Unit 36 P1/Unit 37 P1 interview and presenting techniques

Alex Jones Vs Piers Morgan on Gun Control Live on CNN - YouTube

Body Language
Piers Morgans body language throughout the interview is very laidback and
reserved. It can be perceived that Piers is withdrawing himself due to Jones
overpowering attitude. However, as he has made much of a career in
interviewing famous figures, I believe he realises he will get his chance to talk so
hes opening the floor to Jones through his body language. Even though he
relinquishes his time to speak his points voluntarily, you can see through the
grimaces and facial expressions on Morgans face that he disagrees with the
points and views that are being made against him.
In the picture on the right, you can see an example of Morgans and Jones
juxtaposition in terms of body language. Jones finger pointing is a sign of anger
and aggression, is a technique I intend to avoid when I am presenting my own
interviews. Morgans stance is much more calm and relaxed, as he opens his
palm towards his guest in an attempt to calm him down.
There is a sequence at 5:03 in the video where the contrast in the way they use
their hands is indicative of their body language. The presenter, Morgan, comes
across very well in this part as he regresses from a combative style of
interviewing and builds bridges, whilst maintaining the audiences interest.
Physical gestures like these can sway an opinion very easily, especially since I
believe the social classes that were watching this would be smart enough to
discredit much of Jones argument because of how ludicrous it is.
Costume and Setting
The costume/style in this interview are very formal, as you would expect from
CNN. CNN is a business and they discuss important subjects and topics so of
course their hosts and presenters, like Piers Morgan to the right, is dressed
smartly in a suit. Not only is he dressed in a suit because the subject at hand is
so important, but the attire also conveys this message to the audience
subliminally. Its a common assumption that if you see someone in a suit, they
are most likely going for an important interview or work for a big company.
Dress and appearance are important for a show. It gives off an impression to the
audience and is always chosen with the aim to be appropriate for the audience.
However, as Piers Morgans Tonight Show is a politically charged, subject of the
week type show it regularly dresses itself down to the bare minimum on its
setting. You can see in the image to the left there is just two chairs, a table and
the two men discussing the subject at hand. This is because it stops the
audience from being distracted. The setting is so minimal so that you focus on
what theyre saying. For example on a show like Oprah, you would regularly get
cut-outs of the audience going wild or shots of the comfortable looking outlay of
the room. For Oprah, thats part of the show. Watching the audience go crazy
over free stuff provides entertainment however, Piers Morgan is not looking for
entertainment. He is looking to persuade America into his point of view, and no
amount of crazy cutaways or celebrity guests will do this. Just his words and
knowledge.

Target Audience
The target audience for CNN as a whole would mainly be adults and the elderly,
or some astute teenagers. This would be the same demographic
that Piers Morgans show would be getting also. Due to this, there
is certain elements that CNN have chosen to appeal to this
demographic. Like I mentioned above, they have got rid of
unnecessary edits, colours, objects and lights. All of these dont
necessarily appeal to the mass of the target audience so it is
better to be without them as all they do is distract from the show.
Everything about the interview can be linked to the target audience; the choice
of language, the style of interview, the presenting format, etc. all because they
are identifiable with the social class and audience they are targeting. I would say
Piers Morgans show caters to a mid-upper to higher social class the majority of
the time however as Im analysing this interview, I would say it is open to all
types of social classes because it is such a hugely controversial topic. The topic
is about guns and out of a population of nearly 320million people, there are over
270million registered firearms in the US. That pretty much involves 90% of
America in this debate.
So, with that amount of people possibly watching the show you would expect
Piers Morgan to go about his interview in a slightly different way to his normal
questioning and interview techniques. However instead, he goes
about the interview facetiously. In an attempt to possibly target a
younger audience that may be watching, he tries to poke fun at
Jones choice of language for example he mocks Jones use of the
word bud - this attempt at appealing to a younger crowd comes
across childish. Not only to older audiences but also to myself who
is in that age range that Piers is attempting to reach out to. In
trying to appeal to a new target audience, Piers Morgan drops any
type of combative, investigative or informative interview
technique.
Question Techniques
Piers Morgans question techniques and types are quite poor in
this interview I believe. Multiple times he asks Jones a question,
only to let Jones steamroll over him and continue shouting out
bizarre theories and irrelevant facts. He lets Jones behaviour get
in the way of his actual interview and Morgans attempts at reviving it fall flat.
For example, when the question How many gun murders were there in Britain
last year? (Morgan: 2013) is asked, Morgan fails to follow his question up. He
fails to build bridges, he could have funnelled the true, horrifying facts out of
Jones but he doesnt and he could have used probing questions but, again, falls
very short.
The whole interview is very odd. You have Alex Jones, a conspiracy theorist and
gun nut, who in the end comes across much better than Piers Morgan does. This
isnt down to Jones ability to debate and discuss, it is down to Morgans failings

