Interviewing

A basic tool in constructing radio programs is the interview. Like much of radio production, conducting an interview properly requires significant planning. It is not something that a radio producer or reporter should enter into unprepared. Lack of preparation not only can compromise the value of the interview, but it can also result in the interview subject thinking that his or her time has been wasted and refusing further contact--either to clarify points in the original recording or to participate in future programs.
All interviews conducted should adhere to a set of guidelines, both to assure a professional approach to the activity and to show the sensitivity necessary to take the subject and people seriously. Taking people seriously is a basic requirement of our Christian faith.

Guidelines for Interviewing

1. Prepare for the interview--carefully. Know what you are talking about. Make sure your statistics are accurate, your sources for statistics are clear in your own head, other's opinions known and identifiable. If you may quote someone, write down the statement to read to the interview subject. Make sure you arrive on time, that you have checked your equipment out thoroughly to assure that you know how to use it, that its presets are correct, that you have a spare mike cable, that you have different types of mikes available to select from depending on the type of room you conduct your interview in, that you have blank recording media. Don't leave anything to chance. Dress professionally. Practice your questions in advance.
2. Prepare to smile and be encouraging. Make sure you can pronounce the interview subject's name correctly. You can never prepare too thoroughly for an interview.
   Devise a theme or focus for the questions you will ask. Every story or program has a focus. It's about something. In journalism this is called the "hook." So what is your hook? Every interview has a specific purpose related to this hook. You must know what you are after--that is, why you're interviewing this person and what you expect him or her to say. The hook is what grabs the audience--so what do you imagine it to be when you begin the interview? Don't wander from this hook. Make sure the interview is concise and to the point so that you don't waste the time of the subject. The more efficient you can be the more cooperative the subject will likely be. This will elicit further cooperation if you need to follow-up, because the subject will trust that you aren't wasting his or her time.
3. Make sure you know who you're talking to. Pronounce the person's name properly. Make sure you know why you're interviewing this person. What is his or her connection to the story. Why did you select this person. What will you say in response to the remark, "I'm not the right person to talk about this. You should be talking to ..." Being able to articulate your reasons for selecting the subject will be reassuring to him or her. Is this person the witness to an event, or a participant, an expert on a particular subject? Don't merely interview a person because it's convenient for you. You should also know where the subject is coming from ideologically (his or her religion, politics, ethnic or tribal group) so you can cast your questions appropriately. You should also know what language the subject is most comfortable speaking in and if that is not your own language, that you have arranged to have a competent translator present to facilitate the conversation. You should also have some idea about the subject's age, educational background, title (Dr., Professor, Rev., Mrs., Ms. or Miss, Your Excellency, etc.) and sophistication. You should select your vocabulary appropriately.
4. Relate this knowledge to your audience. Using the information from these first activities (#s 2 & 3), make a judgment about the veracity of the subject, his or her value to what you're producing, and how the audience is likely to respond to the subject. You may be interviewing someone whose opinion will likely be shared by your audience, or someone whose opinion will not. If not, you should know enough about the subject to know whether the audience reaction would likely be one of concern, frustration, incomprehension or anger. This knowledge should help you decide how much time to give to the interview. If anger is the likely result, preparing to ask probing questions to make sure the subject has adequate time to explain him or herself may be useful. You can prepare questions that begin, "some in my audience will probably think," or follow up with "what do you say to those who may disagree vehemently with that point?" If the person's opinion, or the subject about which you are interviewing, is likely to be complex, you want to plan to provide adequate time to follow up with questions that will help clarify difficult points.
5. Establish a relationship with the person you're interviewing. Whatever you are discussing with an interview subject, it is still two people having a conversation. It has to have human dimensions. Begin an interview (especially with someone you don't know well) with "easy questions" about his or her family, background, job specifics. Be prepared to share information about yourself, too. Help the subject relax so that the recorded material is not too tense. Make sure that once you've set up your equipment for recording and turned it on, that you can concentrate on the human dimensions of the exchange rather than the technology. Don't continue to call attention to the recording process. And know how many minutes you can talk before your tape or other recording medium will come to its end. Try to contain your interview within that timeframe. Otherwise, you will either have to interrupt the flow to change the medium or you will miss part of the exchange by forgetting to change it.
6. Be human. Console the person if necessary. Take responsibility for the fact that you may be asking questions that will be difficult for the subject to answer. Give time for the subject to compose him or herself if the emotional level rises. Be sympathetic. Express it with body language, facial expression and words. And let the subject get used to the microphone to combat "mike fright."
   Be professional. Although you are having a conversation, are seeking a relationship and are striving to be human in your exchange, don't allow the interview to become so informal that it gets sloppy, i.e., wandering about or unfocused. Stay on task. Discretely consult your notes and questions so that you make sure that the reason for the interview doesn't get lost in the exchange. Avoid getting so informal (or "slangy") in your language that you might lead the subject to question your seriousness. Since there is a reason for the interview and you have presumably articulated that reason (either in setting it up initially or in your introduction to the actual interview session), don't cause the subject to question that reason by confusing the seriousness of your intent.
7. Be simple and direct. Ask only one question at a time. This requires discipline. Exercise it. Don't ramble or use long complicated introductions for questions. Don't tell stories or provide too much context. Since you should be well-prepared going into the situation, you should be able--in the interview situation--to "cut to the chase." You should have distilled your thoughts into concise articulate and unambiguous questions. Don't ask two or more questions in rapid succession before giving the subject the opportunity to answer the first one. Let the answers given dictate the follow-up question. Pay attention to the answer given. Take notes even when you are recording so that your follow-ups respond directly to what you hear. Don't be so caught up in your own agenda that the situation becomes awkward and the subject uncomfortable or confrontational. One way that you indicate interest in the topic, and in the interview subject, is by practicing active listening. Incline your body toward the subject, don't "close up" your body by crossing our arms tightly across your chest and crossing your legs. Appear open and attentive. If the interview doesn't appear to be going anywhere, thank the subject and end the interview gracefully.
8. Listen carefully and watch attentively. Pay attention to the physical context of the interview. Usually when interviews occur, they are in a person's home or office. Although they can occur in a public place (especially in vox populi (man in the street) situations), public spaces create difficult acoustic situations so serious interviews occur in more secluded settings. What does the person's home or office tell you about him or her. Are there clues about what they appreciate (art, music, travel, fishing or hunting, tribal culture, refined furniture, the outdoors, family, and so on), what they've endured or accomplished (certificates or diplomas on the wall, family portraits, military insignia or photos), or what they're committed to (magazines, journals, books, stress-relievers on the desk)? Always listen to answers. Don't compose questions while a person is talking. Compose them after the answer is complete. Leave some "white space" or "dead air" in the interview. Use this time to think, to compose, to formulate a response to an answer. Make the subject feel comfortable by the fact that you're listening to the answers to the questions you've asked. Don't be like Calvin.
   
