Matt Lauer on the unrehearsed interviewee
The Today Show’s Matt Lauer, talking with Larry King about the most fascinating person he’s ever interviewed:
LAUER: You know I’m one of these people who tends to think that the ordinary people are more fascinating than the celebrities and even the politicians. Celebrities and politicians are practiced, you know. I mean they’ve been asked these questions a hundred times. I like to catch someone who’s an ordinary person who finds themselves in extraordinary circumstances and get them at a point where they haven’t had a chance to think about what they want to say.
But I think anytime you sit down with the president of the United States, whether — however you feel about the politics of that person, going into the Oval Office or sitting down with the most powerful person arguably in the world, that interview becomes fascinating because you’ve got to bring your “A” game. If you mess that up, you mess it up on a big stage.
Posted: June 18th, 2007 under Asking Questions, Interviewer Experiences, Matt Lauer, Media Interview Preparation.