The Art of Being a Good Interviewer

 

  According to an old saying, “There is no such thing as stupid question” but on the other hand, according to numerous scholars there is such thing as less effective one. Interviewing is one of the most basic but simultaneously one of the most intimidating tasks in journalism. Some journalists are natural-born interviewers, while others never get entirely comfortable with the idea of asking strangers nosy questions. Therefore, this article aims at exploring some of the most significant and useful interviewing techniques in journalism.

  Too often journalists just start an interview with a handful of questions scribbled in their notebooks, without any sufficient preparation.  The former New York Times reporter Mirta Ojito shares that when interviewing experts, she “tries to know almost as much as they do about their subject, so it seems they are ‘chatting”. And yes, research is important! So, even though your time is shorter, just take it, bone up on your subject and impress your interviewee.

  I think that there is no doubt that the best questions are open-ended.  When you begin with “How?” “What?” “Where?” “When?” “Why?”, means that you encourage expansive answers that produce an abundance of information needed for a  complete and accurate story.  However, sometimes close-ended questions also have an important purpose and do not have to be underestimated (especially when you need a direct answer).  Therefore, it is of utmost importance to craft your questions in advance, in order to ensure you ask ones that start conversations rather than halt them in their tracks.

  Moreover, almost every interviewer fees uncomfortable in the beginning and mechanically tries to read out the list of questions. The thing is that you have to be as open and natural, as possible. Listen and explore all the time! Do not try to stay so focused on getting through your list of questions because you are much more vulnerable to miss an interesting detail.

  Last but not least, try to be a human first. Carolyn Mungo, executive news director at WFAA-TV claims that  “People have to see that journalists are not just a body behind a microphone. Even if you have five minutes, don’t rush, let them know you care”. Empathy is always significant!

  All in all, I can say that we, as future journalists have a lot more to study before we become the perfected interviewers. And practice but not theory is of utmost importance when you are trying to master your skills.