Interviewing techniques By Bethan Richardson

The purpose of an interview There are many different purposes for an interview. The first on it to entertain the audience. The second can be to advertise the interviewees work and the third is just to allow the audience to find out more about the person being inverviewed.

The different types of interview. There are many different types of interviews. There are radio interviews, television interviews and print interviews, used in magazines and newspapers. Each type has its own style to fit in with its form.

TV interviews. TV interviews are where the audience can see and hear the person being interviewed. They are often filmed in front of a live audience, and are often set out like a chat show. An example of a TV interview would be on ITVs This Morning show with Kelly Clarkson. The style of this interview is very laid back and for a lot of it the conversation flows well just like they were having a casual chat. Throughout the interview they joke about and laugh which helps to add to the relaxed atmosphere. This visual side of the interview is quite intimate as they are all sat on sofas facing eachother, and they are in a welcoming location that makes it more appealing for the audience to see. Alot of the camera focus is on Kelly as the interview is all about her, however there are still a few shots showing the two presenters. The point of this interview is to discuss Kelly's latest work and to find out more about her.

Radio interviews Radio interviews are different from TV as they can only be heard and not scene. This means that the conversation needs to be more interesting and flow better as there are no visual distractions for the audience where as with TV there is. An example of a radio interview is where Chris Evans interviews Jeremy Clarkson. The style of this interview is a lot more serious than the one for the TV. This interview is also just based around one subject which was relevant at the time it was made. Where as with TV interviews the topic can change quite a lot. Radio shows often contain a lot more information to keep the listener tuned in and not swapping from station to station. The point of this interview was to discuss Jeremy leaving topgear and talking about what he thought about it and how he felt.

Examples of interview styles Some examples of interview styles are- -Hard questions -Soft questions -Informative -Promotional -Expose -Entertaining -Emotional -Comedy

Interview styles- Emotional These types of interviews are normally used when discussing a hard subject with the person being interviewed. They are used to make the audience feel empathy and sympathy towards the person speaking about the topic. An example of an emotional interview would be one with Nicki Minaj. Emotional interviews talk about touchy subjects about the person being interviewed. This is an emotional interview as Nicki is talking about a subject that is very personal to her and she gets very emotional talking about it. As the audience watch/ listen to it they can start to feel the emotion given of by Nicki and begin to feel sorry for her and feel sympathy towards her. Emotional interviews are good to show the audience that celebrities are normal people just like everyone else and suffer through the same situations as the everyday person.

Interview question styles: Open This is a type of question where the interviewee can answer with whatever they like and the answer can be also long as they wish it to. An example would be “What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?” This question allows the interviewee to go into as much or as little detail as they with.

Interview question styles: Closed These types of questions are normally a more basic question. They often have very short simple answers. Closed questions dont give the interviewee the same freedom to answer as open questions offer. An example would be “Do you smoke?” The answer for this would really only be yes or no.

Tips for an interview -Always ask one question at a time. This will help keep the interview on track and stop it from getting too confusing. -Try to rehearse in advance with your interviewee, this will allow you to see what direction you both want the interview to go in. -Always ask the interviewee what they want to get out of the interview. -Take your time, don’t rush the interview.

Thankyou for watching!