In the new TV role, the Australian Story host mentors a cohort of autistic journalism students before they grill high-profile celebrities. But the learning wasn't one-way — this is what she learned about interviewing and the tips and questions she's banked for future interviews.
Leigh Sales is no stranger to interviewing Australia's most high-profile figures — be they celebrities, artists, sportspeople or politicians.
While each country has added their own flavour, the basic structure is that a group of autistic journalists get the chance to interview high-profile identities. No question is off-limits. "It's obvious, but in an interview the talent will always warm up to you if you're asking questions from a position of just natural curiosity and not having any kind of agenda.Sales said the students' questions also showed how different approaches can cut through the "spin" some guests might have prepared.
Another "amazing question" that took her aback was when Savannah asked radio broadcaster Amanda Keller, "Do you love your husband?""On the surface, it seems like unusual phrasing, but actually it triggers enormous emotion in Amanda because her lovely husband, Harley, has Parkinson's Disease and Amanda has been reflecting a lot on how much she loves Harley and how important he has been in her life," Sales said.
That connection meant that during the interviews, instead of a laser focus on whether the interviewee was answering the question or not, her attention was elsewhere.
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