Fresh Air host, Terry Gross, seems to have done his research on “The Daily Show” host, Jon Stewart.
The questions he asks begin with basic interview questions about his show, what he does and how he started his career.
Gross points out the political nature of Stewart’s show and questions how he is able to lighten the mood and make politics into comedy.
At some point in the interview they even discuss Stewart’s bar mitzvah and the type of music that was played.
It seems as though Gross had a strategy, a simple one—have a conversation, have only a few questions that MUST be asked and go with the flow.
The flow of the interview is very much that, but with points here and there that the interview was intended to cover.
Every once in a while they would discuss the rally and politics, but more than anything, they seemed to be having a “getting to know you” conversation.
One of the best things I can take away from this interview is that mastering the skill of leaving work at work and genuinely taking personal time, is a skill that I am not the only one trying to master.
The evasive answers were handled in a manner that was neither harassing nor forcing an answer, in what seemed to be an attempt to keep a good relationship between the two.
Gross and Stewart had the relationship of an interviewer and interviewee, but they made it a conversation instead of a question and answer period, which is what I believe a good interview should be.
The biggest thing I am taking away from this interview, is that a good interview is one in which both the interviewer and the interviewee are engaged, comfortable, not pushing buttons, pushing boundaries and having a good, honest conversation.
Conversation is a great way to get people talking and to keep people talking and hopefully if they are comfortable enough, they will forget they are being interviewed and may be more likely to share details that they otherwise would not.
Have a small amount of questions in mind that you want to ask, allow the interviewee to veer off track, but bring them back nicely, control the interview and make it a conversation.
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