I’ve learned a few things about interviewing over the years and thought I’d share my three top tips for getting the most out of interviews.
1. Face-to-face is best: I prefer interviewing face-to-face, hands down. I interview almost every day, but I have to remind myself that often people have never been interviewed before, and it can be quite daunting. I find that once people meet you, they feel more relaxed and comfortable, and are therefore more likely to open up. In these strange times (thanks Covid) in-person interviews aren’t always the easiest or safest option, so I do interview over the phone a lot (I also work for national publications, and with a small child and living remotely travel/time restrictions do mean the phone is a must) but if I could, I’d choose to conduct an interview face-to-face every time.
2. Do your homework: This may sound obvious, but spend time researching the topic or person beforehand. If it’s a person, do they have a website, social media accounts, have there been articles written on them previously you can read? If you go in cold, with no idea about them, you’re on the back foot. Having a bit of background knowledge means I can talk to them with context from the get-go, and I think it makes a good impression to have put in the groundwork pre-interview. People notice.
3. Listen, then ask: I often get asked what ‘angle’ I will be taking with the story, or people would like questions emailed pre-interview. I get it, they want to prepare and a lot of people aren’t comfortable winging it on the spot. BUT, I never go into an interview with a pre-determined idea/angle of what I will write about. Experience means I feel comfortable letting the interview flow, like an actual conversation, where I listen to the answers people give me and then ask a question based on the answer. You have to listen for the gold – often the best part of an interview comes when they drop a really interesting response in that you weren’t expecting, and then that becomes the next question.
When I was just starting out and learning my craft I did often jot down a few question ideas on my pad before going to the interview (based on my research) in case I had a mind blank or the subject was not particularly chatty or forthcoming (which definitely happens sometimes), but in general I won’t have any questions set down before the interview starts.
Any other topics you’d like to know more about? I’d love to hear from you, rebecca.greaves20@gmail.com
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