What are good interviewing techniques or tips?
I've just gotten my first journalistic contract with a local nonprofit in Virginia. The writing will require that I conduct several interviews. This will be my first time conducting interviews in this way and I want to make sure I am doing everything I can to make them effective. What are some good tips for conducting interviews?
Answers ( 1 )
Interviewing is important because it gives you someone’s actual words that help you tell a story, not just recite just a series of dry facts. You are telling a factual story, but it still needs to be a story in order to keep readers/viewers interested.
• Start with a softball question, something easy like their job title and duties. A question that is easy to answer can help set the person at ease. You should already know these facts but you are easing the person into the process of sharing information with you.
• Ask for specifics. When you ask a very general question, you get a very general answer.
• Ask open ended questions. This means avoiding questions that have a yes or no answer. Don’t ask “Is the Large Hadron Collider dangerous?” Ask instead, “Some people are concerned that the Large Hadron Collider is dangerous. What do you think of this?” If the person gives you a lot of information but it isn’t clear what their position on something is, you can always follow up by asking for their stance and their reasoning. “So do you agree or not that the LHC is dangerous, and why do you feel that way?”
• Do your homework so that you aren’t spending your time asking for a lot of basic information that you could easily get elsewhere. Be aware that sometimes general info or public opinion may be somewhat or very inaccurate and the person may be eager to correct misconceptions. Also be aware that people have agendas and may be eager to reshape perceptions and push an reshaped narrative. If you suspect that this is the case, gather some opposing viewpoints from other experts or critics.
• Have plenty of questions prepared and highlight critical ones, but listen to the answers. A good interview should be a conversation, not an interrogation. What the person says should trigger new understandings and generate more questions that allow you to dig into interesting areas that emerge. If you think you know everything in advance then there is no reason to do an interview other than to have quotes to include in a piece. Know what you want to talk about, but go in looking to learn and discover.
• Accuracy! As someone who has been interviewed a number of times, it is extremely annoying when a journalist gets basic details wrong, the spelling of names, job titles, the number of years, any hard data that should be reported correctly. You don’t have to send interviewees an advance copy of your article or video footage, but you should double check with them on basic facts via email, messaging, etc before it is published. You'll be putting your own spin on things and it is difficult to be completely objective, but hard days should be correct.