Different Ways (Interview Skills) to deal with different situations

Difficult or Challenging Interviewee 
If you have a interviewee that is being either difficult or challenging about the interview/questions asked/topic in general there are a number of ways to deal with it;

Firstly don't let them take control of the interview at all time you must be in control of your interview if the interviewee starts to try take control by asking you question answer them but then remind them of the interview at hand and start to ask them double of amount of questions back to let them know whose interview it is. Then if they start to be difficult with the question your asking and either trying to change the subject or refuses to answer do either one of two things ask them why they don't want to answer or restructure the question and ask it again so you are able to overall gain the answer you have set out to get.

Secondly and lastly if they are being difficult or challenging to the point the interview looks like its beginning to get heated keep calm and explore why things are getting heated by finding out why they don't want to talk about that subject, if it starts to continue getting heated move on but always come back with a smiler question to fit too the subject matter.

Emotional Interviewee 
If your interviewee begins to get emotional from the interview/subject matter/questions asked then while refraysing your question start to comfort them by offering a tissue use less body language and start to talk in a different tone of voice to start to show your not here to upset (changing the tone in your voice can show you care and your not in a big rush to get the answers) while doing this asking a question in a more gently way to make them feel comfortable, also saying things like "In your own time....no rush" while make them feel more comfortable and more willing to answer the questions.  

Interviewee Reluctant to Talk 
Finally if your interviewee is reluctant to talk depending on the subject matter you either ask them why they are reluctant to talk about the subject that you have put forward or if they are too upset and are reluctant because of that you start to try relate to them, make them feel comfortable in the interview by letting them feel they don't have to answer the question if they don't want too while restructing the question and trying to get the answer out of them while making them feel comfortable at the same time by using suggestive questions like "Well if you don't feel like answering that question how do you feel about this one?" and explaining yourself why your asking the questions at hand and use a lot of evidence to back up points and questions.

Jonah Hill Interview With Empire (The Wolf Of Wall Street)

This interview is between Phil de Semlyen of Empire Magazine and Jonah Hill talking about his latest  film "The Wolf Of Wall Street" among other things in his previous roles, the interview and Jonah Hill have a laugh and use a lot of comedy between them two by joking around and not taking a topic into a serious areas expect right at the end when they talk a small portion on drugs in the film and how he got into that frame of mind as Jonah Hill's character Donnie Azoff is addicted to a number of different drugs.


The interviewer mainly surrounds the interview around the movie 'The Wolf of Wall Street" but also when he turns into joking around with Jonah by mentioning a prop in the film and then goes on to ask about what other things (props) Jonah Hill keeps, he then does stay on the subject of the film by making him feel comfortable by giving him a number of compliments about Jonah Hill's acting in the film and asks him how he felt working along side the people mainly focusing around Leonardo DiCaprio and a number of crazy scenes they both do together. This is a good way the interviewer is mainly surrounding on how good the film is and what is in the film while joking around and making Jonah Hill feel comfortable so he shares as much as possible so the target audience get's to know a bit behind the scenes and about the film that might get them to either read/watch more Empire interviews and to also see the film.

While the interview is very jokey like the film itself the interviewer knows that there are serious things in this film and spends the last part of the interview to shortly explore with Jonah them asking about how he acted being a crazy drug addict who works in Wall Street and how he was able to show he was under all those drugs and they talk a bit about Jonah seeing a drug councillor to talk about the serious effects of the drugs and how his character would be acting while under these drugs and even thou these scenes are very funny one of the funniest moments of the film even the interviewer says this, he explores and mentions that it is a very serious topic.

You can see throughout the interview the interviewer keeps Jonah Hill very happy by keeping either a smile on his face or keep him laughing, this I feel is a good interview technique and works in this certain subject as the film is very jokey and crazy, while if the interviewer was interviewing him or someone else for another subject that is more serious you would want them to feel happy and comfortable but you wouldn't be making jokes and trying to make them laugh as it would not work as it wouldn't be considerate to the subject matter at hand while this interview is done perfectly by the interviewer having lots of humour with his interviewee but also mentioning that there is a serious topic and this is it and how did you do it which I feel is a great way of controlling a interview like this.  

Quentin Tarantino: 'I'm shutting your butt down!' Analysis

In this interview channel four news teams Krishnan Guru-Murthy interviews Quentin Tarantino about his new film Django Unchained while in the interview things get heated as Tarantino refuses to discuss any link between movie violence and real life violence. Tarantino see's this interview as him selling hi movie and nothing else while Krishnan see's it as a chance to get some of the directors opinions on the film and his previous films and bring up one of the key features to his films which is violence which is everywhere in the news at the time and also the theme of racesum in the film and the bad press it has got while Tarantino does not want to talk about any of this.

