Interviewers Quotes

I like to be on TV when interviewers are good. I like it especially when it's live. When they can cut things, I don't like it as much. Sometimes they cut something and say, "Well, you would get in trouble, you would get a lawsuit." I tell them, "Well, I don't want my lawyers to be unemployed. ~ Karl Lagerfeld

Do not be awed by giant predecessors. Be ill-tempered with their renown. Point out flaws. Frighten interviewers from Time. Appear in Playboy. Sell to the movies. ~ Vladimir Nabokov

Usually naive interviewers hover between two mutually contradictory convictions: one, that a text we call creative develops almost instantaneously in the mystic heat of inspirational raptus; or the other, that the writer has followed a recipe, a kind of secret set of rules that they would like to see revealed.
There is no set of rules, or, rather, there are many, varied and flexible rules ... ~ Umberto Eco

My travels have always been of the same kind. No matter where I've gone or why I've gone there it ends up that I never see anything. Becoming a movie star is living on a merry-go-round. When you travel you take the merry-go-round with you. You don't see natives or new scenery. You see chiefly the same press agents, the same sort of interviewers, and the same picture layouts of yourself. ~ Marilyn Monroe

Britney Spears told an interviewer if she weren't famous, she would be a teacher. So thank God she's famous. ~ Jay Leno

Mirroring the body language of the interviewers may be a way of increasing rapport and making them feel more receptive towards you. ~ Glen Wilson

All of a sudden I'm an expert on everything. Interviewers want your opinion on golf, foreign policy and even the price of peanuts. ~ Hubert Green

I'm a singer, not a politician, and I think you don't want the two to get confused. It's not OK to be on CNN talking about people starving and then tell the interviewer that your new album is coming out in six months. ~ Bono

When interviewers ask me who I'm sleeping with or if I don't like such-and-such or what is my sexuality, that's not beneficial to the world. They need to ask me about stuff that may help readers, like how my father abused my mother for many years. A lot of kids go through that and need to know what they should do. ~ Missy Elliot

Panic does not help, even if you are unable to answer. Try to ask questions to the interviewers as well and it should be impressive enough. ~ Chetan Bhagat

Don't like when sports interviewers force answers: Are you dedicating this game to your sick grandmother? What's the guy supposed to say? ~ Brian Regan

My advice to all interviewers is: Shut up and listen. It's harder than it sounds. ~ Errol Morris

Certainly in the case of 'Kill Your Friends,' a book I wrote more than 10 years ago, I routinely meet interviewers who appear to know the book better than I do. But still, you have to talk about it. ~ John Niven

Many interviewers when they come to talk to me, think they're being progressive by not mentioning in their stories any longer that I'm black. I tell them, 'Don't stop now. If I shot somebody you'd mention it.' ~ Colin Powell

Interviewer: What would you say to a woman in this country who assumes she is no longer oppressed, who believes women's liberation has been achieved?
el Saadawi: Well I would think she is blind. Like many people who are blind to gender problems, to class problems, to international problems. She's blind to what's happening to her. ~ Nawal El Saadawi

What's the magic number of candidates then? I worked with our firm's research center in India on a massive analysis to study the relationship between how many people we had presented to our clients in thousands of executive searches all over the world and the "stick rate" of the one hired - that is, how many years he or she had stayed at the company, either in the original position or moving up to a more senior role. My expectation was that a larger pool of people interviewed would increase the stick rate, and that happened up to a point. But after three or four candidates, it rapidly declined, confirming that too many options generate suboptimal decisions. So three to four seems to be the right number, just as it is with the interviewers you involve in your key people decisions. But wait: Weren't Kepler and Darwin out of this range with their eleven ~ Claudio Fernandez-Araoz

Interviews can be stimulating. It depends on the intelligence of the interviewer. ~ Muriel Spark

I feel squeezed like a lemon - interviewers and people keep turning up unannounced at my office! ~ Francois Englert

In my experience, and that of a lot of other women writers, all of the questions coming at them from interviewers tend to be about how lucky they are to be where they are - about luck and identity and how the idea struck them. ~ Eleanor Catton

