Interviewing

1. Interviewing

2. What does a reporter do? • They listen to people to get information for the audience. • They may interview: police officers, robbery victims, politicians, hockey players, firefighters or witnesses of an event. • The interviewee may be well rehearsed or they may be speechless.

3. Jobs of the reporter • 1st is to get the information that the public will want to know. • 2nd is to get a usable recording of the person. • 3rd is to investigate promising lines of questioning that might lead to previously unrevealed information of value.

4. The Golden Rule:Listen!

5. Listen • The biggest fault among ineffective interviewers is their inability to follow this rule. • Many are nervous about the interview especially if the subject is someone who is famous or has a position of authority.

6. Common Interview Mistakes • Many interviewers develop a list of pre-written questions that they ask one after the other without paying much attention to the responses. When they hear a pause, they figure the question has been answered and go on to the next one. • This question and answer technique will result in missing an important story or in asking a question that has already been answered.

7. The best interviews should be conversations. • You must have prepared questions that you may ask, but after the first question it is best to let the interview take a conversational tone. • Use the prepared questions to fall back on if the conversation stops.

8. Use Follow-up questions to make your interview become more like a conversation. • “Why do you say that?” • “Could you explain what you mean by that?” • “How will you accomplish that?”

9. The best interviews are conversations https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlFuz59gktE 2:38-4:45 28:44-34:22

10. Preparation • Be prepared! • Know who you are interviewing. • Research the story as best you can prior to questioning the interviewee.

11. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXF8Lhvjqa8

12. Research • Always do as much research as possible prior to interviewing your interviewee. • Some interviewers have research staff to assist them prior to an interview, most however do not. • Use: newspapers, internet, social media and people close to the story to prepare yourself. • Know the story as best you can before asking your questions.

13. Always have “must ask” questions prepared • Prior to interviewing someone have 3 or 4 “must ask” questions written down that you need to have answered. • You don’t need to read them off word for word but have them ready in case you need them during the interview.

14. Be prepared to end your interview if it goes bad. • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gc65NC44dSk • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wI_Jq6_Kb9Q • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9ofDUmApVI

15. Interviewing Tips for Success • Have your first questions be direct. • Listen. • As the interview proceeds feel free to interrupt if necessary to be more direct with your questions.

16. Interviewing Tips for Success • As the interviewee becomes comfortable try to make your questions less about the facts and try to get their opinion on what has happened. • Refer back to the “Follow Up” questions.

17. Interviewing Tips for Success • As the interviewee starts revealing their opinions and feelings great interviewers will start to agree with their feelings by providing some appropriate self-disclosure.

18. Interviewing Tips for Success • Great interviewers not only get the facts of a great story, but they counsel their interviewees by getting them to disclose their opinions and feelings. • Talking about issues helps people to better deal with their problems. • Great interviewers provide people the opportunity to tell their stories.

19. Charles Ramsay • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b04BaQKo6ic