9. Be encouraging. Make comments about the answers you receive. Say, "I never realized that," or "That's terrible," or "How did you respond?" or "That must have made you feel pretty good." Such responses will help you confirm the emotion you think you're hearing from the interviewee. An interview isn't just about information, it's also about feelings and convictions, and depth--and that comes from the emotion and strength of commitments that you hear expressed. Confirm your evaluations with follow-up comments.
10. Use the microphone unobtrusively. Make sure you test it for sound in your set up, that the person is comfortable with its placement (proximity to them, placement--straight on, at one side), and that it will give you adequate recordable sound. When you first meet the interview subject, pay attention to his or her communicative style. Does s/he talk with his hands? Does s/he move her head much while talking? Does s/he shy away form the mike when you first set it up? You must place the microphone accordingly. A person who talks with her hands needs more space so the mike will have to be "backed off" so she doesn't hit it or feel inhibited in communicating. A person who is "mike shy" will also need space. So the recorder will have to be tuned up a notch or two to assure adequate volume. Perhaps a more directional mike will need to be used to avoid noise intrusion caused by backing it off from the desired sound source (the interview subject's mouth). Pay attention to the details so you can make the right technology and placement choice. Once your choice has been made, try to leave the mike alone. Let it become part of the furniture, unnoticed. But if the subject changes his or her orientation as you begin the interview, or part way through it, apologize for the necessity of changing the mike placement but make the change. What matters ultimately is the sound you get on the tape.
11. Ask questions that cannot be answered with a "yes" or "no." These make for boring programs because what the audience hears necessarily is you asking questions rather than the subject's articulate answers. Probe the answers you receive. Ask the subject to elaborate. Repeat answers back when the subject says something controversial, disquieting or unexpected. Make sure you got it right. Ask the person to confirm by repeating it back to him--"then what you're saying is ..." or "I think you're saying that ..." or "Let me see if I got this right."  
12. Give help to the interview subject about how to begin an answer. Your goal should be to eliminate yourself from the final edited product. The best way to assure this is to make sure the interviewee's answers are complete in themselves. That is, that the audience doesn't have to hear the question in order for the answer to make sense. So you might give the interviewee an example of how you would like her to begin an answer. "When I ask you a question such as 'how many times have you seen the movie The Sixth Sense, please try to respond with a full sentence. You might find it easier to begin with the word 'I." For instance, rather than saying "twice," say, "I've seen The Sixth Sense twice. Then I can edit myself out of the interview and it will sound more natural." You can offer to try it, ask a sample question, let the person respond. This is often not a problem when interviewing a professional person, but it can be when the interviewee doesn't have much experience being interviewed, or s/he's a young person. Give help when needed. No one wants to sound "dumb" on tape and if you help a person sound more articulate, s/he will be grateful.
13. Control the pace of the interview. Don't step on answers, but allow a person to fully complete an answer to a question before asking another. Leave some "dead air." As indicated above (#9), this helps you to listen to the answers. It also makes editing easier. Make sure the interview doesn't get so "heated" or fast that you lose the beginnings or the endings to answers. Keep it measured and conversational in quality.
    Watch the non-verbal cues. Comment on the person's "look" during his or her answer if necessary. "You look a little unsure about that answer," or "you look worried. Are you?" This shows you are paying attention and provides the opportunity to the interviewee to express an emotion, an uncertainty, a discomfort that will help you know how to treat their answer when you write continuity, or to provide a human dimension to the information you're receiving. Most people try to cooperate with an interviewer, and don't know how to express reservations about a question put to them. You should give them an opportunity when it seems called for by their non-verbal cues.