An interview is only as good as both parties are willing to give to the interview and that includes the interviewer. ~ Jay Duplass

In this book industry we have different kinds of birds; excepting one; all having in common that they are ONLY watchers and squawkers at the pond. We have readers, editors, reviewers, interviewers, publishers, marketers, websites, monopolies, and writers. All are better compensated than the writers. Yet the system is totally upside down as those better rewarded are all derivative of what is primary; the writer. Without that person the readers have nothing to read; the editors have nothing to edit; the reviewers have nothing to review; the interviewers have no one to interview; the publishers have nothing to publish; the marketers have nothing to market; the website cannot adware infect 'members,' and the legalized monopolies have nothing to monopolize. So, in effect, this is where the troll steps in. He's kind of a writer; but he's not taking the time to churn out masterpieces. He's just effortlessly telling the vultures exactly what they are. ~ Edward Drobinski

I always get that cautionary warning right before I get off the phone with an interviewer. It's: 'Good luck with the show. I really like it, and if this goes wrong, you'll be hearing from my attorneys. ~ Jon Stewart

A lot of interviewers are looking for the dark side. They want to know about the depths of your despair and fear. ~ Clare Balding

It's not a colony," another of the USIC interviewers said, with an edge to her voice. "It's a community. We do not use the word colony. ~ Michel Faber

Offbeat questions are nearly impossible to prepare for, and they don't achieve the interviewer's objective - to test out-of-the-box thinking and the ability to perform under pressure. That's the bad news. The good news is that companies are moving away from them. ~ Travis Bradberry

Good interviewers share three features. They . . . obtain the greatest amount of accurate information relevant to diagnosis and management, in the shortest period of time, consistent with creating and maintaining a good working relationship (rapport) with the patient. ~ James Morrison

As a journalist, I can also now understand his (Patrick O'Brian's)idea that the Q&A is not particularly civilized - let alone a sports media press scrum. The formats don't necessarily further understanding between two people. It is not always true conversation - a discussion that unearths nuggets of insight. It too often seems like interviewers are running through a pre-fab checklist, looking for a Tweetable quote, trolling for a gaffe, or ticking off pre-conceived points like those on a medical checklist at the doctor's office. It can feel invasive, like a trip to the proctologist - in front of an audience. ~ Knute Berger

[Demystifying lesbian sex for an interviewer] In a way, the sex isn't really that different ... From what I can tell, no, not really. All the things that men and women do together, think of everything that men and women do together, women and women can do together. And that makes you realize that sex is just simply about connecting with another person, or about intimacy ... ~ Jennifer Beals

I haven't been disingenuous in what I've said describing my perception of "truth" and "reality." Certainly, I understand what is generally meant to be the "truth," I understand this notion, but it's not something I trust in, OK?

The only answer that feels true (I said feels, not is) is that yes, the character Minnie is me, but she is not me. She is a projection of some tumult which originates within me, but she is not me. I use elements of myself, including my likeness, for the character, perhaps as Cindy Sherman uses herself in her work, but like Sherman's photographs, the work itself is not any more about the creator than it is about everyone. I won't deny that Minnie does things I have done, and that things happen to her that have happened to me, but she, unlike me, having been created, is who she is and will remain so, unchanged now. I make no attempt to create "documentary." There is a process of dissociation that takes place when I make a story, I make creative decisions in a fugue state that I could hardly describe to you, but the end result is, I hope, a story with some meaning or resonance, something created, with a beginning, a middle and an end, an encapsulation of feeling and impression, but in no way a documentary of anything other than an "emotional truth."

If I told most interviewers that my work is "true" and that it is based on real events that occurred in my life, they would more readily accept this than they do the explanation I try to ~ Phoebe Gloeckner

Basically, I'm a really bad interviewer. I love meeting celebrities, but then I get a bit bored. Once you meet them you thing, 'really, what an ordinary person'. ~ Graham Norton

It's super-important to have a strong social media presence, and Jane's always going, When interviewers ask you about your Twitter, say you love reaching out directly to your fans, and I'm like, I don't even know how to use Twitter or what the password is because you disabled my laptop's wireless and only let me go on the Internet to do homework research or email Nadine assignments, and she says, I'm doing you a big favor, it's for nobodies who want to pretend like they're famous and for self-promoting hacks without PR machines, and adults act like teenagers passing notes and everyone's IQ drops thirty points on it. ~ Teddy Wayne

