Some tips on interviewing

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"To conduct an interview, go up to someone and ask them questions. It's not like this is rocket science."

True enough, but the way you approach the subject and how you ask the questions can have an effect on how successful an interview you have.

What would you call a successful interview?

Tactics for a successful interview:

Research: I'll always remember the story of a young journalist who got to interview the editor of a magazine for a story about the publication. Her first question? "How long has your magazine been published?" That pretty much killed the interview. It showed the reporter had done no research and was unprepared. Any time a reporter goes out into the field or approaches a subject, they need to do at least some basic research ahead of time. Even with a fast-breaking news story, a check for reliable online resources may come in handy as you go out the door. Look up stories reported by your own organization or your competition to give yourself an idea of the lay of the land.

Location, location, location: Where you interview someone is key. Try to talk to them while they are doing the thing that makes them newsworthy, or at least in that environment where they make a difference. Catch them being themselves, doing what they do and use your observational skills to draw a picture for the reader, to show them what makes this person newsworthy. Ask them how they do what they do as they do it. You'll learn a lot more and be able to write a better story. You are less likely to be writing about abstract concepts, which are hard for the reader to grasp.

Organize: A good interview is like a fine conversation. The subject gets relaxed and just talks. But unlike a conversation, your goal is not a two-way exchange of information, it's one way. You don't talk about yourself usually, but you get the subject to talk about himself. And you are also subtly directing the conversation towards a goal .. the key info of the story, picking up useful tidbits along the way. You organize and prepare for the interview not by setting up a list of questions for you to read, but instead by jotting down key words on your notebook to remind yourself of where you want the interview to go. Then in the actual dynamic situation of the interview, you can find the best way to get there. You follow your instincts as to how to elicit the best response.

Prep work: A journalist never stops thinking about the story before them. On the way to interviews, you may be running through possibilities for what to ask in your head. On the way back, you may be thinking out other directions that have been opened up by the interview, facts that have to checked, other sources to find, ideas for future stories that have been uncovered. When I was a reporter, I often woke up in the middle of the night either rehashing the events of the previous day or running through the possibilities of the day before me. (This was one reason I liked being a copy editor. They get to leave their work at the office.)

Empty bucket: Your approach to the subject should usually be open, curious and nonjudgmental. When you are combative, you are more likely to see a premature end to the interview, and then you have lost the opportunity to get one of the key commodities a journalist has to offer: information. That goal should be ahead of any ego that you may have. I usually will let a personal slight roll off my back so that I can have a chance at getting an answer to a question that I need. (Of course, there are understandable limits.)

Notice details:  When you enter a subject's home, workspace or backyard, pay attention. They have given you access to their world. There is lots to be noticed that can work into your story and lead to great questions. I interviewed someone who had a plaque on his desk that read: "Tomorrow is promised to no one." When I asked about it, he told me a harrowing story how he survived cardiac collapse while on an airplane. Just yesterday while visiting a home of my son's friend, I couldn't help but notice the Beatles and movie memorabilia in the kitchen. Doing that can lead to good conversations and good interviews.

Discussion: What are your strategies for dealing with a source who doesn't want to talk, doesn't want to go on the record?

Metaphor: Sometimes a good interview is like a trip to the moon. They take you to a world you have not visited and the story has a gravity that keeps drawing you in.

Other tips:
Ask what was happening five minutes before the big event that changed their lives, get them to give you the timeline on how it happened.

Try to get some of the background on the person, even if they may seem to be a small player in the news. Sometimes such people turn out to have pivotal roles and if you know their background, you are in a better position to uncover the meaning of what happened. Continue to be curious.

Ending: Make sure to ask if there is anything else the source thinks the readers should know about. Also ask if you can check back with follow-up questions later on.

Follow-up: Check back with your sources to see what they thought of the story. I usually tried to do this without seeming to fish for compliments, but did this as part of maintaining an ongoing relationship with the source. And remember, your goal is not to have your sources always like you. If you have a source on one side of the story happy with you and on the other side mad at you, you've done a terrible job. If they are both disgruntled about something, but unable to point to an inaccuracy, then you may have done your job well. In the end, the most you can hope for is that they respect you.