as the presenter. He fails to enhance the audiences understanding of the topic

because of how poorly he uses question techniques. Questions, and the
techniques that come with them, are a source of learning. That is something
Piers Morgan fails to do. He fails to educate the viewers, his target audience
which is much of America, on just how dangerous civilians having semiautomatic rifles is.
Ive mentioned what Morgan didnt do regarding question types and techniques,
which was ultimately nothing, but there are also some things he did do. However
these are all techniques I, and anyone conducting interviews would be eager to
avoid.
In the way Piers Morgan speaks during the interview he comes across as very
smug, ignorant and out of his depth. Three things that I want to avoid. An
example would be him correcting Jones on the gun and knife statistics in the UK.
While its clear that Piers Morgan did some research, it is also clear that he did
not do enough. Another example would be Jones rants about how America has
bought 1.6 billion bullets, armoured vehicles, tanks, helicopters, predator
drones, armed now in US skies, being used to arrest people in North Dakota
(Jones: 2013). A ridiculous claim but Morgan has no clue whether it is true
because of his lack of research.
Overall I would say Piers Morgan use of question types and techniques is
abysmal in this interview. This is because he doesnt get his points across, he
isnt able to control the interview and leaves his target audience in the dark as
he fails to build bridges between his questions and most obviously fails to shut
Jones down after he answers his open questions for way too long.

Graham Norton interview with Noel Gallagher, Gerard

Butler, Karen Gillan and Martin Freeman
Body Language
As The Graham Norton Show is a comedy chat show with
celebrity guests, youd expect it be very relaxed and it is.
This is conveyed through Nortons body language and
demeanour as you can see in the picture to the right.
Nortons legs are crossed as he sits back in his chair which is
a very welcoming and opens the person up for
conversation (van der Zee: 2013). Creating conversation is
clearly an important objective for Norton and is using body
language to initiate it very subtly from the first second of
the interview until the last.
As for leaning back in his chair, it can be read as being quite reserved however
due to Nortons flamboyant and warm personality, he could be hunched over
towards the guest intimidatingly and theyd probably still laugh it off such is his
persona. This is so important to the format of the show because not only does it
make for good interviews but it also makes for good watching. If, for example,
Norton was sat awkwardly in his seat it would give off the wrong vibe to the
casual viewer who may never have watched the show before, or have been
familiar with who Graham Norton is.
Body language is read through multiple parts of the body such as facial
expressions, eye movements and use of the persons hands. Graham Nortons
use of his hand is quite similar to Piers Morgans use of his. Nortons use of his
hands are so varied that its hard to keep track of where they are. He uses them
in large circular motions, like in the image to the left. This body language is again
very welcoming, not only to Noel Gallagher but also to the other three guests on
the couch. His hands carve the air as he creates visual metaphors out of nothing,
providing entertainment and laughter for the crowd, the audience and the
guests. This is significant as Gallagher goes on about a story of his because it
creates support for his story which is a tactic many chat show hosts deploy for
their guests so that they get more out of them.
As I mentioned facial expressions and eye movements, Graham Norton uses
these probably more than any other element of physical expression. As you can
see to the right, Norton is rolling his eyes after a brief talk with Gerard Butler.
The expression is tongue-in-cheek but Norton does it so consciously and
prominently that this is obvious. Hes taking the mick out of Butler with a lighthearted jab but does it so that Butler isnt offended by it. Although eye-rolling is
seen as a rude gesture, Norton uses it too smartly to provide his target audience
with a laugh.

