Do you know the 5 different kinds of interviewers? You need to know this before going to your guest spot! From the yackers to the primpers, here’s how to handle them.

The Yackers

The yackers love to hear themselves talk.  You have two options: Wait them out, or interrupt. I always say wait them out…until they take a breath! And then interrupt, because sometimes they say “let me finish” and you look rude.

The Quitter

The quitter asks a question, you start to answer, and he starts to daydream and look at his watch and do other things while you’re answering. All of a sudden you’ve ended your answer and he’s stuck trying to figure out his next question. It makes the whole thing disjointed, so if you know you have a quitter just keep talking, until you slow it down slightly and maybe he’ll get the hint…it’s time for him to start.

The Ignorer

This is what most of them are! They don’t really want to know what you have to say, so as you start to talk they put on a bored look…roll their eyes…tap their feet…and wait until you finish. You have to set your passion level on 10 to make sure you get their attention. And with an ignorer, you definitely want to play to the camera as much you can.

Some interviewers are just like hot air balloons. They need to stick a pin in themselves.

The Interrupters

They listen to part of your answer and say, “Oh yea, that’s just like when I was…”.  Whatever you’re talking about they bring it back to themselves and tell their story. When that happens, wait until that story ends, start on something else and then speed up your speaking a little bit so you can get it all in.

The Primpers

These are the people that are tossing or slicking back their hair. I swear on CBS years ago I saw a woman lose her shoulder pad. She spent half of the interview trying to retrieve it while her poor guest was trying to talk. When a primper is doing his or her thing just keep looking directly at them until their heads again.