Describe an experience when you interviewed a famous person

The cue card

• You should say: who this person was
• You should say: when and where you interviewed a famous person
• You should say: what you asked or talked about during the interview
• You should say: and explain how you felt about this experience

How to answer it

Most candidates have never interviewed anyone famous, and that is not a problem — Part 2 is not a lie detector, and "famous" is elastic. A local radio presenter, a well-known coach, a musician after a gig, an author at a book signing, someone you interviewed for a school magazine or a university project. Say plainly that they are well known in your city rather than globally, and the card is fully answered. The third bullet is where the marks are: give two or three actual questions you asked, in reported speech, because that is a grammatical structure this card practically hands you.

What moves the band

• Reported speech is the built-in win: I asked her how she had got started, I wanted to know whether she ever regretted it.
• Handle "famous" honestly and early — he's not famous internationally, but everyone in my town knows him.
• The privacy follow-up is the hard one; decide your line before you need it.

Part 3 questions reported with it

Part 3 follows the topic of the cue card, so these are the discussion questions the same candidates were asked next.

• What qualities make a good interviewer?
• How do interviewers usually prepare before speaking to a celebrity?
• What kinds of people are usually interviewed in the news?
• Do you think famous people have a right to privacy?