As you sit there, across the
table from your interviewee, it may be difficult to combat the massive flock of
butterflies that suddenly decided to inhabit the inner pit of your stomach, but
don’t worry, you’re not alone.
It is natural to be a little
nervous the first time that you conduct an interview for an article: you’re
sitting there, talking to a complete stranger about a subject that you’re not
all that familiar with, and trying to sound both intelligent and interested.
Gosh, that’s a mouth full!
If you’re like I was, the
first time you interview someone you might have quite a bit of anxiety, but
hopefully these tips will help to put you at ease.
1. Do your research ahead of time.
Once you know who you’re
interviewing and what the subject of the article is, hit the Internet to find
everything that you can. Time is precious, and if someone is reserving the time
to speak to you, then you should pay them respect by not asking 50 questions
that you could have easily found ahead of time. This also can help you find the angle of your article.
2. Show up prepared.
As soon as I get to the
meeting place, I make sure to break out my pens (multiple, in case one runs out
of ink), notebook and voice recorder. Before I leave my house, I check that the
batteries work, and that I have backup just in case. Making sure that you have
all of these items beforehand helps to ensure that whatever issue arises, you’re
prepared and you’ll have one less thing to be worried about. Also, having a
glass of water close by can help to make talking a little easier.
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| A digital voice recorder, such as the Olympus one pictured here, is a journalist's best friend when it comes to accurate quotes. Photo Credit: kev_hickey_uk |
3. Start with some simple, personal questions.
Though you’ve already done
your research about the subject, asking some simple questions to ease into the
interview process can help a great deal – especially if you’re discussing a controversial
subject.
As an example, when interviewing
a former victim of sex trafficking in San Diego, I did not start off by asking about
her experience as a prostitute. I first asked her about her hobbies, her
friends and school. After we knew each other a little better, I then started to
ask her about why she initially ran away from home and how she was persuaded to
turn to prostitution.
4. Take the interview one step at a time.
Journalist and blogger BettyMing Liu suggests asking only one question at a time. If you ask a question
with 2 or 3 follow up questions at the same time then you might confuse
yourself or the interviewee and you might not get all of the information that
you need.
Once someone has answered your
initial question, do be sure to ask follow up questions and for clarification.
Don’t be ashamed if you don’t know what something means, sometimes an
interviewee will use job-specific jargon that you won’t know the meaning of, so
be sure to find out.
Tweets by @LaurenJMapp
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