Techniques of interview

2.  An interview is an authentic process of
getting information.
 The word Interview is derived from French
called ‘enter voir’ which means obtaining
information by questioning a person or
persons.
 It is a conversation between two people.
 One person who asks questions to get
information and the other person who
answers to give information.

3.  The person who interviews plays an
important role.
 The interviewer who gathers information is
considered authentic because it would have
come directly from the person on whom the
information is being published.

4.  The Primary factor for an interviewer is
preparedness
 The area in which the interviewer is being
interviewed (Ex: Sports, Cinema, Politics or
any other)
 The questions the interviewer has to ask.
 The questions posed should be based on their
accomplishments/ ongoing projects/ the
important decisions which have been taken
etc.

5.  The interviewer must have read widely and
deeply before preparing questions about the
person who is being interviewed.
 It will help the interviewer in not being
ridiculed by the interviewee –because if the
person who is interviewing doesn’t have
enough knowledge on the subject he or she
will be subjected to mockery.

6.  Closed questions
 Open questions
 Based on the type of topic and the person
being interviewed the questions have to be
balanced with both closed and open type of
questions which has to be structured
logically and thoughtfully.

7.  Closed Questions are usually ‘Yes’ or ‘No’
type of questions. In the initial stages of the
interview, this type of question forms the
base and helps the interviewer to proceed
further.
 Open questions are usually ‘Wh’ questions
varying to different areas of topic on which
the interview proceeds. Sometimes the
interviewer may even ask the person to
elaborate on the topic of discussion.

8. DO’S DON’TS
 Be confident.
 Be persistent.
 Be punctual – be at
the scheduled time
for interview.
 Pursue important
areas of enquiry.
 Frame questions well
ahead of time.
 Select the quotes
carefully.
 Don’t ever raise your
voice.
 Don’t be aggressive.
 Don’t go out of the
topic.
 Don’t have
confrontation or
argumentative
dialogues.
 Don’t grope for the
question on the spot.
 Don’t push your
personal opinion.

9. DO’S DON’TS
 Let the questions be
short and crisp.
 Interview should be
taken at a convenient
time.
 Interview should
happen at a place
where there are no
interruptions.
 Notes can be taken
while interviewing a
person along with the
recording.
 The questions should not
be lengthy and confusing.
 Interviewer should not call
the person abruptly at odd
hours.
 It is not good to receive
personal calls while
interviewing a person.
 Don’t let the person
become conscious of the
recording instrument or
the notes which interrupts
her/his thoughts.

10.  CASUAL INTERVIEWS:
 Casual interview can take place anywhere
and just by chance.
 A reporter happens to be in a place where
he/she comes across an incident or a person
who has a different story to say or an event
which invokes special interest among the
readers.
 This happens to be a casual interview which
the reporter out of his/her interest meets
the person or people to know more about the
event and write about it.

11.  PERSONALITY INTERVIEWS:
 Personality Interview is usually done by the
reporter when he/she meets a special person
who has accomplished or has brought laurels to
the country.
 The entire interview is taken personally by the
reporter in a convenient place for both and the
speech is recorded to make it efficient while
drafting the same into the newspaper.
 The personality can be a celebrity, a politician, a
film star, a sportsperson or a Nobel prize winner.

12.  NEWS INTERVIEWS:
 This type of Interview is especially based to
give some important news.
 It is usually given on a one-to-one basis with
the reporter interviewing the person in a
given place where the incident of the event
has taken place.
 The reporter has only one intention of
getting information.
 He/she will be thoroughly prepared with a
set of well-prepared questions to pose in
that place.

13.  INTERVIEW THROUGH MAILS:
 This has become a recent trend to send the
questions to the person who has to be
interviewed.
 This has several advantages.
 The person who is being interviewed will
have enough time to think and answer the
questions and he/she can also answer at
leisure.
 Hence this type of interview is popular in
recent times.

14.  INTERVIEW THROUGH GOOGLE SPREAD SHEETS:
 With the advent of technology, the media is also
advancing.
 When media wants to take the opinion of many
people about any issue and if it desires to
interview many at one time and those people are
spread across a wide area, then.
 These Google spreadsheets are of great use.
 Questions are posed through these sheets and all
interviewees can answer at the same time.
 This method is mostly used by Research Scholars
apart from Media.

16.  A profile is a portrayal of a person in words.
 Profiles are kin to portraits.
 Profiles capture the character, spirit and
style of the subject.
 They explore beneath the surface to look at
what motivates people, what excites them,
what makes them interesting.
 A good profile gets into the heart of the
person and finds out what makes him or her
important/famous.

17.  The focus of a profile should be on a news
angle or a single aspect of the subject's
personal or professional life.
 The profile should begin with the reason the
subject is newsworthy at the time of writing
it, and should be based (not exclusively) on
an extensive interview with the subject.
 Extensive interviewing is involved when a
profile is to be written.

18.  Reporters have to have a thorough
understanding of the subject’s life to create
a revealing sketch of that life.
 Reporters should spend time with the subject
and should be observant while gathering
information.
 A profile is incomplete without quotes.
Profiles not only contain quotes of the person
being profiled but also contain quotes from
people who are associated with the subject.

19.  Researching about the subject
 Creating questions that linger
 Encouraging the subject to open up and express
significant thoughts, feelings or opinions
 Recording the interviews
 Finding pull quotes that move the story
 Biographical information is important but
overemphasis of such information is not required
 Profile should open with the subject's connection
to the news event and should later deal with
birth, family, education, career and hobbies,
unless one of those happens to the focus of
profile