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How to get the best out of an interview
Because of budget and time constraints, people handling interviews in a corporate situation often do so in less than ideal circumstances. But you don’t need a degree in journalism to be an effective interviewer; just keep a few principles in mind.
Make them say what they mean
Don’t accept vague or clichéd answers. A poor interviewer will mechanically run off the questions he or she has prepared rather than pursue the threads that invariably come up during the course of an interview. For example, if you ask your subject what the most important part of his job is and he responds with something general like “client satisfaction” (as often happens), follow up with, “how do you achieve that?” If he says “forming a strong relationship,” quiz him further with more “open” questions. This way you finish with a more definitive set of answers which will result in a more informative and readable article. For example: “Jim Smith says the key to client satisfaction is making them feel like they’re your only client – that the value of your work far outweighs your fee.” As opposed to: “Jim Smith feels that client satisfaction is an important part of his job.”
Coming back to poorly answered questions
Repeat a question later in the interview if you’re not satisfied with the initial response. Interviewees, especially for publications like a company report or newsletter, are usually a bit stiff or nervous at first but relax as they get into it.
Echo
Another technique for clearer responses is to repeat back to the interviewee something they’ve said – albeit in a summarised form. This tends to elicit an expanded answer or can clarify something you may not be quite clear on. On that point: be blunt if you don’t understand something that’s been said – it won’t become any clearer as you read through your notes or listen to your recording.
Look for anecdotes/examples
The old “show don’t tell” principle. If someone has been getting praise for being particularly helpful, ask a colleague for an example of when that person has come to the rescue. It’s stronger and more interesting to back up a claim like Betty Davis is always helping out her colleagues with a short anecdote like: The Simpkin review was due the following day and our marketing team was badly pressed for time. Davis had nothing to do with the project but stayed back several hours and checked all the figures. “She saved us a great deal of time and effort,” says Marketing Development Manager Jim Smith.
Anything else?
Finish your interview with a question like “is there anything else you think should be included?” It often provides useful information or catches something that’s been missed.
Taking notes
Unless the interviewee was particularly verbose or repetitive, try to get down in writing everything that’s been said in an interview. This is vital if you’re going to be including quotes in an article. In the interest of accuracy you need to quote the language verbatim. What’s more, unusual and casual language can add the humanity and colour you need to make an article interesting, particularly if your subject matter is dry.
