Wednesday, April 4, 2012...10:38 pm

Podcasting week #3: preparing for interview

Jump to Comments

In the third of a series of podcasting guides, former Granta editorial director and freelance multimedia content producer George Miller offers advice for interview preparation. Key tip: This is the kind of interview preparation all journalists should be doing anyway.

3. Preparing your interview

Play

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Know what you want from the session
Whatever your brief of circumstance, know what you want to achieve from the interview

Research your subject
Visit their blog, look at their published work, read online profiles – use these to prepare your questions

Prepare notes on an index card
Write down prompts for key facts and dates – it’s surprising how easy it is to forget crucial information under the pressure of recording

Keep the interviewee informed
Remind them what the interview is for; tell them how long the interview will take; let them know how detailed you want their answers to be; remind them it will be edited so they  don’t worry about fluffing their answers

Reassure the interviewee
Take a brief break to reassure them that the interview is going well (assuming it is)

Don’t start with your killer question
Start with gentler questions so they relax and open up

Next: advice on editing

Leave a Reply