How to Give an Interview Like Shaquille O'Neal

Almost no other player in sports is as personable and fun loving as Shaquille O'Neal. He takes giving an interview to another level. From inventing his own words to referring to himself in other worldly terms, Shaq diesel, The Big Aristotle, Shaq Fu, or just simply Shaq makes every interview a can't miss spectacle of oratory greatness.

Difficulty:

Challenging

Instructions

1. Refer to the other people in the interview as earthlings. Shaq prefers to think of himself as otherworldly and not from this planet. So he makes references--some subtle, some not so subtle--about everyone else being mere mortals or earthlings. For instance Shaq said this in an ESPN article in reference to his weight a few years back, "My numbers [on the scale], sometimes it's going to be a higher number and you earthlings--when you hear a high number--because of your level of thinking, you're automatically going to think it's fat."

2. Make fun of yourself. Shaq has never been one to take himself seriously in interviews. He knows like everyone else he has some flaws and is not afraid to make light of himself. From his book, "Shaq talks back." he said, "Sometimes I feel like the Tom Hanks character in Big. But my life is not a movie. I never have to go back to Coney Island to find the fortune-teller machine so I have to grow up again."

3. Talk about yourself in the third person. Shaq loves to talk about Shaq in this fashion, as most athletes do. However Shaquille O'Neal does it in jest such when he said this, "Shaquille O'Neal has always been one to speak the truth."

4. Refuse to grow up and be mature in an interview, but in a good way. Most interviewees take themselves so seriously but Shaquille O'Neal is all about having some fun. Shaq said this after a reporter asked him what planet he was from, "I don't know the name of the planet. The files were destroyed. Actually, my mother recently told me that I wasn't born. I was found on a train. I have a lot of heritage in Texas, but I consider myself a New Jerseyan. I was found on the Amtraks in Jersey City, New Jersey."

5. Give yourself a plethora of nicknames. Shaquille O'Neal has many nicknames and most he has given to himself in interviews. Some examples of the nicknames are Shaq, Shaq-Fu, Shaq Diesel, The Big Aristotle, The Big Cactus and so on.