Harald Valder has been thinking up questions for Germany’s most famous quiz shows for more than 25 years. Today he gives answers for once.
BARBARA: Mr. Valder, does anyone really want to play “Trivial Pursuit” with you?
Harald Valder: For a suspiciously long time no one has asked whether I would like a hearty evening of knowledge games.
Then you have lost your reputation as a smart ass in your circle of friends?
Isn’t there a little know-it-all in each of us? That’s the nice thing about my job: my little know-it-all can really let off steam during working hours.
You studied geography, botany and zoology. One thinks more of the zoo than of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” How did you get into your job as a quiz question developer?
Shortly after completing my studies, a job advertisement torn from the newspaper hung on the door of my room in the student flat: “Quiz editor wanted”. I applied and started working for the Jeopardy! Editorial team a month later. I am still grateful to my roommates for this hint with the fence post. Incidentally, that would also be the case if the ad text had read “Zoo is looking for employees”.
Can you tell us your parents’ reaction, please?
They were delighted that, contrary to all prophecies, as a qualified geographer you actually have a chance on the job market.
Now you’re even the head of a quiz question development company. What do you state on the forms as the official job title?
Editor. At “Quiz Question Producer” people always look at you a little strange.
Are you the natural history officer in the editorial office?
Natural history officer sounds good. There are some natural sciences that I shouldn’t be consulted about – physics, for example, isn’t exactly my hobby. But it is by no means the case that we have a lot of luminaries who only let off steam in their subjects. On the contrary: The best quiz questions often arise when someone approaches a topic with no detailed prior knowledge but with a lot of curiosity.
How do we have to imagine your day? Do you play the moderator and your staff the candidates to test questions?
Exactly, we’re playing Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? – and in the evening everyone goes home with a sack of money. Seriously: Of course, the questions are tested among colleagues and sometimes close family or friends. We and people close to us are not allowed to participate in the shows in which our questions are used.
And what does it matter?
First and foremost, whether the answer is right or wrong and what the path to get there looks like. Does the answer come like a shot from a pistol? Which considerations lead to the answer? Can the wrong alternatives be ruled out? How great is the joy if the answer is correct? How big the trouble if it’s wrong? All of this provides indications of the level of difficulty and whether the questions will encourage the audience to guess.
You have been in business for 26 years. As a child, did you enjoy asking questions?
Yes, and I admit: I never quite outgrown the “why, why, why?” Phase in which you ask your parents questions. I also really enjoyed watching “The Grand Prix”, but it was more because of Wum and Wendelin … The only difference to the questions from my childhood: Today I can practically google the answers.
Just like we all secretly do when our children want something explained that we have no idea about …
In situations like this, I actually force myself to leave the cell phone in my pocket. You don’t want to be a bad example. The same applies to controversial discussions at the counter – it was a long time ago. They are much funnier when everyone insists on being right – and in the end you agree on a tie instead of clarifying the matter quickly and boringly via Wikipedia.
Have you ever thought of changing jobs – at some point there is a risk of repeating yourself?
Of course, one inevitably asks oneself at first whether not even all knowledge of this world has been asked for. But then you realize that every day new questions “grow up” somewhere in the world.
What is the inspiration on your bedside table: “Der Spiegel”, “Gala” or something from Loriot?
Neither nor. I read the “Spiegel”, I love Loriot, but there is usually a good book on my bedside table. Right now I’m reading “Water Music” by TC Boyle. For the third time. I mainly find ideas while rummaging through the endless expanses of the World Wide Web. But inspiration for a question can be pretty much anything. The purple “primeval carrot” that you can buy at the vegetable stall at the weekly market. Or the runny nose – yes, it really does exist – that your own child has caught. Sometimes the answer is there first and you create a question about it, sometimes there is even a wrong answer alternative at the beginning.
Questions and answers also say something about your own personality: What is a “typical Valder”?
In the form of a quiz question? Hm. Maybe this:
Who Survived the Flood?
A: Noah and his family
B: Adam and Eve
C: The Magnificent Seven
D: The archetypes
On June 3rd, the 1,500th episode of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” broadcast. Hand on heart: do you still watch every show?
I am present at every recording in the studio, and in fact I watch most of the shows again at home.
How is your wife holding up?
It is often enough that she turns on the television and gives advice.
With Günther Jauch you are sure to be with you.
No. He prefers an unusual, but very neat and friendly you.
How do you explain the continued success of guess shows?
Even if not everyone will admit it: Who of us does not feel a little triumph every time when you shake the right answer to a million-dollar question out of your sleeve and thus deeply impress everyone present. I think that’s at least one of the reasons the genre is so successful.
So your own vanity. Show off with your best question.
I’m rather proud of my colleagues, who keep coming up with questions that make me laugh out loud. For example: What is totally blue and lounging around in fields and meadows?
A: Schnapps tree
B: Vodka shower
C: whiskey grass
D: cornflower
You have populated more than 30 mailing formats with questions. Every answer is carefully checked. Nevertheless, mistakes are sure to happen to you too, how does that feel?
Wherever people work, mistakes happen. With us, measured against the number of questions played, this happens very seldom. That’s why I actually remember each and every one of them. Well, how does it feel when something goes wrong? I would say: shitty.
Let’s come to the end: How did you find my questions on a scale from one to ten?
Wrong question. I recommend this formulation instead: What did you think of my questions?
A: Great!
B: great!
C: Mega!
D: Awesome!
HARALD VALDER, 53, is the executive director of the quiz question development company Mind the Company in Cologne.
This article originally appeared in Barbara issue no. 06/2021.