The Rules of Interviewing
—compiled by Ms. Hemmerly from a variety of sources
1. Be prepared
- do your research
- be on time
- have everything you need with you
2. Have your questions ready BEFORE you schedule the interview
3. Make an appointment, if possible
4. Dress appropriately
5. Concentrate on the person, not on taking notes
- devise a shorthand note-taking style
- TAPE YOUR INTERVIEWS
- Be friendly, relax and LISTEN
6. Avoid close-ended questions, if you can
- only use these as precursors
- to open-ended questions
7. Develop a shorthand note-taking system
- ALWAYS put quote marks around direct quotes
- ask the source to slow down, if needed
8. Leave the door open for follow-up interview(s)
9. Be skeptical—yet professional—throughout the interview
- actively pursue the subject’s responses
- if they’re vague or lead into other questions
10. Verify your facts both during and after the interview
- have subject spell name and provide title
- fact-check information provided by the source with him or her after the main portion of the interview is done
11. Don’t allow source to read over your story before printing
- if pressed, tell source you’ll read back his/her quotes for verification purposes before printing
12. Be observant
- notes should include not only what was said, but the surroundings, the source’s mannerisms, etc.
13. Go over your notes within 15 minutes of the interview, within 2-3 hours at the most
- supplement any sketchy points in your notes
- begin reviewing/organizing the information
- NEVER go to bed before reviewing your notes from an interview conducted that day
14. Use standby first/last questions for EVERY interview
- “Would you please spell your first and last name for me? I want to make sure I get it right.”
- “Is there anything else you would like to add?”
15. Wrap up interview with a re-emphasis on commitment to accuracy
- “Can I contact you again in the next few days if I have any questions?”
Comments (23)
Carol Hemmerly said
at 11:36 am on Sep 19, 2008
For number 11, it's always a good idea to go over the notes you've recorded with your source before concluding the interview (as noted in 10). This allows the source to clarify any discrepancies and will alleviate his or her fears of being quoted inaccurately. —Carol H.
Carol Hemmerly said
at 11:39 am on Sep 19, 2008
These rules are meant to help your source feel comfortable with your commitment to sound journalistic practices both during and after the interview. Your source should feel like you are a reliable, honest and hardworking person, committed to producing the very best story you can. —Carol H.
Paige F. said
at 1:48 pm on Sep 19, 2008
I think number 4 is very important. Because, you can never take back a first impression. If you dress in a frumpy outfit they may not take you as seriously as if you wore a well put together outfit. But besides that, its all about your attitude and how you want the interview to go.
olivia menden said
at 2:26 pm on Sep 20, 2008
I think that number 10 is extremely important because it ensures accuracy in a story, one of the three Tenets of Ethical Journalism. In addition, you don't want to make an avoidable and embarrassing mistake by mispelling a name of a person. Finally, by checking the information over with the person, you give them an opportunity to fix any mistakes that they made.
~Olivia M.
zoey599 said
at 9:59 am on Sep 21, 2008
Number 13 says to never go to bed before reviewing notes taken from an interview that day... that seems kind of silly but I guess I understand the point. Number 15 seems really important because f your subject says no they would not like you to contact them, you probably made a bad first impression and you probably weren't very nice to your subject. I think all of these points are pretty reasonable and aren't asking too much. Every journalist should be able to do them easily.
Isabel said
at 1:34 pm on Sep 21, 2008
I think number 12 is interesting, because when you think of interviewing, most people only consider the questions and answers, but really, it involves observing the person's emotions and movements. You can learn hidden meanings to things people say if you observe this, and you can use that to fully understand what they're saying.
-Isabel
Emily Prebihalo said
at 2:51 pm on Sep 21, 2008
Number 13 I hadn't thought of, but it makes sense when I think about it. Also, I didn't know you absolutely could not let the source read the story before it's printed. It makes sense to check their quotes with them, but I didn't know that's the only thing you're allowed to do. Also, dressing appropriately is a really important one I think. A lot of times you set the mood by how you're dressed, and if the interview is either overly casual or overly formal, the interviewee will be the same.
~Emily Prebihalo
Noah Grumman said
at 3:34 pm on Sep 21, 2008
I think that number 5 & 7 are especially important because good notes are critical to writing an accurate story and help ensure that you don’t make avoidable errors. I also think that creating a shorthand way of writing notes or tape recording an interview is a good idea because it allows you to focus less on your note taking and more on the other rules and aspects of interviewing.
- Noah
Marisa said
at 4:09 pm on Sep 21, 2008
I think that all of the rules listed up their are equally important in their own way but if i could add one it would be that you should be confident, casual, conservative, engaging, unbiased, and i don't know, trying to make it the interview intresting but not over doing it. If someone was interviewing me, I would rather they spoke to me like an actual person intrested in what i have to say instead of a greedy person who's only after the gossip or speaks to me only in a monotone voice. They should be nice and quick on their feet with creatvity. I think what would make an interview really terrible is if there is an akward pause or any long silence that it suddenly becomes unbearable. You want to be comfortable when your being interviewd, not feeling like you're being drilled or pressured into confessing or accusing or making the story intresting enough. The interviewer should take your words and utilize them in their story and make them intresting without twisting them around or making you sound unlawful or wrong.