14. Make sure you know the difference between descriptions of fact and opinion. Follow-up as necessary to make sure you get this right. "Did you see that ... yourself?" "How do you know that happened that way?" "Did you do that research yourself?" "Could you tell me where I could find those results?" These and similar questions are good probes for facts. Make sure you understand when a person was an eye-witness and when s/he is reporting "hear-say." If a statement appears to be an opinion, then you can probe them, or confirm that by asking questions such as: "How did you come to that opinion?" "What changed your mind?" or "How certain are you that that's the case?" Facts can be checked independently. Opinions can be confirmed as true or false by talking to other experts, but they still remain opinions.
15. Challenge the subject with other reports or opinions you've heard. Get the interviewee to respond to other's points of view, or differing accounts of events. Don't treat each interview as something disconnected from what you already know or have heard from other people. Point to facts you have uncovered in your own research, statistics you have gathered, opinions you have read on the subject. Quote. Get reactions. You do this in a tactful way, of course, for it is not in your interests to become confrontational (unless you're an "ambush interviewer.") You can challenge and probe without being so confrontational that the interviewee cuts off the exchange or refuses to continue cooperating. Be circumspect. Preface with remarks such as, "I'm certainly no expert in this, but some of what I've read doesn't fit with what you've just said. Let me see if I can clarify the differences." Such remarks don't challenge the expertise of the interviewee, but do get him or her to listen to alternative points of view and respond to them in some way. You can challenge without being disagreeable. Try to create a type of conversation with others not present by reporting their remarks or opinions for comment by this interviewee.
16. Don't forget to ask the "why" or "how" questions. Get detail from the interviewee through occasional probes based on these two words. "Why do you think that?" "Why do you think it happened that way?" "Why do so many people think differently about that?" "How do you explain that?" "How long do you think that has been true?"
    Jot down notes. Don't depend on the recorder to capture everything. Jotting down notes as you go provides (a) a brief log of the flow of the interview that you can use in the editing process, (b) a way of indicating interest to your interviewee and focusing your attention on what is being said, and (c) a memory jog that you can use in writing continuity copy to record in assembling the final product. Use memorable phrases as a kind of "time code" for your recording. The more complete your notes (although you should never try to write down everything), the more you will speed up the post-production process.
17. Ask the interviewee if there's anything important you've failed to ask about. You may miss something significant, or perhaps your questions will suggest something to the interviewee that s/he would like to add to what s/he's said. You can allow the interviewee to set part of the agenda once you've gotten what you came for. You may learn something useful and significant. So make sure you've left time on your recording medium to handle the unexpected.
18. End the interview. Don't let it dribble out to nothing. Have a definite conclusion. Make sure you thank the interviewee for his or her cooperation. Even if the interview has been contentious or tense, try to end it on a positive note. If you know when the interview will be aired, provide that information (written on your card or other paper if possible). Offer to provide an audio tape of the final program if s/he indicates an interest in having it.
19. Write to tape. Once you have the interview recorded, plan what is usable and in what order and write continuity to the tape. Think about what you've heard as you leave the interview. Begin composing in your head immediately while it's still fresh. Jot down notes. Think process. Let the tape lead rather than the pre-conceived notions you had going into the interview. If you need to set up another interview to complete your story or to fill in gaps, try to set it up as quickly as possible and be precise in what you need to know--based on this interview--to assure efficient use of time.

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