Interviewing is probably seen by many as something that would be easy to pull off. Really what could be so hard about it, you research a topic, you sit down across from someone and you ask questions. As far as those steps go it really is a pretty easy process. Getting people to open up, knowing how to engage them, read them and know how to earn their trust quickly are skills that I am not sure can be taught.
Many consider Barbara Walters is one of the best interviewer because she makes so many peole cry and has a tendency to land the big interviews. I find her interviews patronizing and I wouldn't want to sit down and talk to her. Oprah is another good interviewer that comes to mind and I think she is better and her ability to show compassion is impressive but I find her to be more like a prying aunt that wants to ask questions and pretend she isn't judging you. I just don't trust her.
If you want to watch an impressive interview you should check out David Feherty. A golfer that became a broadcaster and now has his own show on the Golf Network. Most of his interviews are of golfers but there are some fantastic interviews with other people in sports including Bill Russell and Bob Knight.
He has a storied past of his own and maybe that is why he can get people to talk about some of the hardest moments in their lives. It really doesn't matter why they open up it is that they do. With a knack for knowing just the question to ask and when to stop asking them and just let the story be told shows a lack of ego and respect for the person across the table. He crafts such a story that a lot of times an hour doesn't seem like long enough. Most times I have known nothing about the people he is interviewing and I am always fascinated with the people he has talked to.
On the interview where I did know something about the person I was impressed about how much he got Bob Knight to talk about. As the coach of the Indiana University basketball team I saw many news clips of him and heard many stories about. Especially leading up to the separation of him and that job. The throwing of chairs and assaulting players are only two of the things that make Bob Knight a controversial person. From Feherty's interview I did not come to like Bob Knight but I did come away with an appreciation for him as a coach, a leader and a competitor. All in an hour interview cut short with commercials. I would love to see the stories that hit the editing room floor in the producing of Feherty's show. I look forward to every episode. Up next week Keegan Bradley. I can't tell you one thing about him tonight. Though the same could have been said this morning about David Duval. Tune in Monday night after the finale of Big Break on the Gold network.
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