A business reporter’s advice: Act like people should be talking to you

Charlotte Cowles of The M Dash interviewed Business Insider senior finance correspondent Linette Lopez about her job.

Here is an excerpt:

I’M FASCINATED BY POWER, so business reporting is perfect for me, although I didn’t know it until grad school. A lot of students aren’t interested in business journalism because it doesn’t sound sexy and adventurous. When I taught at Columbia last year, my students wanted to go to Nigeria or Syria and like, get kidnapped. I was like, “I’d rather to go to Gstaad.”

THE WORST THING a journalist can do is be deferential. I’m not afraid of anybody. I do not care who you are—I have questions, and my readers deserve answers. The way I talk to hedge fund managers, politicians—it shocks some of the people I work with. I really don’t give a shit. I’ve seen too many emperors without clothes.

CONFIDENCE IN YOURSELF is incredibly attractive to people. If you want people to talk to you, you have to make yourself seem cool. Especially with these finance guys, because they’re nerds. Wall Street guys are all nerds. And everyone’s insecure. Everyone. When I feel small, that’s when I smile wider and force myself to get out there. I act like people should be talking to me. It’s the only way to beat that sense of intimidation.

Read more here.