Interview SkillsADC3ML

Preparing for the Interview Katie Couric: What makes a good interview?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eOynrI2eTM

Do your homework: Make sure that you have done research prior to the interview on the interviewee, the era, any other ‘connected’ topics (if you appear unprepared you lose your credibility and interviewee is less likely to share/trust you)

Have a LIST of questions prepared: include ones that must be asked and then alternatives if the interview goes in different directions.

Be organized: Make sure you communicate clearly the date, time and location of the interview. Have proper equipment ready (batteries, equip charged, etc)

Open Ended Questions Excerpt taken from: Media College.com “open ended questions”, retrieved Feb 23, 2013,

www.mediacollege.com/journalism/interviews/open-ended-questions.html © Copyright Wavelength Media 1995-2012

Open-Ended Questions

Designed to encourage full, meaningful answer using subject's own knowledge and/or feelings.

Opposite of a closed-ended question ( short or single-word answers)

Tend to be more objective and less leading than closed-ended questions. Open-ended questions typically begin with words such as "Why" and "How", or phrases such as "Tell me about...". Often they are not technically a question, but a statement which implicitly asks for a response.

Closed--Ended Question Open Ended Questions

Do you get on well with your boss?  Tell me about your relationship with your boss.

Who will you vote for this election?  What do you think about the two candidates in this election?

What colour shirt are you wearing?  That's an interesting coloured shirt you're wearing.

How do you feel? Most famous open-ended question is "How does this make you feel?” It is widely effective. In journalism, stories are all about people and how they are affected by events. Audiences want to experience emotion. Even though modern audiences tend to cringe at this question, it's so effective that it continues to be a standard tool. Feelings and emotions are central to human behaviour.

Examples of Open Ended Questions

Scenario: Ms. Dean attended the Diana Krall Concert in Toronto on Friday Night.

A) What do you need to do to prepare to interview Ms. Dean?

B) Prepare an open ended question to ask Ms. Dean.

C) What would an example of a closed question be?

Leading Questions Excerpt taken from: Media College.com “open ended questions”, retrieved Feb 23, 2013, www.mediacollege.com/journalism/interviews/open-ended-questions.html © Copyright Wavelength Media 1995-2012

Leading Questions:

subtly prompts the respondent to answer in a particular way. Usually undesirable as they result in false or slanted information.

In journalism, leading questions are used in various ways. A journalist might want a particular type of answer to edit alongside some other content. This can be good or bad. Ethical journalists will avoid using leading questions to mislead.

Note: Children are particularly susceptible to leading questions. Studies have shown that children are very attuned to taking cues from adults and tailoring their answers based on the way questions are worded.

Example 1

a) Leading: Do you have any problems with your boss? This prompts the person to question their employment relationship. In a subtle way it raises the prospect that there are problems.

b) Open Ended: Tell me about your relationship with your boss. This does not seek any judgment and there is less implication that there might be something wrong with the relationship.

Leading Questions

Example 2:

Leading: How fast was the red car going when it smashed into the blue car? (This question implies that the red car was at fault, and the word "smashed" implies a high speed.)

Open Ended: How fast was each car going when the accident happened?

Task

Work with a partner. Each of you should create a leading question. Switch questions and turn the question into an open ended question.

Interview TipsExcerpt taken from: Media College.com “open ended questions”, retrieved Feb 23, 2013,

www.mediacollege.com/journalism/interviews/open-ended-questions.html © Copyright Wavelength Media 1995-2012

General tips - apply differently to different situations. Use your judgment to decide when and how to use them. (Handout)

a) Dress appropriately, or at least dress with a purpose. Your appearance will influence the way interviewees respond to you.

b) Try to be unique, so it's not just another interview rehashing the same questions the subject has answered many times before. Don't push this too far though — if you try to be cute or disarming it may backfire.

c) Be honest. Sometimes it's tempting to lie or omit important information when securing an interview. This isn't just unethical, it will damage your career in the long run.

d) Don't have an attitude if you want a quality interview. A confrontational approach is less likely to get good information.

e) Stay neutral. Try not to ooze bias. Don't appear to be persuaded by the subject's opinions.

f) Don't judge or directly criticize the subject.

g) Don't interrupt. This can upset the subject's train of thought. Minimize your own vocals (in video and audio interviews).

h) Ask questions clearly and succinctly, then let the person speak without any more words from you.

Interview Tips

i) Learn to react silently as the subject talks — rather than saying things like "uh-huh, right, I see", use nods and facial expressions.

j) Don't over-direct. Try not to give the subject too many instructions or be too specific about what you want them to say. In most cases it's better to let them speak freely.

k) Show empathy. Often you will need to cover sensitive or distressing topics. Show some compassion for the subject without getting too emotional. Ask for permission before asking difficult questions, e.g. "Is it okay to talk about...?"It's not about you.

l) Don't talk about yourself or add your own opinion. Your questions can be long enough to add information or interest about the topic, but the interviewee is who the audience wants to hear from.

m) Take an interest in psychology. Interviewing is very closely associated with psychology. The better you understand how people think, the better you will be able to extract their thoughts from an interview.

n) When you finish the interview, put your notebook or recorder away and have an informal chat. As well as being polite and leaving a good impression, you might be surprised at what additional information flows when the subject thinks it's all over and is more relaxed.

o) If you missed a question from the interview, you might be able to call the subject back later and get the answer. You get one shot at this — call them back twice and you'll probably be out of luck. Obviously the call-back will be more difficult for video interviews, but you might still be able to voiceover the answer yourself during the story.

Links to More Tips

http://www.sparkminute.com/2011/11/07/30-tips-on-how-to-interview-like-a-journalist/

Ethnographic InterviewingReference: Westby, C., Burda, A., & Mehta, Z. (2003).

Asking the Right Questions in the Right Ways: Strategies for Ethnographic Interviewing. Retrieved on May 15, 2007, from www.asha.org/about/publications/leader-online/archives/2003/q2/f030429b.htm..

Gathering A Case History

Traditional Interviews: Perspective is “I know what I want to find out, so I am setting the agenda for this interview.”

Ethnographic Interview: Perspective is “ I want the individual or family to assist in determining the important information to share.”

Principles of Ethnographic Interview include:

Open ended questions

Restating interviewee’s statements with opportunity for correction if misinterpretation has occurred

Avoidance asking multiple questions back to back (multi-part questions) and leading questions that lead someone to a particular answer

Cultural generalizations are never true of all individuals. One must refrain from creating assumptions about individuals or families based on general cultural, ethnic, or racial information. It is helpful to learn about the cultural values of the individual and his or her family through techniques such as ethnographic interviewing. Understanding the views of clients and their families often determines the success of clinical interactions.

How to Interview?

Take notes on the following video on the ‘art of interviewing’

Link to T.E.D Talk: Marc Pachter on Portraiture Interviews

http://www.ted.com/talks marc_pachter_the_art_of_the_interview.html

Who make the best interview subjects?

As an interviewer, what does Marc try to focus on?

Interviews to Critique:

Katie Couric with Ellen DeGenerous (watch first 5:45)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eOynrI2eTM

Lance Armstrong Oprah Interview: Doping Confession to Winfrey (ABC news clip)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxkULBtpF3s

Lance Armstrong Oprah Interview: OWN Part 1: Establishing Facts

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_0PSZ59Awshttp://

Lance Armstrong: On Telling his son the truth

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vq8NgepsFg8

Lance Armstrong: Most Humbling Moment

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlnlOokL--8

Interviews to Critique

Barbara Walters with President Elect Obama Part 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fW2mIkfHMVI