I want to be singing to everybody, and I want everybody to think that I'm singing to them. Guys, girls and everyone in between. ~ Joan Jett

I have made an art form of the interview. The French are the best interviewers, despite their addiction to the triad, like all Cartesians. ~ Orson Welles

Interviewers want to hear a reasonable story about the past, present, and future. ~ Meg Jay

News channels have always had interview shows, but we need different kinds of interviews with different kinds of interviewers - interviewers who bring different life experiences to the table. ~ George Stroumboulopoulos

Oprah has this intense curiosity that I haven't found with any interviewer. ~ Genevieve Gorder

'Tell me about yourself.' When interviewers ask this, they don't want to hear about everything that has happened in your life; the interviewer's objective is to see how you respond to this vague yet personal question. ~ Travis Bradberry

Meet the job interviewers expectations, you get shortlisted. Exceed their expectations, you get hired. ~ Sundar G.

Rude interviewers are ten a penny, and politicians have long since learned how to cope. ~ Andrew Marr

Julie Chen. She's my ultimate celebrity idol. I think she's one of the most amazing interviewers and hosts ever - and would kill to pick her brain. I am a fangirl of talent, so to see someone slaying the competition doing what I'd love to do, that's inspiring to me. ~ Tyler Oakley

I love having people around who are better interviewers than I am and who can make the time to do a really great job. All of the interviews that we've published are with people who really interest me. ~ Lorin Stein

Steve Coogan picks up enough to lecture an interviewer: This is a postmodern novel before there was any modernism to be post about. Later it's claimed that Tristram Shandy was No. 8 on the Observer's list of the greatest novels, which cheers everyone until they discover the list was chronological. ~ Roger Ebert

Interviewers always used to ask me about my pageboy haircut, and it drove me nuts: it almost made me suspect that there was something strange about it. So I cut off my pageboy ... ~ Emo Philips

- That - to cut to a chase which the interviewers' hands-on-hip attitudes and replacement of the lamp's bulb with a much higher wattage signified they'd very much like to see cut to - as ~ David Foster Wallace

If real Satanism were allowed the kind of television time that Christianity has now, the kind of drawing out and patience that interviewers give sports figures, or the kind of coverage that a baseball game gets, Christianity would be completely eliminated in a few short months. If people were allowed to see the complete, unbiased truth, even for 60 minutes, it would be too dangerous. There would be no comparison. ~ Anton Szandor LaVey

No. It's no the same. The interviewers want you to say what they want to hear. I want to hear what you have to say. ~ Val McDermid

Every day is not a beautiful day for anybody, but I try to treat all my fans nice and all the interviewers nice. ~ Missy Elliot

I was overwhelmed by so many interviewers and then messages of congratulations. So many congratulation messages. I feel this shows the authority and the greatness of the Nobel Prize. ~ Isamu Akasaki

When Phil and I started out, everyone hated rock n' roll. The record companies didn't like it at all - felt it was an unnecessary evil. And the press: interviewers were always older than us, and they let you know they didn't like your music, they were just doing the interview because it was their job. ~ Don Everly

I'm a Freddie Mercury fan. (In response to an interviewer backstage at a Queen concert at the LA Forum, who asked: Can I tell my viewers that Michael Jackson is a Queen fan? ~ Freddie Mercury

Interviewer: Would it be fair to describe you as a volatile player? Beckham: Well, I can play in the centre, on the right and occasionally on the left side. ~ David Beckham

We'll keep the three of them in separate rooms, keep changing interviewers on them. I'm betting on Young to fall first.'
Roarke eased out of the lot, headed for home. 'Why?'
'The bastard loves her. Love messes you up. You make mistakes 'cause you're worried, protective. Stupid.'
He smiled a little, brushed her hair back from her face, and she dropped steeply into sleep. 'Tell me about it. ~ J.D. Robb

