> I would have thought that an excellent interviewer would generally be considered one who is efficient at extracting interesting data (or can at least edit it to appear so) and can engage with & challenge the interviewee ...
I agree with the earlier part but disagree with this part of the comment. If the interviewee is someone particularly interesting, I learn a lot more about them when the interviewer just throws softball questions to help the interviewee more or less free-associate. Most of the time when an interviewer tries to "challenge" or "ask hard questions" it comes across as cringeworthy and a waste of time that could have been better spent letting the interviewee speak their mind.
I agree with the earlier part but disagree with this part of the comment. If the interviewee is someone particularly interesting, I learn a lot more about them when the interviewer just throws softball questions to help the interviewee more or less free-associate. Most of the time when an interviewer tries to "challenge" or "ask hard questions" it comes across as cringeworthy and a waste of time that could have been better spent letting the interviewee speak their mind.