a guideline for interviewing a person in Radio

1. Radio Production
INTERVIEWING
By
Musharaf Javaid

2. Interviewing
The aim of an interview is
to provide, in the
interviewee’s own words,
facts, reasons or opinions
on a particular topic so that
the listener can form a
conclusion as to the validity
of what he or she is
saying.

3. Basic Approach
• An interview is not a confrontation,
which it is the interviewer’s object to
win.
• The interviewer should never get
drawn into answering a question that
the interviewee may put
• The interview must be what it
appears to be.
• It is an opportunity to provide not
only what the listener wants to know,
but also what the public may need to

4. Types of interview
Informational
Interview
• The sequence in which
this is done becomes
important if the details
are to be clear. There
may be considerable
discussion beforehand
to clarify what
information is required
and to allow time for
the interviewee to
Interpreti
ve
Interview
• It has the interviewer
supplying the facts and
asking the interviewee
either to comment on
them or to explain
them. The aim is to
expose the reasoning
behind decisions and
allow the listener to
make a judgement on

5. Emotional
Interview
• Aim of it is to provide an
insight into the
interviewee’s state of
mind so that the listener
may better understand
what is involved in
human terms. Specific
examples would be the
feelings of relatives of
people trapped in the
debris of an earthquake,
Documentary
Interview
• For example, a retired
politician will take time
but should be as
absorbing for the
interviewer as it will
be for the listener.
The process of
recalling history should
surprise, it should
throw new light on

6. What the interviewee should
know
• What is it to be about? Not the exact
questions but the general areas, and the limits
of the subject.
• Is it to be broadcast live or recorded?
• How long is it to be? Is the broadcast a
major programme or a short item?
• What is the context? Is the interview part of a
wider treatment of the subject with
contributions from others or a single item in a
news or magazine program`mme?
• For what audience? A local station, network

7. Preparation Before Interview
• It is essential for the
interviewer to know what
he or she is trying to
achieve.
• An essential is absolute
certainty of any names,
dates, figures or other
facts used within the
questions.
• Question technique is
dealt with in a later
section, but it should be
remembered that what is
actually asked is not
necessarily formulated in
precise detail beforehand
The Pre-interview Discussion
• The interviewer indicates
the subject areas to be
covered but is well
advised to let the
interviewee do most of
the talking.
• The interviewer’s prime
task at this stage is to
clarify what the interview
is about.
• Obtaining the confidence
of the interviewee while
establishing a means of
control.
• If the interview is to be
recorded, such a question

8. Question
techniqueAn interview is a
conversation with an aim.
On the one hand, the
interviewer knows what
that aim is and knows
something of the subject.
On the other, by taking
the place of the listener
he or she is asking
questions in an attempt to
discover more. This
balance of knowledge and
ignorance can be
described as ‘informed
naivety’.
The best of all questions,
 Who? asks for fact. Answer – a person.
 When? asks for fact. Answer – a time.
 Where? asks for fact. Answer – a place.
 What? asks for fact or an interpretation of fact.
Answer – a sequence of events.
 How? asks for fact or an interpretation of fact.
Answer – a sequence of events.
 Which? asks for a choice from a range of options.
 Why? asks for opinion or reason for a course of action.
ˣ ‘Why did you decide to …?’
ˣ ‘Why do you believe it necessary to …?
ˣ Are you …?
ˣ Is it …?
ˣ Will they …?
ˣ Do you …?

9. Question ‘width’
This introduces the concept of how
much room for manoeuvre the
interviewer is to give the interviewee.
‘You’ve just returned from a study
tour of Europe, tell me about it.’
Devil’s advocate
If an interviewee is to express his or
her own point of view fully and to
answer various critics, it will be
necessary for those opposing views
to be put.
‘How do you react to people who say
that…’

10. Leading questions
Lazy, inexperienced or malicious questioning can
appear to cast the interviewee in an unfavorable light
at the start:
‘Why did you start your business with such shaky
finances?’
‘How do you justify such a high-handed action?’
The questions can still be put in a perfectly
acceptable form:
‘How much did you start your business with?’ (fact)
‘At the time, did you regard this as enough?’

11. Non-verbal communication
• The concentration must be
maintained
• It is possible to express surprise,
puzzlement or encouragement by
nodding one’s head. In fact, it
quickly becomes annoying– ‘ah
yes’, ‘mm’, ‘I see’.
• Even the most talkative
interviewee has to breathe and
the signs of such small pauses
should be noted beforehand so
that the interviewer can use them
effectively.

12. During the interview
The interviewer must be actively in
control of four separate functions the
technical, the direction of the interview,
the supplementary question and the
timing.
Winding up
The word ‘finally’ should only be used
once. It may usefully precede the last
question as a signal to the interviewee
that time is running out and that
anything important left unsaid should
now be included. Other signals of this
nature are words such as:
‘Briefly, why …’
‘In a word, how …’
‘At its simplest, what …’

13. After the interview
If the interview has been recorded, it should be
immediately checked by playing back the last 15
seconds or so.
If, for any reason, it is necessary to re-take parts of a
recording, it is generally wise to adopt an entirely
fresh approach rather than attempt to recreate the
original.
Yet to read,