Costume and Setting

Whilst The Graham Norton Show is very laidback and casual, there are many
elements of smart and seriousness too. For example, Norton regularly wears

suits but mixes it up by dressing it up informally as if hes just got back from an
awards show and is relaxing. The scruffy untucked shirt and
creased slacks send a message that hes friendly; this isnt
some serious suited-up show where the guest will be quizzed
until they sweat.
Whilst Nortons costume is quite mixed, his guests are pretty
much allowed to whatever they want I believe, as shown in
the image to the right. Martin Freeman (far right) and Gerard
Butler (middle left) are dressed in sharp suits whilst Gallagher
is dressed in a jacket and jeans, a clear juxtaposition. It is
much more likely that Gallagher comes across more engaging because of this as
its only natural that an audience that would be predominantley working class
would relate more to him, plus his backgrounds.
This highlights how important costume and setting can be. It can have an
influence on the audiences outlook of the guests, the host and can be he
different between switching channel or staying tuned. The setting is also much
like Nortons attire, its casual yet has a semblance of serioussness about it. Its
slick and classy but looks comfortable enough to relax in. Against, like costume,
setting is just as important but for the gests instead. If a setting and studio is
bland, grey and uncomfrotable you, as the host, are much less likely to obtain a
good interview from them. Theyre thoughts wont be focused on the questions
youre asking, theyll be focused on how longs left and how quickly they can
leave.
Target Audience
As Noel Gallagher is the headline guest on this episode of the show, theres a
higher chance the target audience and audience has a whole shifts. It would
gravitate towards people with similar backgrounds to him, people who are from
where hes from and from fans of is. This suggests a very working-class audience
as Noel Gallagher was born out Manchester where he regularly skipped school,
hung around with firms and had jobs in construction. Gallagher is regularly seen
as a working class hero, one of few who had very little to a lot.
The show itself doesnt do much in way of style or chance to appeal to this new
audience, but it doesnt generate quite a lot of the show to interviewing
Gallagher. The majority of the audience would have tuned in to see Gallagher so
they designated a lot of the time to questioning him and even let him perform
one of his songs on the show. Its a smart attempt a maintaining this new
audience because if they hook them onto liking the show during this episode,
they may come back for the next, and the one after, etc. TV is all about ratings
and viewers and show bosses will utilise everything on the show to make those
numbers bigger. This is something I definitely aim to use during the creation of
my interviews as well.
Question Techniques
As The Graham Norton Show is a very different format to that of Piers Morgan
Tonight, the two shows present themselves much differently. Not only in the way
they appear, but in how the presenters act. Graham Norton is a comedian,

hosting a comedy chat show, you can expect a much less serious discussion and
something thatll provide real entertainment and laughs. Graham Norton does
this through his use of questions. Typically, when celebrity guests come on his
show, conversation ends up being about guests weird or funny scenarios
whether it be by themselves including another guest on the couch. Norton
doesnt regularly use conventional question techniques, however in this
interview with Noel Gallagher, he does. Its a chat show and what Norton wants
the guest to do is chat. Conventional question techniques he rarely uses are:

yes or no questions this would be very boring and would be very dull to
watch. A lot of his core audience watch the show to see their favourite
celebrities and see how down to earth they are. If he used this technique,
every guest he has would appear dull and boring.
short, single idea questions like the yes or no questions, if Graham used
these it would be very boring too. It would defeat the purpose of his show.
using notes what Norton is extremely well at is making the
interview/conversation flow. This is partly down to his non-existent use of
notes or cue cards. It makes the conversation appear very natural and
welcoming.

These three question techniques would all lead to a very boring interview but
instead Graham Norton switches it up. He asks direct questions, questions that
have interesting and long answers but doesnt end up in a monologue. Norton
extracts stories out of Gallagher that many people wouldnt have. It is these
techniques and interview skills that separate many chat show hosts between
good and bad. Something Norton does very well also is building a rapport
between himself, his guest, his live audience and the people watching on TV. It
makes the audience feel like were there asking the questions, there in the studio
being told the story alongside them he allows the audience to be a part of the
show, allowing them insight into the situations.
Kanye West on Breakfast Club 105.1
Body Language
As much of the interview focus on Kanye, it is hard to get a sense of the hosts
body language and especially as it is a radio show and they are mostly covered
up behind desks, mics and computers. Nonetheless, Charlamagne is the most
prominent of the three hosts in this interview. You can regularly see him
interrupting Kanye and asking provocative questions to influence a reaction out
of him.
Charlamagnes body language is very cutting and nearly every time he asks
Kanye a question you notice he leans forward with the use of his hands frequent
as he tries to gain a grasp of power in the interview. The leaning forward, seen
above, of his body can be very intimidating especially when hes asking
questions that are designed to catch you off guard and make you say something
you didnt want to.
The other two hosts body language is much less noticeable as they are the
good cops so to speak. With Charlamagne he can be upfront, off-hand,
argumentative but always attempts to relate to the guest so he isnt in

