Conducting Effective Interviews

Designing the Interview
        The best interviews are both controlled and spontaneous. As the interviewer, your job is to guide the conversation along, to direct it to those areas of greatest interest to your readers. However, you should never be so intrusive as to dam the flow of an interviewee's thoughts. You must be willing to improvise. (38)

        Use a mixture of open-ended and closed questions. Open-ended questions encourage lengthy answers, such as overviews, descriptions, opinions, and anecdotes. These questions often start with the words how or why. Closed questions seek brief, specific answers. Open-ended questions give the interviewee more control of the interview, while closed questions put you in charge.

      The most effective questions you can ask will either solicit specific information or encourage your interviewee to give you examples, anecdotes, details, or opinions. They are posed in such a way as to make you look inquisitive yet objective, firm but fair.

• Questions that begin with how or why.
• Questions that call for specific answers.
• Questions that expand upon what's already known.
• Questions that clarify.
• Questions that probe.
  

        Prepare a list of questions to take to the interview. Then memorize the first few questions on your list. Doing so should help make the opening of the interview look more spontaneous and free-flowing than it actually is, thus putting your subject at ease. Once the conversation is rolling along, you can steal occasional glances at your written questions and replenish the questions you're holding in your mind. (52)

Arranging the Interview

When you first contact your subject to arrange the interview, you should:

• Know what you want to say before you approach the person.
• Be courteous, regardless of the circumstances.
• Explain the purpose of the interview but don't talk too much, or try to impose a thesis before your subject has had an opportunity to express herself.
• Take a low-ley approach. Use the word "interview" sparingly; instead, suggest that you would "like to talk with" your subject.
  

        The setting for an interview can influence the tone of the conversation as well as its direction and overall effectiveness. Here are a few ideas you might want to consider.

• Try to agree on a place where distractions will be minimal.
• If possible, avoid scheduling interviews over lunch or dinner. It's awkward to conduct an interview and try to eat at the same time.
• If you are going to be visiting your subject more than once (almost always an excellent idea), consider switching locations for your follow-up visit.
• More than anything else, make sure that your interviewee is comfortable in the setting you both agree on. Ultimately, the decision of interview locations belongs to the person being interviewed.
  

Organizing Equipment for the Interview
        Be sure to arrive at the interview properly equipped: an empty notebook (many reporters favor a stenographer's notebook for its convenient size), a few pens or pencils, and (perhaps) a tape recorder (complete with blank cassettes and fresh batteries).

        Should you use a tape recorder? Old Schoolers argue that tape recorders discourage candor, while New Schoolers contend that their not having to write down an interviewee's words affords them the opportunity to listen more carefully to what is being said. The advantages of using a tape recorder? It can capture the entire interview, free you to devote full attention to the interviewee, and help assure the accuracy of the quotations that will appear in your profile. The disadvantages? The tape recorder can intimidate subjects or encourage them to "perform," it may encourage lazy interviewing, it can break down during the interview, and it can create extra work after the interview. Your ability (or inability) to take notes quickly may ultimately decide whether or not you should rely on a tape recorder.

        How should you use a tape recorder during the interview? Make sure, of course, that you first receive permission from your subject to use the tape recorder. Even then, initiate the conversation before switching on the recorder. Then, during the interview, take occasional notes to help yourself stay focused on what's being said.

Conducting the Interview.
While you are interviewing a person, here are a few things to keep in mind.

• Make each question count. Your job is not simply to fill time but to use the time available to its fullest advantage.
• Try to get complete statements. Don't hesitate to press for further details or information simply by rephrasing the person's answer in the form of a question.
• If you need examples, ask for them.
• When you don't understand something an interviewee is telling you, ask for a clarification or further explanation.
• Avoid interrupting your interviewee.
• Avoid talking too much.
• Above all else (whether your tape recorder is running or not), listen.
• Take note of all forms of nonverbal communication.
• Don't wear out your subject. When the agreed-upon time limit is up or when you sense that your interviewee is growing tired or losing interest bring the interview to a close and make arrangements for a follow-up visit.
  

Using Your Subject's Words
        As soon as possible after the interview you need to translate your notes and/or transcribe your tapes. In a day or two, your scribbled notes will resemble a foreign language, and you won't be nearly as certain of exactly what your interview said.

        Find a quiet place and type out your questions and the subject's responses at least those responses that you expect you will be able to use in your profile. Be exact: misplaced words may erase the distinctive tone of the speaker as well as misrepresent her thoughts. In any case, if your interview has been successful, the transcript that you prepare will be significantly longer than the profile you eventually write. This is simply the raw material that later you will shape into an essay.

        In addition to fleshing out your notes immediately after the interview, jot down your impressions of your subject and of the environment in which your conversation took place employing as much sensory detail as possible. Such details will eventually help to bring your subject alive when you develop the profile. Create a vivid sketch of the person's attitudes, demeanor, body language, and way of speaking. Try to remember every little detail. And write those details down.

(Adapted from Creative Conversations: The Writer's Complete Guide to Conducting Interviews, by Michael Schumacher, Writer's Digest Books, 1990.)