It’s more than questions
15 Things to remember when interviewing people
As a journalism student, I have done a fair share of interviews in my time. If you think it’s just creating a list of questions…don’t I have news for you! At its root, interviewing is simply facilitating a conversation. You need to stay in control while allowing thoughts to flow. You are both a participant and an observer. This list are some things to remember when taking on the task of interviewing:
1. Don’t interview people, facilitate conversations. This is not an interrogation, this is a two way conversation so allow the conversation to flow
2. Relax yourself and relax your guest by asking some warm up questions that you might not necessarily use in the final cut. Also, if you notice that your interviewee is struggling to answer a question, maybe try to step in and rephrase the question or move on depending on the nature of the topic
3. Confirm details - Always. Confirm names, ages, job titles, spellings etc… This protects you from making minor mistakes that can distract from a great interview
4. Prepare your questions with a primary list for priority questions, and secondary list for extra things to ask if you have time. You might even think of questions in the moment, feel free to ask those too!
5. Research the person and their past interviews - it respects the persons time because they are not repeating themselves and it helps you get a new scoop for your feature. You can even ask a question again and ask them to go deeper or if they still feel the same way about their answer from a previous interview
6. Be flexible, actually listen to what they have to say and bounce off of that. Don’t just read off a list to check off what you planned and end up repeating yourself
7. Don’t assume anything. Ask the basic questions, as silly as it may be before you make your assumptions to really hear what they have to say
8. Fight the urge to finish their sentences, don’t assume that you know what they mean
9. Don’t override the conversation with your own thoughts. When you look back at a transcript of the interview, anyone should be able to tell who the interviewer was, and who the interviewee is based on the balance of voices
10. Lead the conversation. Some people love to talk which is great, but you have to guide the conversation so there is flow and pace to match your chosen topic
11. There has to be an exchange, especially as a student you might not be able to compensate people for their time so make sure they get something out of it - even if it’s a moment to reflect on their achievements and experiences - people really appreciate that
12. If this is a video intervew, make sure to set the scene. Be intentional with your visuals becuase that also adds to the story that you are crafting with the interview
13. Don’t schedule up until your deadline, give soft deadlines to your interviewees incase there are cancellations
14. Record on multiple devices AND take notes. You don not want to reach the end of the interview and realise that you forgot to record or the audio is patchy. You won’t believe how easily this can happen and you won’t get a redo
15. Say thank you when you set up the interview, before you do it and after. Basic manners is a given.
This is not even a complete list. When planning and doing interviews there is so much running through my mind. The main thing is to be mentally present because you can always tell in the moment what a good interview feels like. Make sure to subscribe for updates on latest posts.