everyones bad books. These approaches can often be seen in the way he
expresses himself through body language. He is a confident man and to tell
Kanye West, one of the greatest rappers of all time that and a man who believes
hes the greatest, that he hated his album is brave. Not only is it brave but
through his body language seen in the image on the left but it also comes across
as condescending too. Its as if hes speaking to a baby in the way he shapes his
body as he says it as his head arches and he has his chin pointed upwards.
Costume and Setting
The studio that The Breakfast Club is set on is very small and cramped, often
looking uncomfortable as theres very little room to move and have items
besides you such as a drink or a bag that guests or the hosts might need. It
doesnt look very welcoming but then again, it is a radio show and they dont
base that on it.
Regarding the hosts costume, its very informal. One is wearing a hoodie and
another is wearing a Nike sweatshirt. Its very urban, informal clothing that ties
in with how theyre reaching at their target audience. If you set your show up as
an urban radio show, you wouldnt turn up dressed in suits, etc. This would
resonate with the guests the show bring in too. You expect to come in and
everybodys dressed oddly would be unsettling. The casual, urban clothing is
clearly suitable though as it fits in with the design.
Target Audience
The Breakfast Club is a radio station that is exclusively hip-hop and rap centric.
Many of the guests are up-and-coming artists or stars of the business. Therefore
the target audience is overwhelmingly teenagers and adults in their mid-25s I
would say. Regardless of the specific age range, The Breakfast Club is New Yorks
most popular weekday radio station and reached even bigger popularity outside
of Manhattan through the appeal of their guests and how urban the radio show
is. The show regularly targets younger audiences through the power of celebrity.
I cant get figures of how many people listened to their broadcast for it, but the
most popular video of the Kanye-Breakfast club interview has way over 1,00,000
views which is a huge audience.
The Breakfast Club target their audience through social media and the internet
also. One reason for why they are so popular is how people outside of New York is
able to tune in. You can watch on YouTube, on their website and they have a deal
with WorldstarHipHop that uploads some of their shows that are most popular.
Not only this, but the three hosts DJ Envy, Charlamagne Tha God and Angela
Lee are celebrities in their own right and have a huge pull on Twitter. These are
all huge contributing factors that come together to make the show one of the
biggest in America.
Question Techniques
First off, the interview and question techniques used by The Breakfast Club are
really poor for mainly one reason. Much like Piers Morgan allowed Jones to
control the conversation, The Breakfast Club allow Kanye to do the same. Whilst
it is a different format and therefore demands different regulations such as

longer time slots, the way they submit to Kanyes monologues is

lousy interview technique and also research. They shouldve
done research into Kanye interviews and known
that he is extremely prone to sermons that reach
every topic under the sun. None of the three hosts
attempt to interrupt him enough and, although I
am a huge fan like many others, the interview
becomes boring very quickly. For example at 3:33
they ask him a very good question that the core
audience (rap fans) would like the answer too but within four
seconds Kanyes gone off track and they should have interrupted
him there and then. Instead, he talks for another four whole minutes
before Charlamagne interrupts him.
Its clear that every guest must be approached with different
techniques and questions that will get the best out of them. This will
be the technique that I choose when doing my interviews by doing
clear research on the personality and how they react. I dont want to
ask the wrong question or come off as abrasive as Charlamagne does at 3:24 by
insulting Kanyes album and work because it would ruin the research and work
done beforehand.
Its clear that the interview is a part of Kanyes promotion for his new album at
the time, Yeezus. Most times when artists are doing promotional work the
interview will focus on whatever theyre promoting and maybe some questions
about life on the side. However this is Kanye West, one of the biggest names in
the world alongside one of the biggest egos in the world that doesnt quit but
again The Breakfast Club dont try and contain him. As the hosts of the radio
show, they should be in control of whats happening but this is rarely the case. In
the role of the hosts they have an unspoken duty to enhance the audiences
understanding of Kanye the man and his work. The three hosts attempt too
many:

open questions allowed Kanye too much space to answer without a

definitive answer
leading questions each of them used this technique multiple times and it
led to awkward moments like at 6:20 where Charlamagne calls Kanye
walking contradiction (McKelvey: 2013) and Kanye shuts them down with
a very short and blunt reply 100 per cent (West:2013)
double questions they ask many similar questions that are worded just a
little bit differently than before which leads to repetitive and mundane
answers.

