How Does JLJ Handle A Bad ON Camera Interview

James explains his process and techniques for interviews that aren't going well LIVE or recorded on camera. He also shares some stories.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to a lot of help with James James Jr.
And I got asked this question the other day, actually
a couple of times. How do you handle a bad interview,
meaning I'm interviewing somebody and it's not going well, there's
no chemistry between us, like in terms of question and
answer that I'm really giving much either too nervous or

(00:22):
just not giving it to you whatever. Just you're just
you're realizing this is this night. You can tell it's
not good or you're on top of your a game.
So I would tell a couple of a couple of
scenarios and things that happened for me. Sometimes I've done
a million interviews, so it's good for hosts, anybody just
watching the show, whatever, and so not interviewed for a job,
interview if you're interviewing somebody. So for me, I'm very fortunate.

(00:48):
For the most part, I've had really good interviews. But
it does happen. You do so many. There's there's some
are just not the greatest. I have not always been
the greatest. And there's a couple of times where I
went in so hard. I was so ready and excited
and I'm gonna do this and I'm excited for an interview,

(01:10):
and I was just too over zealous. I was too
over prepared, meaning I was just like I had all
my notes and everything. I'm like, Okay, we're gonna talk
this up, We're gonna do it, and you just kind
of go, I think I'm talking too fast or I'm not.
I'm just like overpowering the conversation. I'm too giddy excited,
like it ruins the interview. And sometimes I'll recognize it

(01:30):
in the middle of my interview. I just have to go, Okay,
we ride this out, and then in the interview. And
there's times where I'm in an interview shorter and sooner
because I've done that too. I was like, yeah, this
is not going to work. I need to like get
out of this. That's the beauty of if you don't

(01:51):
have a set time, you have a set time. I've
had a couple of those where I was getting one
word answers. I had one guy who was and had
his shades on all fir ust half and I was
just getting one word answers and I was just like,
I was ready to end the interview and I said something.
I said me tried some there's years ago, and I said,

(02:15):
you know, you got that handsome face behind those glasses.
I'm sure the fans would live the suit to see
her eyes for a little bit. For some reason, he
did that, and he loosened up and we had a
great second half of the conversation. I've had people tell
me who were just nervous that you could tell because
they're just like, they're just like staring at you. You

(02:37):
got people who will side to people who will talk
too much, and you're like, I got ring, the man
got ray In. They got folks don't talk enough. Either ways,
both they both are not great. But I almost take
somebody who talks too much than somebody who doesn't talk
at all. They answer, you're like that. Some almost tell
me I really had comment on that or something. I

(02:59):
was like, you can't comment on that. That's what I understand.
So it's it's it's yeah, it can be really tough.
So I'm looking at I guess some of these things
say goodbye goodbye. It can be really tough. I've had
people come in I have, I have one of you.

(03:21):
I still don't watch that. The person was antagonistic, had
their own and agenda, which they all have agendas, but
they had to really what. They were ready to push
that agenda so heavily that they were jumping or talking
over me. Now even get the questions out, I just
think so I get or I asked a question that
was like, I answer it, not they wouldn't answer the

(03:42):
question to answer something. They would just talk about something
else because because their agenda, they had a script that too.
I understand some folks asking your questions ahead of time.
Some don't now my secrets, so that's fine. But I
but I'm very conversational. My best interviews are were just
us talking. Whether there's two people, three people, one person,
we're out of conversation because my thought is I'm talking

(04:04):
about you and your work. I try to talk to you.
So what I do is might get on use your forehand.
I try to solve everybody up. Hey, how you doing?
I was like, going, so good to see you look great,
you sound great, like all of that, you know the
little chicher have beforehand. I have a I have a
sam called five random Questions. And I'm doing people sometimes
and I'm sorry, and my shoe is going to loose.

