July 16, 2012 Everyone has a story Learning how to interview to get it

What’s the hold up? ✤ Acting appropriately during an interview ✤ Learning how to ask the right questions ✤ Talking to the right people ✤ Knowing how to follow up ✤ Practice

Do and Don’t ✤ Students know what a good interview looks like ✤ Students also know what a bad interview is like ✤ Make them make the list of how to act during an interview

A do and don’t list to guide ✤ Make an appt. ahead of time when necessary ✤ Introduce yourself and what media you are from ✤ Treat it like a conversation ✤ Keep an even tone ✤ Stay engaged ✤ Make eye contact ✤ Say thank you at the end ✤ Show up late ✤ Ask rude or accusatory questions ✤ Chew gum while talking (the chance of spitting is there) ✤ Bombard an interviewee ✤ Act uninterested DODON’T

Ask the right questions ✤ The right questions come when the background knowledge has been developed—research the topic ✤ Generate a list of questions prior to the interview ✤ Simple questions (yes/no/one word) can develop a rapport, but don’t use them too long ✤ Open-ended questions make the story ✤ Ask follow-up questions when appropriate (which is almost always) ✤ Always conclude with a question like, “Is there anything else you would like to share with me about this topic?”

The right sources ✤ Have a “rabbi” source ✤ Think of it like a cherry tree: ✤ The trunk is the obvious source ✤ The branches expand on the obvious sources ✤ The leaves provide detail and nuance ✤ The fruit is satisfying source and unique detail ✤ It helps to brainstorm sources as a team prior to starting a story ✤ Use official and unofficial sources

Follow-up ✤ Don’t be afraid to ask questions even after the interview ✤ If you didn’t get a quote down, don’t ask the person to restate what she said...she won’t remember ✤ Instead ask, “You were talking about ____________. Can you tell me a little more about that?” ✤ Don’t rely on Facebook or to get a great follow-up response ✤ As long as you created a good rapport, the interviewee will be willing to talk some more.

Practice...and practice some more ✤ Students—well, people—don’t like going out of their comfort zone, so make them practice ✤ Don’t practice with people they know ✤ Take them into unfamiliar settings and give them a chance to dig for a story ✤ In these situations, ask questions to engage people in conversation (i.e. “What is the craziest thing that has happened to you?” or “What is your strangest experience or memory?”)

Everyone has a story ✤ Sometimes just talking to random people will deliver the best story ✤ Don’t be afraid to talk ✤ Steve Hartman Series: ✤ ✤ 1 in 8 Million NY Times Series ✤ million/index.html million/index.html

Your turn ✤ For the remaining part of this session, we would like you to partner up with another participant and just have a conversation. ✤ This is not an interview—you are simply going to tell each other about yourselves in order to give you a chance to get to know one another and prep an interview for tomorrow. ✤ No need for notes. That will come later. But you do need to listen.