Leslie Schroer said
at 4:34 pm on Sep 21, 2008
I think #13 is important because you wouldn't want to forget any information you didn't write down during the interview and I also think #4 is important because you want to make a good impression when you're interviewing someone.
-Leslie
soccerbabii17@... said
at 4:50 pm on Sep 21, 2008
I think that number 12 is very important. The more observant you are, the more insight you can get on your subject. Focusing on the person's reactions could help you identify unspoken thoughts toward your subject. I also feel that rule number seven is of great importance. Being active by making sure you understand, and not just get the gist of what your source is saying is very important, and can protect you from false information. Getting correct facts seems to be an essential key to a great story.
prachi.135 said
at 5:12 pm on Sep 21, 2008
I think that numbers checking for accuracy (10) is important as it relates to how truthful your story is and whether you interpreted the source's quotes, etc. correctly. Number 13 was a little weird, but understandable, since you're more likely to forget key details by the next day. Oh, and dressing appropriately (4) is crucial to making a good first impression. You don't want to look like a hobo or they just won't take you seriously.
- Prachi
Mimi Bair said
at 6:38 pm on Sep 21, 2008
Number 8 reminded me a lot of the Boy Scout Rules of Interviewing in the packet, specifically the "Be Polite" section-you really never know if you might have to interview someone again for a different story, and if you were rude or discourteous, they will not be considerably less forthcoming when interviewed the second time.
MaresaC said
at 7:24 pm on Sep 21, 2008
I think that number 6 is important for conducting an interview, it would be difficult to get anywhere if you are only asking close-ended questions. I also think number 10 is important on verifying facts and information to avoid any errors in a printing of the interview.
-Maresa
Lina said
at 9:16 pm on Sep 21, 2008
I think number 5 and 7 are the most important when conducting an interview, because you have to be paying attention to the person you are interviewing and still be able to take good notes.
uajournalism said
at 9:53 pm on Sep 21, 2008
I just interviewed someone for my science class, and I think that numbers 7 and 13 would have been a big help to me. I wish I had created my own short hand notes before the interview because I think I could have gotten more out of the interview. Also reviewing my notes would have been a great idea. I think all the rules listed here are very important expcaly number 5. Listening can make or brake the interview.
esmith_920@... said
at 7:07 am on Sep 22, 2008
numbers 1-4 seem to be mainly focused with making a good impression on the person being interviewed. This is important, of course, because if there is no connection bewteen the interviewer and the subject, then the overall interview is limited in its growth. even when interviewing criminals and dictators and people of that sort, it's improtant to attempt at making a good first impression, otherwise, the entire interview might not go as well as it could.
Alos, numbers 1 and 10 seem to realte, in that it helps to be more fully researched on the subject of the interview, in order to fact-check the subject suring the interview.
esmith_920@... said
at 7:08 am on Sep 22, 2008
numbers 1-4 seem to be mainly focused with making a good impression on the person being interviewed. This is important, of course, because if there is no connection bewteen the interviewer and the subject, then the overall interview is limited in its growth. even when interviewing criminals and dictators and people of that sort, it's improtant to attempt at making a good first impression, otherwise, the entire interview might not go as well as it could.
Alos, numbers 1 and 10 seem to realte, in that it helps to be more fully researched on the subject of the interview, in order to fact-check the subject suring the interview.
-Evan Smith
klk017 said
at 7:41 am on Sep 22, 2008
I think that number 1 is very important pertaining to number 9. First off, you have to be prepared and know background information on the topic you're interveiwing someone about. If you don't have this, then you won't be professional in number 9. I also think that the more you know about background information, the more professional you will sound if the topic veers into a category you hadn't written questions down about. In the interview we listened to on NPR, the speaker would veer off in a direction and the interviewer always came up with a question to keep the conversation flowing without sounding suprised.
-Kelsey Kessler
Breana Patwa said
at 11:04 am on Sep 22, 2008
I think number 5 is important. You don't want to be so focused on taking notes the entire time so you're not really listening, and by recording the interview, you also have a backup plan if your notes fail you.
Breana Patwa
parker said
at 12:10 pm on Sep 22, 2008
I think rules 1, 5, 7, and 9 are the most important rules of interviewing because these rules alone can shape and guide an interviewer to an engaged conversation with the flow of natural thoughts and ideas, which can result in a quality story.
Hannah said
at 6:16 pm on Sep 22, 2008
I think that number ten is the most important beause it is nessasary to have all of the facts straight to have a sucessful story. Also, a story with fallacies is easily avoidable if you follow this rule.
Eman said
at 8:01 am on Sep 23, 2008
I think that number 5 is important because in order to get good information and quotable statements, the journalist has to really listen to the source, not just focus on writing everything the person being interviewed is saying.
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