This document provides guidance on conducting interviews to gather information and stories for a communications program. It recommends treating the interview as a conversation rather than a formal interview to make the person more comfortable. It suggests starting with light, open-ended questions to get the person talking before drilling down into more specific details. The goal is to get beyond top-level responses and add human interest by understanding how the project impacts real people. The interviewer should have key facts readily available but avoid jargon and explain any technical terms to make the story accessible. Short, specific quotes that capture the essence of what was said are most effective for communication.

1. Interview Guide
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Starting the conversation
Think of this more as a conversation
than a formal interview. It is likely to
ease the atmosphere if you keep it
light.
Try to get the basics first
Starting point and door opener
Remind yourself of the project
(perhaps one you have assessed)
 You can congratulate the person
on an application well written.
 You may want to say something
about wanting a chat or perhaps
connecting the person to the
communications department to
share information for upcoming
stories.
Show they are important
Be informal
Make it about them!
 Say that you’d be very excited to
have the Programme writing
about the project and the process
it is making.
 Ensure that the person does not
think he is being checked,
controlled or corrected.
Starting light
 How’s it going?
 How do you feel about your
project?
 What are your hopes for the
partnership?
Broad opening question – get them
talking
 Describe a regular Tuesday in the
project. What do you do?
The story is in the details
What we want to avoid is the
situation when all answers stay on a
general top level response, basically
not saying anything. So let’s ask for
details and drill a little deeper into
the project.
 Top line: “The project is
about fracture management”
 Drilling down: “The number of
cases of fractures and linked
health disorders are going to
increase in the future due to an
aging society. The project will set
up local registries and link them
together in one transnational data
registry to support hospitals and
companies in the Baltic Sea Region
in identifying needs and potentials
for innovation within fracture
management.”

2. Interview Guide
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 Ask follow up questions, such as:
“What does a data registry look
like?”, “Who would manage it?”, “Is
it available online?”, “What kind of
health-disorders are we talking about
here?”, “What can be done to avoid
them?”, “How many people in the
Baltic Region are affected by this?”,
“Could this happen to my
grandmother?”, “What advise should
I give her to avoid these fractures?”.
The closer you get to the human
being the better it is. – see below
Human interest
Human interest
 How did you feel when…?
 What do you think of…?
Human interest always catches the
attention of the reader. Giving an
example of what a real person is
experiencing or is working on right
now or perhaps what problems for
real people that the project aims at
solving are good ways of
personalizing a difficult or
complicated issue.
Tips
The key facts and figures have to be
readily available to you. Keep them
with you on a piece of paper (such as
project fact sheet).
Avoid EU or Interreg jargon and
technical words.
Try talking to each other as if you
had just met your 10th grade teacher.
For every word your teacher would
not understand, ask the
representative a question to explain.
Identifying a good sound bite
A soundbite is a short extract from
an interview or speech, chosen for its
succinctness or concision. Knowing
when to put a full stop to a sentence
is key. Try to focus on the active verb
and put a stop when you sense
repetition, ranting or general recital
of non-descript stuff. If you feel the
person you are speaking to is being
too general in his responses,
interrupt and ask for specifics of
what he is saying. Short, specific
statements go a long way.
Technicalities
 Ask for the business card, which would
include full name, organisation & position,
project & function: “Could you remind me
of… “
 Ask if MA/JS can contact him/her again for
follow up
Travel report
 Please consider the updated section in the
travel report (Stories from the event for our
programme communication ) -
(2016.01.19_template_event_report)
L:00_Common04_Travel + event reports