(04:27):
There you go, and I'll i'll magazine loses people have
Sometimes to you, they're like, oh, that was so much fun.
They're like, okay, well now to do an interview. I'm
trying the best. Then who will get on and whatever
that that red light goes on? Now recording something, whether
it's the studio or not, doesn't matter. People. Some people
just I guess freeze up, and I feel bathrooms and

(04:47):
freeze up because I know talking it is not easy.
And sometimes people there are folks if it's their job,
they can talk about it all day long. They have
no problem. You ask him any personal question outside of that,
they freeze up and they're afraid. I got and I understand,
I get it, but they that it happens too. You
gotta change a pivot. Or you ask a question and

(05:10):
they have no answer for it. You think that's a
great question, and they're like, oh, that's not me or whatever.
I'm good. You're like, that's it. So I keep disappearing
and trying. We stand on my foot. I'm like, oh
my god, or I have children types where somebody I

(05:31):
wore one girl, Beth Hall, who was our mom at
the time. She's a great actress, really funny. She was
like forty five. Because I had a set time forty
five minutes. We got a fine talk about forty five
minutes about me. I said, don't worry, I can do it.
And it was an hour we had to end it.
She's like, oh my god, you did do it. I
had the best time. I said, I canno how to
do this, but she was in it with me. We
had a great chemistry. I asked her a really good question.

(05:54):
She gave you the good responses that we help each other.
It's helping each other out. And then the opposite was
someone I'm trying to stretch it for like you were
twenty thirty minutes and just like I'm like, okay, I was,
I was in the show. I would quietly just think, okay,
everybody thinks you would be on the show, blah blah.
I don't want them know anything. But doing interviews, especially
when it's conversational, it's a give and take, and it's

(06:16):
a it's a it's a dance. It's I'm I'm talking
and you're talking, and I'm talking in you're talking, and
it's kind of we're feel each other's energies and you know,
and and there are some folks who just have the
best stories and there are some folks You're like, they're
kind of dry in real life, but then when they
get on there, you're just like amazed. Then you have

(06:39):
folks who seem dynamic off screen, off camera, off mike,
and then I put them on and they're like and
they're not dynamic at all. And I know, for I
know for some people, I'm excited before both start writing me.
I don't know everybody's everybody is is is concerned with
their image, mean, how they look on camera, how they

(06:59):
come across on camera. There is all that. But I'm
telling you, I will tell you it's the more seasoned people.
I'll say that people it was certain age business for
a while, there's so much more there's relaxed about. They
know how, they know ins and outs of it. But
I have met some newbies who are very suave too so.

(07:20):
But most of the time for me, if the interview
is going bad and I can tell on whoever's following
is mine or theirs, I'll try to I'll try to
end an interview. I'll just go okay. At the time
we go okay, we did twenty five minutes or twenty minutes,
that's good. We got some content. Out of it. That's kind.
I see. I'm a mass producer, so I so one
interview doesn't make my channel. So I'm very fortunate. I mean,

(07:43):
like some people do one interview a week or one
review of a month and that's the big thing. No
I got. I got ninety shows, so I do it.
So I want the next thing, so I promote it,
put it out there. So if there's some videos out there,
I'm not the crowded stuff. I'm like, they're okay, I
don't worry. And this was crazy some of the shows
that I've done that I'm like, do really well. I

(08:04):
was like, why why is that getting thousands of downloads?
Like why is that? You know? You just got you it?
So you just never know, you never know anything you know,
And but it's all about being professional. I would never
create a guest on camera. I would never try to
feel uncomfortable. That just will never. I just won't do that.
That's just not something I'll do. So but it's it's
a delicate dance, folks. That definitely there's a couple of

(08:27):
reviews out there. I will never look at it again
because I'm just like, I don't like the way I'm
coming across and think I just know we'll watch them.
There are a lot of they were much older videos,
and my style has gotten better and better because I've
done enough of these videos so I know that most
of the time it's not me. But I've had my moments.
Too much coffee one day, enough coffee one day. I've

(08:47):
done shows why I showed up, and I'm like, that
wasn't my best James, that was decent. I could do it,
but I'm like, that was not I could have gone
way better than that. You know, so that happens to you.
A lot of help dot com is the website a
lot of help On Facebook, We're sharing things with you guys,
sharing tips and things like why not you know what's
going on? We're on Tuesdays. Taught to you next time.

(09:11):
M