Interview Strategies – Joanne McCall Book Publicist

The Question You’re Hoping They Don’t Ask

Joanne McCall — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 16:00:06 +0000

Years ago, I was interviewing a celebrity relationship expert who had been married six times. You can probably guess the question sitting in the room before anyone even said it out loud. Why should anyone take relationship advice from someone who has been married six times? That is the kind of question people dread in interviews. The one they hope the host will politely skip.

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The Guest Who Made the Host Work Too Hard

Joanne McCall — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 16:00:21 +0000

I was listening to a podcast recently and, of all things, the guest was a media trainer. You would think this would go beautifully, but life is filled with surprises. The host asked a question, the guest answered it, and then everything came to a complete stop. Another question from the host. Another answer from the guest and then everything came to a complete stop. Another. Same thing.

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The Fastest Way to Sound Defensive

Joanne McCall — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 16:00:13 +0000

A while back, I watched an interview where the host got a key fact wrong about the guest’s work. Not maliciously. Not even carelessly. It was just one of those normal human moments where a detail gets flipped and something is said incorrectly. You could actually see the guest’s brain light up, and then they had a choice. Option one: jump in with a correction that’s technically right…

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The Question that Makes Smart People Ramble

Joanne McCall — Mon, 16 Mar 2026 16:00:14 +0000

I was watching an interview recently and noticed the host hit the guest with the triple question, and I swear I could hear time stand still. It sounded like this: “So tell us why you wrote the book, why now, and what should people do Monday morning?” The guest froze for half a beat, then tried to answer all three questions at once. He offered a little origin story, then a little cultural…

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