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" How should you approach someone you&amp;#039;ve never met before?  Compliments are a great way to break the ice. When I interviewed Garth Brooks, I shared with him that I was a South Carolina country girl and had grown up listening to his music. But don&amp;#039;t lie \u2014 people can tell if you&amp;#039;re being insincere. When I was pregnant, I was like a magnet for the slew of Hollywood starlets who were pregnant as well. They would run up to me at awards shows and ask about morning sickness and cravings. Now that my daughter is born, they ask about nursing, burping, and diaper changing! You&amp;#039;ve had to make conversation with so many strangers over the years. What&amp;#039;s your no-fail interview question? I love &amp;quot;Where do you see yourself in 10 years?&amp;quot; You get the most interesting answers when you give people a chance to talk about their hopes and dreams. I&amp;#039;ve been at Access Hollywood since it began 12 years ago, and I just wish I had asked this question to the celebs just starting out \u2014 like Jennifer Aniston \u2014 that first year! What&amp;#039;s the most effective way to handle awkward silence in a conversation? It&amp;#039;s important to understand what the silence means \u2014 is the person uncomfortable with the subject you brought up? If it happens to me, I say, &amp;quot;I didn&amp;#039;t really just ask that, did I?&amp;quot; Everyone usually laughs, and oftentimes the person realizes you truly do feel bad and may follow up with an answer or help change the subject. You usually report on celeb news. If the tables were turned, what would reporters find interesting about you? People always tease that Southerners talk too much, and I&amp;#039;ll answer anything if asked. What do you want to know? Is there anyone you haven&amp;#039;t interviewed, yet whom you are eager to talk to? My daughter, Ashby! She&amp;#039;s only 8 months old, so she&amp;#039;s not talking yet, but I want to know what she&amp;#039;s thinking when she reaches out to me. It&amp;#039;s fascinating to imagine what&amp;#039;s going on in her mind! "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.redbookmag.com/life/interviews/a2564/nancy-odell-listen-up/>