Interview Strategies

Interview Strategies

Live Interviews

• Happen during a live newscast (often during breaking news) or live event

• Sometimes happen over the phone (a phoner)• Time is at a premium: Get in, get out• These are difficult to do well• These take a lot of practice and skill

Taped Interviews

• This is the type of interview you will conduct• More relaxed than live interviews• You will pick which answers make your story• You can ask questions again if the answer was

unclear• The goal – ALWAYS - is to get usable

soundbites

Things to Consider

• Location– Lighting, background, noise– It’s typically easier to shoot outside, but these

criteria may sometimes force you inside• The Situation– Is it breaking news? You’re not getting a sit down– Is it MOS? – Is it a serious piece?

How to Interview

• Help put your interviewee at ease– Talk a bit before hand, but not too much– Give them a general sense of what you’ll talk

about without exact questions– Explain the process– Ask open-ended questions– Listen, listen, listen– Shut up

How to Interview

“Do your best to put that person in a position where he feels at ease. For example, I was attempting to interview a dog trainer who had a great personality when teaching his classes or being around dogs. When we sat him down for a face-to-face interview, he shut down completely. After the third question, we quit and asked him to get a dog that he’d been training. We did the interview while he was handling a dog and suddenly his personality returned. We put him back in an element he was used to and it worked.”

-- Sean Kelly, WCVB

How to Interview

• Treat an interview like a date– You don’t rush in for the kiss right away, right?– Make chit chat– Make the interviewee feel like they’re talking to a

friend– Helps calm your own nerves

Listening During an Interview

Listening During an Interview

• Obvious folo-up questions• Confusing answers• Avoidance of questions• Better answers– When you’re distracted, the person you’re talking

to is distracted• You’ll soon begin to recognize usable

soundbites as soon as you hear them

One Final Thing

• Remain open to the unexpected– Always ask if there’s anything you didn’t ask that they want

to add

“Occasionally people give me a rather perplexed look, but for each person who does that there are five others who were just itching to say something in particular. Some of the best soundbites I get have come from just letting people spout off.”

-- Beth Parker, WTTG