Interview like a journalist, write like a marketer (WP Campus 2017)
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Slides from my presentation about telling stories with accuracy and heart; many slides light on content so context isn't always there, but I hope this is helpful!
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Interview like a journalist, write like a marketer (WP Campus 2017)
- 1. Interview like a journalist, write like a marketer How to tell stories with heart and accuracy
- 2. True stories. With heart. The mantra for today.
- 3. “I’m looking for a few quotes.”
- 4. No, no. You’re looking for stories.
- 6. Showing means… Scene Action Dialogue Sensory detail What’s not said
- 7. It starts here. Who we ask matters. What we ask matters. How we ask matters. When we ask matters.
- 8. Why we interview What types of higher ed content benefit from solid interviews? News story Feature story Viewbook Campaign piece Testimonials Videos Proof piece Case study Blog post Ask letters Ads What else?
- 9. Don’t. Make. Your. Subjects. Sound like Robots. Unless they are. Then that’d be cool.
- 10. Part 1: Getting Ready
- 11. Type of story will dictate types of questions or type and tone of interview. Breaking news Straight Q&A Feature story Testimonial/ad More on this later…
- 12. Your interview starts with research.
- 13. Find your angle. Boost confidence and credibility.
- 14. Find a suitable location. Suit up as situation calls.
- 15. Don’t be afraid to go the distance. Geographically or metaphorically. Don’t be afraid to go along for the ride, or taste test, or participate.
- 16. Other options. But more on this later.
- 17. Build trust.
- 19. Observe your subject. Observe your surroundings.
- 20. Break the ice. It’s cool.
- 21. Why ask why…. News – more about the who, what, when, where Features – more about the why and how
- 22. Prepare your questions. Or don’t prepare your questions. Formal questions vs. bulleted list Planned vs. spontaneity Advanced notice. NO.
- 23. Questions cont’d Open-ended Specific Follow-up Repeated Remember: shovels.
- 26. The key to whether I make a good job or a bad job of the day’s interview is whether I am concentrating… And if you stop listening to your guests’ answers you’ll miss things and you won’t ask the most obvious thing which the audience are all shouting at you to ask…. John Faine, broadcast journalist
- 27. Acknowledge
- 28. Clarifying Questions, Reorienting Questions Stay on track Keep things simple
- 29. Be quiet.
- 30. …body language of the interview can give clues for further questions and confirm the validity of the answers. Gail Sedorkin, Author of Interviewing
- 31. Be humble.
- 32. Be open. Be spontaneous. Be surprised!
- 33. Coach if you need to…. It’s OK to give guidance; reaffirm needs/value Leading questions (such as reminding of earlier points) may be necessary – but don’t put words in mouth.
- 34. But wait… the interview is not just about your subject.
- 35. Prepare yourself, mentally and physically Hydrated Nourished Comfortable Refreshed Relaxed Rehearsed/Ready
- 36. Tools of the trade. Pack what you need. Pack what you don’t need.
- 37. …get whatcha need…. At the live interview Subjects’ phone number (emergency!) Notebook and pen Make that penS Voice recorder Phone app (use with caution; hint: outlet) Traditional recorder After the interview Transcription software/voice to doc Freelance transcriber? Annotated docs Naming conventions/filing system Back-ups
- 38. Whatever the weather You can never be too prepared.
- 39. Coming with a team? Hide internal woes and tension Limit disruption and discomforts Set expectations
- 40. On-Camera Extras Water! Rolling! Easier questions first Remind that interview isn’t live Complete-sentence answers Importance of the pause Notes matter (techy stuff/natural sound/b-roll) Man on the street/reactions These also apply to audio interviews!
- 41. Call Considerations Good for quick hits or “breaking news” Still take notes Record call if possible Limit small talk SMILE when you DIAL! Don’t respond right away – recognized a pause
- 42. Video Considerations Setting Timing Connection End use (only talking vs. using footage)
- 43. And now, a necessary evil.
- 44. A ghost town resurrected my old ways.
- 46. I call email interviews SURVEYS. Disclaimer: I’ve done them. But I am not proud.
- 47. In fact, I see some freelance journalists ask on Twitter: Can you please complete this Google form to help me with my story?
- 48. Draft submitted to me without fixing copy/paste from Gmail to Word formatting issues. Draft submitted to me with unnatural dialogue – we shorten things differently when we write them.
- 49. Don’t be sloppy.
- 50. People DO NOT speak in numbere d lists.
- 51. Oh, I was born a rambling man….
- 52. Other email issues Veracity – who really wrote it Laziness – for writer and subject Lack of control Lack of emotion/nonverbals Self-censoring Self-editing More time-consuming than you think Missed opp for your skills to shine
- 53. You’re not a cipher, you’re not somebody’s platform, you’re not just there for someone to stand on and cast out their message…. Kerry O’Brien, Broadcast journalist … you must always ask questions, otherwise you could be treated as a secretary taking down a prepared speech. Gail Sedorkin. Author of interviewing
- 54. Email is good for… Arranging interview Preliminary questions Sharing resources Fact-check follow-up Sustaining relationship Quick soundbites/official statement If you must…. Here’s an idea Go back and forth – one question at a time Ask orienting questions… Prep subject to be brief and conversational Set expectations that you’ll still use direct and indirect quotes Craft your story as if “answers” were said aloud.
- 55. Part II – Using your content The fruits of your labor baked into the best story you can make!
- 56. Did you find your angle? Change your angle?
- 57. Write, then dig Write a draft or outline based on memory Indirect quotes vs. direct quotes (what did you star?) Use other source materials – or other sources?
