Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1058015
72 SMT007 MAGAZINE I DECEMBER 2018 Article by Andy Shaughnessy I-CONNECT007 It's almost time for IPC APEX EXPO 2019 at the San Diego Convention Center, and that means another Real Time with…IPC video program bringing you interviews with the elec- tronics industry's top movers and shakers, engineers, and managers. It's hard to believe that Real Time with…IPC has been a staple of IPC APEX EXPO since 2007. I still remember my first Real Time with… IPC at IPC APEX EXPO 2008 in Las Vegas quite well. I had just begun doing video interviews, and to say I was a little rough is an understate- ment. Publisher Barry Matties had given me some training beforehand, but I was still trying to find my groove. My first interview went along pretty well; so far, so good. Then, the engineer I was inter- viewing stopped talking and I couldn't think of a good follow-up question to ask. I looked around, trying to find inspiration for another question, and saw Barry raise one eyebrow at me and start smiling. We all started laughing. Finally, he said, "Don't look at me, focus on who you're interviewing." That turned out to be good advice because an interviewer has to tune out everything except the person being interviewed, no matter where you are, and I'm usually surrounded by distractions at IPC APEX EXPO. Pick-and-place machines and vacuums always seem to be running. If we're doing a show wrap-up inter- view as the event is breaking down, a fork- lift driver will usually pull up next to us and drop a half dozen pallets. Once I tuned out the distractions, I could focus on the interview like a hunter's gun-proofed retriever. Here's a link to a blooper reel from my first trade show interviews if you need a chuckle or two. Then and Now Things have certainly changed since 2008. For one thing, I've gotten much better at doing In the Studio: Real Time with…IPC