherently wrong; it is simply built into the structure of the format. What matters is how consciously an interviewer wields it, using the position of relative control to draw out genuine material rather than to manipulate or corner a subject unfairly.
Subjects with less institutional power than the interviewer, or less experience with the format itself, deserve particular care in this regard, since the imbalance affects them more acutely than a subject who is themselves practised and comfortable in the role. Recognising that imbalance honestly is the first step toward using it responsibly rather than carelessly. That care shows most clearly in the small, ordinary choices made throughout a sitting.