Interview Techniques When you're interviewing someone, even your mother - you have to sort of deal with you have to get some objective space from yourself and the person but you also have to find what's the best way to get the information from that person. -James McBride

Four Steps to Conducting Successful Interviews Prepare for the interview Schedule the interview Conduct the interview Review and record what your learned

Prepare for the Interview What is the purpose of the interview? –Why are you interviewing this person? –Do you need more information on a project you are working on? –Do you need to write something based on the interview? Research the background of the topic to be discussed with the interviewee. –Do you know anything about the topic you are interviewing the person for? –Use the Internet, other newspapers or broadcast media, and library sources (newspapers, periodicals) to familiarize yourself with the story background. Note: The person you are interviewing can become frustrated if you do not spend any time researching the story idea before beginning the interview.

Schedule the Interview Make an appointment to see the source Arrive on time Introduce yourself and shake their hand Be polite throughout the interview Take pens, pencils and a notebook to record the interview Note: Bring more than one pen or pencil to ensure you have enough writing instruments in case one stops working.

Conduct the Interview Take lots of notes. You can not just remember everything the interviewee says If the interviewee is speaking to fast ask them to slow down or repeat statements Repeat any information the interviewee tells you, especially if you are going to quote it, to ensure you have the exact words Maintain control of the interview. Try not to allow the source to wander off topic Note: Make sure you have checked the spelling of the interviewee’s name. There is nothing worse than spelling someone’s name wrong.

Review and Record What You Learned As soon as you get back review your notes Add additional notes that you did not write down Note the key points that you want to use in your project and/or story Write, write, write, write! Note: Don’t wait too long to begin reviewing and writing after you have completed the interview. If you do you will find that you can not recall key information from the interview, even with the help of their notes, because too much time has passed.