- 58. Complete an amazingly rich story.
- 59. To share or not to share Taboo? Or a must?
- 60. We know… we know…. Politics.
- 61. Build trust.
- 62. Fact-checking In real-time during interview While drafting and writing During revision While proofing
- 63. If you did your job well, you’ll have a lower margin of error.
- 64. Part II – Getting it done. Keeping it up.
- 65. But I don’t have time. Or things. Every content talk at a higher ed conference leads to this: Human. Resources. Writers need time. And things. Rethink roles, responsibilities Consider investment in staff or contractors or tools. We need buy-in. Stories need respect.
- 66. Improve Your Interviewing Skills Listen or watch award-winning interviews •Hard-hitting or emotional Watch Read Q&As in glossy, respected magsRead Listen to RadioLabListen Tag along with veteran human interest reportersTag along Develop your background knowledge (if you have a “beat”)Develop
- 67. Better interviews. Better stories. Better content. Better results.
- 68. WP Campus Survey – Share your feedback on this session with this unique URL… https://2017.wpcampus.org/session-survey/367/ WPCampus wants your feedback:
Editor's Notes
- SO much of what makes a story good has to do with the questions we ask our subjects, and when and where we ask them,
- Exposition vs. showing … building scene, dialogue, action, sensory detail. The raw material we get from an interview can turn into story gold.
- Some of what makes a story good heavily relies on the questions we ask our subjects – and when and where we ask them. Getting them to open up, to show vulnerabilities, to give anecdotes.
- You pay more for quality things, right? That means you value better ingredients, better material, right?
- Of course all of the material we have for our stories is edited and or produced and supplemented with visuals, but the raw materials that we unearth is what leads to the quality.
- For the sake of most of this presentation, we’re assuming you’re doing an interview for a feature piece and will do the interview in person – but we’ll also cover other options!
- Dive into the topic – past and present – previous stories, recent social activitiy, personal artifacts – if interviewing and older alumn, for instance, the library archives – like old yearbooks, photos, and conference programs, can be a gold mine. Use advanced Boolean tools – remember that not everything is online or searchable by accurate text. (My ancestry.com example.)
- Establishes your credibility, improves your confidence, primes you to go beyond Ws/H, discover new angle, improve accuracy.
- Be comfortable. Sometimes your interview may be at a golf course, tagging along on an errand, etc. You may not get to control the space, especially if you want someone to open up. Be careful on letting others control though – will someone try to make it a donor visit too? That could be intimidating.
- Get creative. I did a lot of first-person stories in journalism – skydiving, hot dog stand tour, etc. Can you inject yourself into subject’s day or world for betterment of the story?
- This begins with your first contact, and throughout the interview – and the end result should make them still trust you.
- Explain intentions, ahead of time and then again at start of interview.
- Take in your surroundings - what new ideas for questions might you find? Sensory details to add to story? Look out the window. Look on the walls. Find an icebreaker. Find a nugget. Collections? Maybe this would even lead to a new story idea.
- Don’t send
- Some of the best interviews involved side conversations.
- Don’t be vague. Don’t go for the triple-barreled questions. The merry go round was selected to show how much our minds could spin.
- Part of setting expectations may be to let subject know that since you’re taking notes, you may have your head down from time to time. You may also want to stay in tune with their demeanor – either adjust or mirror.
- But this can’t happen if you’re not pay attention. Get subject back on track. Don’t be afraid to ask for something to be rephrased.
- The pause. Reflection, remembering, what are they conjuring up that you could interrupt?
- Even if you know something, don’t be showy. You’re not there to impress the source – you’re there to get them to trust you and talk to you. Don’t be a know-it-all – don’t share your stories (too much.)
- This is also why a list of questions isn’t good – people may answer a question before you ask it and then you ask it because it’s on your list and you look like you’re not listening. What stories will you uncover? Maybe a news brief will turn into a cover story? Maybe a subject will be a perfect fit for another project but you had no idea. Go back to your ice breakers.
- One of the reasons we wanted to interview you was… a little while back you were so passionate about your answer, could you elaborate a little more with this one too?
- What you get from the interview is a result of what you put into it. Show up.
- Voice exercises. Don’t be hangry. People won’t open up to someone. Are you the right someone to do the interview in the first place?
- I saved this for last on purpose – I wanted to share with you all of the ways in which your writing can be beautiful and detailed and alive when you speak in person, or at the least on the phone or by video. I know that we all have tight deadlines – but my whole reason for doing talks like this are to remind us to put the human back in human interest stories. Still, I know email interviews may be required. If you absolutely, positively have no other alternative, here are some tips on how to make email interviews better.
- While not all people who interview for their jobs are trained journalists by trade, why would we want to give up a skill that so many solid writers pride themselves on?
- If good stories are about heart – why turn to such a cold medium? Email interviews allow for a subject to spend time thinking, crafting, treating it as an assignment they want to get a A on.
- Write your heart out so it’s not transparent it’s an email interview or that this story was rushed. Don’t do this to you, your institution or your subject.
- Establishes your credibility, improves your confidence, primes you to go beyond Ws/H, discover new angle, improve accuracy.
- Taboo to share in journalism for several reasons – time, control. But looser in marketing writing. Use your judgement but know what your ramifications could be. I had a situation where the whole story angle changed – and photography we paid lots of money for.
- This begins with your first contact, and throughout the interview – and the end result should make them still trust you. If you need to get things right – highly scientific or technical or on a hot-button issue with sensitivity, you may have to grin and bear it.