What Delights You, Frustrates You, Motivates You About Interviewing?

When I first started One Plus One in July 2010, I wondered why people would want to subject themselves to some quite personal questions.  But you see, I really wanted to know the answers!  I found the more I challenged myself with braver questions, the more generous the guest’s response.

I’ve said it before but it was veteran Channel Nine journalist Peter Harvey who I credit with first giving me ‘permission’ to ask deeper questions about his mortality.  Peter died of pancreatic cancer in 2013.  During our interview, he would finish a sentence, just before he finished a thought so that I would have to follow up with another question.

I regard this as a gift he gave me. And since that time, I’ve been given it over and over again.

What delights me about interviewing?

Having my research challenged or improved

When the guest reveals a surprising nugget of information

Unexpected emotion (me and/or the guest)

Forgetting I am recording an interview in a TV studio

What frustrates me?

I can get tongue-tied.  I don’t have the gift of the gab.

After hundreds of interviews, I can’t predict what the audience will or won’t like

I’d like more (constructive) professional feedback

Many guests have had a poor start in life.  This saddens me.

What motivates me?

Discovering amazing people who have never been interviewed

Finding and sharing human vulnerability

Constantly learning about different pathways people use in their lives