After another unedifying week in politics it was fitting that in the seconds before an interview a delegate asked the other day, “you’re not going to do a Paxman on me are you?”
It’s amazing how many people still use this line. Jeremy Paxman stopped presenting Newsnight in 2014 – eight long years ago. Yet that reputation endures.
The advice I give to someone preparing for an interview is to visualise the audience…and then consider the behaviour they expect from their representative – the interviewer.
With politicians the audience are largely sanguine about a journalist trying to catch them out or box them into a corner. Ditto dodgy chief execs and scandal-hit celebrities.
But I’m going to take a punt and assume you don’t belong to any of those categories. So why on earth would I dream of “doing a Paxman on you?”
Expect to be tested. Expect controversial areas to be explored and difficult questions asked. But also expect to be given space to bring newsworthy, impactful content that resonates with the audience.
And if you must ask that question in the seconds before the red light goes on, at least invoke an interviewer who didn’t retire almost 10 years ago.