HOW TO CONDUCT AN INTERVIEW
1. As real as possible. You are going to publish it/make it public
2. Think: Who are you interviewing and why?
3. Read/listen to a couple of interviews and analyse them.
4. Compare the tabloids with the broad-sheets.
5. Brainstorming:
1. Types of Interviews:
1. Informal, conversational interview- no predetermined questions are asked, in order to remain as open and adaptable as possible to the interviewee's nature and priorities; during the interview, the interviewer "goes with the flow".
2. General interview guide approach -the guide approach is intended to ensure that the same general areas of information are collected from each interviewee; this provides more focus than the conversational approach, but still allows a degree of freedom and adaptability in getting information from the interviewee.
3. Standardized, open-ended interview -here, the same open-ended questions are asked to all interviewees (an open-ended question is where respondents are free to choose how to answer the question, i.e., they don't select "yes" or "no" or provide a numeric rating, etc.); this approach facilitates faster interviews that can be more easily analyzed and compared.
4. Closed, fixed-response interview -where all interviewees are asked the same questions and asked to choose answers from among the same set of alternatives. This format is useful for those not practiced in interviewing.
2. inappropriate/rude/personal, original, daring, typical questions
3. order
4. logic
6. Introduce yourself at the start of the interview. Tell people who you are, your relationship to the publication you're writing for and what the piece is about. Some casual conversation to start with will relax both of you .
7. Be enthusiastic. People like people who like them. They are also conditioned to think of an ‘interview’ as a potentially hostile situation and be on their guard. Consequently, you should be upbeat and positive. Do this genuinely if you can.
8. Questions should be as short as possible.
9. Shut up. You should be talking about 10-20% of the time at most.
10. Listen hard. Sometimes you can pick up a word or a phrase in an answer which you can play back to the interviewee and get something much more intimate, interesting or honest.
11. Don’t lose control. Sometimes, especially with self-important interviewees, you can get into a bit of a tug-of-war over who is in charge of the interview. Never forget that you are the CEO of the interview. You don’t have to be bossy but its important that you get what you need from the interview and you steer it in the direction you want to go.
12. Focus on what you need. Sometimes people get absorbed in details or get too waffly and abstract. Sometimes you need a specific quote or a good story. A timely intervention is sometimes required to redirect the interview. Phrases like ‘do you have any stories that illustrate that point,’ or ‘how does this relate to the bigger picture’ can be very useful ways to do this.
13. Be courteous. Say thank you afterwards.
Grammar:
• Present Perfect: Have you ever…?
• Past simple: Details (who, what, when, where, why? etc.)
• Question words and form Vocabulary and functions:
• Showing interest: Really? Go on, Right, That’s amazing!.
• Follow-up questions
