This is an important journalism skill outsiders rarely think about.

Posing post-game questions.

This is not the same as asking a question in an interview situation. At best, a one-on-one with flexible time limits. More likely something in a controlled environment, like a press conference.

Asking post-game questions in a clubhouse littered with laundry and tape and cluttered by too many reporters … is a special talent, and not all of us have it.

I thought of this, anew, after seeing a fairly disastrous and seriously short Q&A between Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder and reporters tonight. The video is all of 32 seconds and most of that is reporters clumsily framing questions — ahead of the predictably unhelpful Westbrook.

Let’s craft a list of tips for the clubhouse interview distilled from 35 years in the business.

–Prepare your question, rehearse it and edit it. This need not be done aloud, but it must be done. Have it in your mind before you open your mouth. Don’t begin speaking unless you know exactly what you are going to say.

–Be concise. Many modern athletes are not going to linger. Don’t spend too much of that time phrasing questions. In the video, the first reporter takes 13 seconds to get out a question. This is 2017. Our attention spans hardly last 13 seconds.

–Do not propose answers for athletes. Too many reporters pose a question, then suggest potential answers. This is a bad habit that comes from trying to make it easier on the athlete — when it often just annoys them further. The first question in this case: “Russ, you guys at the end, you know, had a couple of shots at it, a couple times a scramble to get offensive boards, get some shots at ’em and it just wasn’t meant to be tonight. What happened at the end there?” Said Westbrook: “You just named everything that happened.” The end. The proper way to ask that question? “What happened at the end?” (Though this leaves the reporter at risk of the “you saw it” response.)

–If you have what you know to be a question that may agitate the athlete … save it for the third or fourth question of the group interview. Asking the tough one up front could kill the interview right out of the gate, and that will annoy your colleagues. The trick here is not waiting too long. A good rule of thumb? Pose it after the athlete has responded to at least one question.

–Have a second question lined up and ready to go. It could be a follow-up to your first question. Or someone may have asked your question before you can pose it.

–Never ask a “yes” or “no” question. You are inviting a one-word response.

–When in doubt, use the “talk about” gambit. Yes, it is cliche, it often is lazy, but in the antagonistic atmosphere of the modern clubhouse it is a non-judgmental question and it invites the athlete to be the authority.

–Parse your question so that it does not seem stupid or condescending or unnecessarily combative. Play it in your head. Consider every word for potential trouble.

–Keep an eye open for the athlete who may not be the key actor in the game — but is known for having some tolerance for reporters. He may be the only person who speaks.

–Do not fawn. Be professional but not worshipful. Athletes are inclined to dislike reporters; don’t let them dismiss you as a “suck-up”.

The clubhouse Q&A is one of the toughest situations in sports journalism. And the losing clubhouse is even tougher. In some cases, it may yield little or nothing.

All you can do is carry into the crucible the Boy Scout credo: Be prepared.