Krishnan jumps straight into the interview by first congratulating Tarantino then starts to jump into the questions about the subject matter of the film he doesn't bother wasting time in anything else, he does this for a number of reasons; firstly it is a news show and one that is a serious news show talking about serious issues, Secondaly the subject matter is one that is very taboo but also has been brought up in the news at the time and so instead of leading up too it getting straight in is/was a great approach from Krishnan and Lastly before they even go on to the interviews in channel four news they let people know throughout the news show what they are going to be talking about and who they will be talking too so that in its own sense is an introduction.

The interviewer (Krishnan) starts of by congregating Tarantino on the film then carry's on with a number of open questions about the films subject while waiting for Tarantino to answer the question but while asking other questions Tarantino jumps right in to answer the question before the interviewer finishes in which the interviewer takes a quick step back to let Tarantino answer, while in the interview Krishnan he asks if Tarantino is happy or not happy about some of the bad reactions towards the film referencing a director who had a lot to say about the film subject (Spike Lee) in which brought a lot of free publicity to the film over the subject of slavery.

While the interviewer tries to agree with Tarantino in a way of saying "Well yes it good publicity" but Tarantino right away cuts him off by saying no and exampling what he thinks it is in which Krishnan again takes a step back so Tarantino can have his say on the topic at hand. While then Krishnan shows he is doing his research in the films he has made but also the bad press this film is getting, for the very taboo subject of slavery by saying "But you must care very deeply that this film stands out from your body of of work that its not trashed by more people" in which this is true and there is evidence all over the internet Tarantino again is very fast to jump right in there head first by saying he isn't correct while Krishnan is saying it isn't but is he worried with the subject matter and the reaction that people have had is he worried. While again Tarantino does not back down with his point and interrupts Krishnan once again, in which once again his skills as a interviewer knows to back down so Tarantino can get his point across.

Then knowing to move away from the subject of slavery and the film for a bit Krishnan then asks the question related to Tarantino's movie which is violence and asks why does Tarantino think his audience loves watching his violent films and why does Tarantino love making violence movies. While Tarantino answers it like its a closed question so Krishnan responds fast in which to keep Tarantino on the subject at hand so he can get the information out of him. In doing show Tarantino starts to explain the violence in Django Unchained but not violence in his movies altogether which was the original question. In which Krishnan lists the violence that happen during the slavery times in which again Tarantino shuts him down again. Kirshnan then uses the topic of violence again to swing round to asking about people who aren't violent or twisted people liking going into a cinema to watch violent films he uses his skill as an interviewer to get back on the topic of violence in films in generally, to get Tarantino's opinion on it from this point this is were the interview gets heated by refusing his question by moving right on to quotes from actors who star in Django Unchained then once again Tarantino shuts him down and doesn't want to answer that either while Tarantino then says that he is only here to sell his movie and not to do these questions he doesn't want to do. While Kirshnan ask's why he doesn't want to talk about a serious topic and Tarantino responds by saying he doesn't want to talk about what Kirshnan wants to talk about. He then lets Tarantino continues by saying that he has talked about it twenty years ago and doesn't want to do what Kirshnan want's to talk about in which Kirshnan tries to find out why. Kirshnan then tries to explain his self and what his interview is trying to do and this is why he is there but again Tarantino is having none of it.

Kirshana deals with Tarantino very well by trying to end the interview as soon as it gets heated instead of having a guest that is unhappy he does so but in my opinion you can still feel Tarantino isn't happy by the end of the interview as the purpose in Tarantino's mind for this interview was to sell his movie (Django Unchained) and that is it. Even when Kirshana does mention the press it has had Tarantino still doesn't want to believe this as he says his film is the reasons why people are debating and talking about slavery and he is proud of it and not that it's getting any bad press, after it got heated Kirshana does even say that he enjoys Tarantino's movies and it's not his opinion he is voicing just the opinions of other people throughout American and even around some of the world one of them being "Spike Lee" in which Kirshana should have brought that up as evidence to back the point that not everyone is happy about Tarantino's steps in a taboo subject. Kirshana does deal with this in a number of different ways by asking open questions so Tarantino can openly voice his opinion in which he does even with closed questions throughout he interview but also bringing some suggestive questions towards Tarantino which he says he encourages but doesn't show it through he answers and body language.

Throughout the interview both Kirshana and Tarantino have a lot of body language going on in which to both get there point across Tarantino uses a lot more body language in the interview then Kirshana and I feel the body language added to when the interview got heated and really showed the true feelings from both the Kirshana and more so Tarantino.

I feel Kirshana uses a number of techniques to make Tarantino happy and relaxed while talking about two difficult subjects one more so then the other but even with his techniques with an interviewee like Tarantino it is very hard for Kirshana to keep Tarantino happy and get the information out of it which he does as much as he can while keeping things controlled and then ends it as soon as he thinks he has got enough information.