And not enough:

yes/no questions while they can lead to boring interviews, it would be

better to keep Kanye on a metaphorical leash so that he doesnt wind up
doing what he did throughout their interview
short, single idea questions too often their questions allow Kanye to drift
from topic to topic without any coherence.

Jim Parsons and Mayim Bialik - actor on actor interview

Body Language
The body language between the two is very cosy and not only
that, but their responses to each other bounce back between
themselves in an affectionate way. Both Bialik and Parson are
relaxed on their sofas and are spread out, showing theyre
secure in each others company and there is no awkwardness
a trait that is aimed for in any serious interview.
They express similar emotions such as quick smiles and
smirks throughout the interview and laughs at each others jokes. The body
language in this interview is the opposite of the Morgan/Jones
and to us, the audience, it comes across approachable and
allows us to get to know the people behind the characters.
When theyre talking to eachother, and particularly Bialik, the
use of her hands really involves the whole set and Parson in
what shes saying. At one point at 6:20 she uses her hands to
bridge the gap between her and Parsons as she answers a
question about him. This shows she is at ease at talking about
him because had she controlled her hands and restrained herself it would appear
false and disingenuine.
Costume and Setting
The setting is familiar with anyone who watches the show; its instantly
recognizable. The setting is the same setting as the show and is Jim Parsonss
characters home. This is done to fit in with the theme of being formal and for the
fans. Small details like this make a big difference to them. It is why theyve
chosen this setting specifically. Whats even more prominent obvious is how
theyve combined the setting and the costume. When you look at the other
interviews Ive analysed, there have been certain things that change the
distinction between the two so that theyre just dissimilar whereas with this
interview, its identical.
Theyre both dressed very nonchalantly and their clothing is indistinguishable to
how their characters are portrayed. This will have been done intentionally but
could be because of two reasons it could be an easter egg within the interview
or give off the vibe of how the interview will be. Either way, theyre both correct.
The second idea is visual foreshadowing because when the two are combined,
theyre both very appropriate.
Target Audience
As the interview is part of The Big Bang Theory, the target audience would be the
shows actual audience. In the show, Parson and Bialik are two of the central
characters so it is smart marketing and production to use them for this behind
the scenes extra. Fans of any show always like finding more about what the
actors are like behind the characters so again, tapping into this fan obsession
makes the show more appealing to the audience.
Another example of the producers of this mini interview is how theyve used the

actual set of the programme to full use. Had they used one of their trailers or a
coffee table for the interview it wouldnt have been half as
interesting whereas using the set and all of its notable features still intact
engages us even more so. Even the fact they include Parson
sitting in his characters iconic spot would be massively well
received by their target audience.
The social class that would be targeted would be nerds, to be
frank. The show is about a group of nerds who do nerdy
things that range from science to comics. The show is
massively popular within this social band and over the series
has grasped a further hold on it by attending to their needs.
More time was given to the actual group of nerds in the show The set used here is the same
and their mishaps instead of their girlfriends and social lives. set as the TV show. Fans of the
show would relate to this and be
Surprisingly, outside of this social class it has been a huge
involved in the interview.
success too. People like it because everyone can relate everyone has that
weird nerdy friend that they like regardless (ORourke: 2013).
Question Techniques
The questions arent intrusive or leading at all and allow whoever is answering it
to relax because theyre not on the spot. The questions revolve around the two,
the show theyre on and how they feel about it. This is done because it gives fans
an insight into what the show is like behind the camera, what the show is like offset. Bialik and Parson dont build any bridges from question to question but
instead ask individual questions one after another in an attempt to get more
gossip and information for the viewers.
The questions often lead to lengthy answers but for once, its not a bad thing.
The point of the interview is to hear these kind of stories about their lives on the
show and so its what is given. Normally you would try and interrupt answers like
monologues such as Kanye Wests because thats not the objective, but here it
fits. Again, in comparison to Kanye they keep it relevant. Each answer is related
to the actor or the show.
The whole interview styling is very light-hearted. It allows the audience to
observe and base a judgement on the show that they wouldnt have been able to
do so beforehand. This is kept up with consistency and not once does the
interview break this mould. The technique of the interview is almost akin to just a
chat between friends and this was because of how informal it all was. You could
see you and your friend sitting on a couch doing the same and this reverberates
with the audience.