Conducting and Writing Interviews

I have had much feedback on the interview questions that I suggested in a previous post and have heeded your requests for more on this topic. Interviews can be a tough assignment. They require telephone and e-mail chasing to set up appointments; they demand the arts of persuasion to gain agreement; they necessitate time hunched over keyboards with your earphones at their most sensitive settings to transcribe conversations -- all of this and I haven't even touched on writing them in an informative, engagingly entertaining manner. And yet...these are the assignments that linger with you forever. You meet someone; you get to know them in a very accelerated manner with your probing questions. On a very human level, you establish a relationship that may or may not endure beyond the assignment. Whether it does or not (and more on that later), you HAVE met someone of note, been a witness to their life and chronicled an aspect of it -- very personal business indeed.

Good news for novices: interviews are the easiest way for you to break into the world of journalism and sell your article. EVERY newspaper and magazine publishes interviews: on the scale of supply and demand, well-written interviews tip the weights in your favour.

However, first you must get the appointment. To do this, you cannot be bashful or shy. You are asking very busy and often powerful people, whether politicians, television, film or sports celebrities, business tycoons or academics, to give you their personal time and attention. Sometimes you will have to reach them through their agents, secretaries or personal assistants. At others, a mutual friend may make the introduction or you just 'cold call' the subject. Whichever avenue you employ, you MUST inspire confidence from the very start and you must take command. Look in the mirror and tell yourself: "No, I will not be intimidated. This person has a family and eats, sleeps, wakes and even dreams. " You must take command and establish your ground rules.

The first is how much time you will need. Don't get greedy. If your assignment is for 500 to 1,000 words, then 30 minutes should suffice; 1,000 to 2,000 will need an hour; under 500 words can be accomplished by 15 minutes of conversation.

Tell the interviewee where and when the interview will likely be published and the type of information you are seeking. This will give your interviewee time to recall names, facts and figures before you meet and perhaps to recollect an appropriate anecdote to reinforce the subject. Do NOT volunteer a list of questions; if you are asked, by all means draw up some to keep them happy (no more than 10) but assert that the list is to give a 'general indication of the avenue of conversation'. You do not want to kill spontaneity and you also should leave yourself the opportunity to pursue an unexpected response to a question more deeply. However, you DO want your interviewee to feel comfortable so that they will open up to you. No matter who they are, there is always a level of fear when meeting the press. Your confidence and firmness will inspire trust. They do not wish to be embarassed by not having the 'right' answers and may have a team who will 'coach' them on their responses. Keep that in mind when devising your questions and when choosing the ones you will share in advance.

Do your homework. You should have learned pertinent biographical and business data before devising your path of questioning so don't waste valuable time on the innocuous. If you cannot find the information at the library or on the internet, ask the secretary/agent for a brief bio and/or company presskit.

Try to make the meeting on your subject's 'home turf' for two reasons: he will be more comfortable and you will be able to see the pictures on his walls, the paperback books by his easy chair, the awards that give him pride and more that will help you paint a picture of him for your reader. Of course, this cannot always occur as they may be travelling to your city or may request to meet over a meal, etc. At those times, keep your eyes open for the personal gestures: do they pick at their food nervously or eat with gusto; do they slip their feet out of the stilettos or primly cross their legs.

Show up for your interview five minutes early; not breathless and sweaty but cool, calm and collected with your notebook in which you've penned brief biographical data alongside your questions. Also, bring a tape recorder. (Be sure to test the recorder first; also pack an extra set of batteries and another tape should the unexpected happen...). No matter how well you appear to get along with your interviewee, stick to the scheduled time and no more, unless you are invited to stay.

During the interview, make eye contact. Take only the occasional note. Do glance at your recorder to ensure it is still working but do not lean over your notebook showing only the top of your head to the interviewee. Ask an easy question or two to relax the subject before you get to the meat of the interview. Do not chatter yourself; no nervous giggles, twittering, etc. If the subject needs time to respond to a question, let the silence hang in the air while they think: do not rush to fill it. This shows both your sincerity in desiring THEIR OPINION, their response, and YOUR INTENT on getting it. Be a good listener. This is far harder than it sounds...

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