I got to use my interviewing skills again when I made a documentary film about first-year teachers in the Alaskan bush. That was even more fun. (You can see the trailer for the film by following this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1K_32zwv-xg )

All the things you did were right: making notes, bringing a recorder, bringing moral support. The other thing to do is strike a balance between knowing what you want to get out of the interviewee and making room when an unforeseen gem is presenting itself to you.

Jon

You’ll start noticing this write away, and it will cause you much agony and joy. Knowledge is a two-edged sword. Good luck!

Jon

To William’s excellent advice I would only add this, from my time as a journalist: No matter the subject, get yourself genuinely interested therein. This comes easier with some subjects than others, but it’s vital to the truly great interview.

m&m– I agree. This Sunday we were watching David Gregory interview Harry Reid on Meet the Press, and Gregory wanted Reid to say he was wrong about the surge in Iraq and he just kept asking (and rephrasing) the same question over and over again and Reid kept giving the same answer. It was obvious that Gregory wanted Reid to admit he was wrong, and just as obvious that Reid wasn’t going to do it.

Libby– thanks for the advice. I like that question a lot.

I think it’s a real talent and art to be able to be a pleasant and professional interviewer, without trying to somehow end up taking center stage or even derailing a conversation.

One thing I always like to do is make sure I have a good mix of philosophy (thoughts about general issues and trends in the field), work process/results (what the results of whatever project we’re talking about and how those results were arrived at), and influences (although there are cleverer ways to go about this — some people get tired of talking over and over again about who their influences are).

I tend to insert myself too much into face-to-face interviews, often making observations, telling related anecdotes, sharing biographical details. On the other hand in most cases, that tends to make my interviewees feel more at ease and conversational — which is where you generally want the interview to get to, rather than just you lobbing a question and them answering it and then moving down to the next question on the list. The exception to this (I have found) is when the person you are interviewing is very accomplished and very pressed for time. They’ll view such insertions as self-indulgent on your part. In those cases it’s best to ask good questions and then indicate (though follow-up questions) that you are following along.

The most important thing to the success of an interview (well, the most important thing in your control — the most important thing is to have an articulate, interesting interview subject) is to get those little facts straight and have some decent background on the field so that you don’t ask those stupid questions that can turn an interview subject cold. Part of why I thrived as a PR person in an academic environment is because I came from that environment and knew it well. Some of that is the result of being an educated semi-well-read individual, some of it is preparation and some of it is total bluster.

The second most important thing, of course, is to listen.

Also: this really doesn’t apply to what we’re discussing here, but journalists and PR people will often fish around and around and around for that money quote that can go in the story or news release. It’s a practice that I find rarely works. However — if someone does say something really awesome, don’t hesitate to either stop them so you can get it down or have them say it again (which you choose depends on the situation).

With e-mail interviews, I always make sure to let the interview subjects know that all questions are negotiable (e.g. can be rephrased, not answered or added to) but also make sure that it’s clear that I’ve put some thought in to the questions so that the subjects can’t help answering them.

I’ve tried to do the e-mail conversation thing where you go back and forth over the course of several days/weeks/months, but so far most of those have stalled out. Which is a pity because it’s a really fun process.

Angela– thanks for the recommendation to check out William and Ben’s interviews. I appreciate it!