Good questions are those that show that you not only want the job, you are prepared to knock the ball out of the park once you have it. So ask, "What would a successful year in the job look like?" or "What did you most value in the person who left?" You've done a Google search of the field and the company, of course, and one of your questions could be about emerging trends. Interviewers love it when questions relate to them and their accomplishments ("I've heard you made some exciting changes recently. What has the outcome been?"). ~ Kate White

Lots of people come up to me and call me Sir Bruce now. Interviewers call me Sir with every question, but I never make a point of making people call me Sir. It doesn't matter to me, though; it was a great honour to be knighted. I'm very proud of it. ~ Bruce Forsyth

Interviewer: What is your greatest regret?
Gorey: That I don't have one ~ Edward Gorey

And what are your interests and hobbies, Nicholas?" Annabel asked faintly, sounding like a cross between a television interviewer and a hostage. Nick considered this for a minute, and then said "I like swords." Annabel leaned over her plate and asked, her voice changing "You fence?" "Not exactly," Nick drawled. "I'm more freestyle. ~ Sarah Rees Brennan

A book tour is not a good opportunity to let your mind wander. You have to pay attention, remember salespeople's and interviewers' names, succinctly summarize your book in a 'selling' way, and so on. ~ Ian Frazier

Sentences spoken by writers, unless they have been written out first, rarely say what writers wish to say. Writers are unlucky speakers, by and large, which accounts for their being in a profession which encourages them to stay at their desk for years, if necessary, pondering what to say next and how best to say it. Interviewers propose to speed up this process
by trepanning writers, so to speak, and fishing around in their brains for unused ideas which otherwise might never get out of there. Not a single idea has ever been discovered by means of this brutal method
and still the trepanning of authors goes on every day.
I now refuse all those who wish to take the top off my skull yet again. The only way to get anything out of a writer's brains is to leave him or her alone until he or she is damn well ready to write it down. ~ Kurt Vonnegut

One useful trick, I discovered, is to avoid listening to the question of the interviewer, and answer with whatever I have been thinking about recently. Remarkably, neither the interviewers nor the public notices the absence of correlation between question and answer. ~ Nassim Nicholas Taleb

I used to tell interviewers that I wrote every day except for Christmas, the Fourth of July, and my birthday. That was a lie. I told them that because if you agree to an interview you have to say something, and it plays better if it's something at least half-clever. Also, I didn't want to sound like a workaholic dweeb (just a workaholic, I guess). The truth is that when I'm writing, I write every day, workaholic dweeb or not. That includes Christmas, the Fourth, and my birthday (at my age you try to ignore your goddam birthday anyway). And when I'm not working, I'm not working at all, although during those periods of full stop I usually feel at loose ends with myself and have trouble sleeping. For me, not working is the real work. ~ Stephen King

Interviews, and hence interviewers, are there to help shed light, and to let viewers judge for themselves. We are not judges, juries, commentators or torturers - nor friends, either. ~ Andrew Marr

How I work is that I write a story I'd like to read. Then you fly to Paris or Sydney and the interviewers talk about the greater significance of your work. ~ Michael Connelly

Become Aware of Memory Bias

When people are anxious, they often have biased recall for events. For example, Brian talks himself into believing he screwed up an interview for a promotion because he thinks over and over about things he could've said. However, he doesn't as easily recall the good answers he gave. He endlessly mentally rehashes ambiguous cues the interviewers gave off, such as appearing to rush through questions, but doesn't as easily recall when the interviewers responded positively.
Another example: A friend of mine used to talk herself into believing she'd failed every exam she ever took. She'd ruminate over all the answers she hadn't known and wouldn't recall questions she'd been able to answer correctly. The take-home message when you're ruminating: Don't trust your memory. You might be ruminating about something fictional or at least magnified. This also applies to ruminating about how you think others perceive you; you may just be mind reading based on a biased memory of interactions.
Experiment: Do you have any current rumination topics where memory bias might be playing a role? If you can't think of anything now, come back to this experiment when you have an issue that fits. Answer the following questions:

1. What's your ruminating mind telling you?
2. What are the objective data telling you about whether your ruminative thoughts are likely to be correct? For example, my friend who always convinced herself she'd fail ~ Alice Boyes