Interviewing masterclass with Natalie Jamieson from Newsbeat: Transcript
Hi my name is Natalie Jameson and I’m a senior entertainment reporter and
presenter for the BBC.
My home is at Newsbeat at Radio 1, but the way we work now means you get to
work for lots of different parts of the BBC sometimes, so that means I might be doing
a report for Radio 5 live one day or maybe Radio 4 or Radio 2 and also working for
television and online.
I’m incredibly passionate about all things entertainment so I love film and music and
TV. I count myself incredibly lucky that as part of my job I get to do things like
interview film stars.
There is a skill to getting a good interview. Firstly research is very important. Look up
all you can about the person you’re going to speak to.
Use your phone – see if there have been any stories about them in the past that
might be useful to know about.
Check their social media as well to see what they’ve been up to because if you don’t
it could be quite embarrassing!
(Cut to interview with Radio 1 DJ Nick Grimshaw)
Natalie: So I’m here with Nick Grimshaw. But you like to be called Nicky,
right?
Nick: Grimmy – I don’t mind. Nicky – no, no-one calls me that.
Natalie: Okay…
(Back to Natalie)
If you don’t know the facts about the person that you’re going to speak to, then they
might think you don’t really care about them or what they have to say.
Try to make it feel like a conversation - don’t just fire lots of questions at them.
(Cut to interview with Nick Grimshaw)
Natalie: It’s two years you’ve been doing The Breakfast Show now on Radio
1. What would you say is the most challenging thing about this job?
Nick: I don’t know if there’s anything too challenging really because it’s my
dream job so when I wake up in the morning it’s quite exciting, even though
it’s at5.00 or 5.15. It sounds terrifying but actually it’s quite easy to wake up
when you’re going to do something you want to do.
(Back to Natalie)
Another tip is to ask open questions when you can and not closed questions.
Open questions are things where you will hopefully get a good answer rather than
closed questions which means that the person you’re asking can only really give you
a yes or a no reply.
(Cut to interview with Nick Grimshaw)
Natalie: Doing the Radio 1 Breakfast Show – do you love it?
Nick: Yes.
(Back to Natalie)
Instead think about how you word your question. Ask somebody how they’re feeling
about something or what they think about it so that you can hopefully get a fuller
response.
(Cut to interview with Nick Grimshaw)
Natalie: Grimmy. I know you love doing the Radio 1 Breakfast Show. What is
it you love about it so much?
Nick: I love the fact that it’s every day. I love the fact that it’s ever-changing. I
like that it’s really different to TV. TV is really planned and radio is so free.
You never really know what’s going to happen that day and I love that there’s
twists and turns and it could go in any direction.
(Back to Natalie)
I know this may sound a little bit obvious but listen to what the person you’re
interviewing is saying, because if you’re listening to the answers you’re getting you
may hear something really interesting that you didn’t know about before. You can
pick up on that and ask some more questions.
(Cut to interview with Nick Grimshaw)
Natalie: I know you’ve probably got lots to pick from but what would you say
are some of your best moments from doing your show?
Nick: I don’t know. It’s the weird things that happen at Radio 1. One morning I
had to wake up Britney Spears and we’ve heard from Katy Perry’s insane tour
routine. We’ve had some of the most famous pop stars in the world who just
pop their heads in and come in on the show unannounced.
Natalie: So you said you had to wake up Britney Spears – where were you?
Nick: She came on the show and it’s quite early, so Britney Spears was
asleep out there and her manager said “She’s asleep, could you go and wake
her up?”
Natalie and Nick’s Top Tips
Nick: One piece of advice that I think is invaluable is always do your research,
because if you know naturally about that person and you’ve read all about them it’s
going to make the interview so much easier for you. You’ve got all these different
parts you can delve into because you know everything about them, but you just have
to pretend you don’t, like “Oh really?” Don’t say “Oh, I read that.”
Natalie: Remember it’s always good to be polite. So introduce yourself before you
start the interview, remind them what you’re doing the interview for and then say
thank you very much when it’s finished.
Nick: I like watching an interview or listening to an interview where people sound like
they’re having a conversation and it doesn’t sound like an interview. Make it sound
like you’re talking to a friend rather than looking at your questions or reading your
questions. Put them into your own words and I think you’ll get a nicer response if it’s
a more natural way of asking a question. Don’t try and be too serious about it unless
it’s a politician, then be serious.
Natalie: If there’s something you don’t understand that they’ve brought up in the
interview it’s fine to ask them to repeat it just so that you get it right.
Nick: One important thing to do, which sounds stupid, is to listen to what the people
are saying that you’re interviewing because you might miss out on something if
you’re worrying about the next question. You’ve just got to relax and listen to their
answer. Their answer might lead on to a better question than you were going to ask.
Always listen to people when you’re interviewing them, which sounds obvious, but
their answer might be incredible and you can veer off which often happens with me.
Natalie: So those are just some of our ideas of how to make a good interview. Now
it’s your turn to have a go. Good luck!
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