Journalism: How to get sources talking

Strategies for Getting
Sources to Talk
© 2018 by Teaching That Makes Sense, Inc. All rights reserved. For more information contact Margot Lester at margot@thewordfactory.com
with
Margot Carmichael Lester

Presentation Materials
http://bit.ly/HSJC-SMI

Why is
interviewing
hard?

Why Interviewing
Is Hard
•People don’t like to talk
•We aren’t sure what to ask and
they’re not sure what to say
•We’re both nervous about upsetting
someone
•Neither of us wants to look / sound
stupid
•We don’t want to bother them

Let’s talk about…
•Finding sources
•Getting them to talk
•Asking better
questions

How to
Find Sources

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Stakeholders
& Weak Ties

Photo by Marc Wathieu - Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License https://www.flickr.com/photos/88133570@N00 Created with Haiku Deck
Influencers© 2018 by Teaching That Makes Sense, Inc. All rights reserved. For more information contact Margot Lester at margot@thewordfactory.com

Photo by Thomas Hawk - Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License https://www.flickr.com/photos/51035555243@N01 Created with Haiku Deck
Perspectives

Learn more about
ﬁnding sources
in this deck
http://bit.ly/
FindSources

Why don’t
sources like
to talk?

Why Sources Don’t Talk
•They don’t know or trust us
•They don’t want to be “on the
record” or get in trouble
•They don’t think they know
enough to be helpful
•They’re shy or nervous

•They don’t want to weigh in
on a controversial topic
•They’re upset, scared, etc.
•They don’t take us seriously
(this is usually adults)
Why Sources Don’t Talk

How to Get
Sources Talking

To get sourcing
talking…
•Establish empathy
•Give them a reason to
•Do your research
•Show you care
•Ask better questions

I often approach
sources by emphasizing
our shared humanity,
our empathy and/or my
understanding that
they may be un-
comfortable with this
topic or hesitant to
talk to me. I also
address the elephant in
the room, if there is
one.
‘I know you don’t want
to talk about this, but
here’s why I think it’s
important that you do.’
AK Clemmons
ESPN © 2018 by Teaching That Makes Sense, Inc. All rights reserved.

Taylor Sisk
Kaiser Health News
Be flexible and
adaptable depending on
the personality, mood,
and/or receptiveness of
the person. This could
mean drilling a little
harder, taking a softer
approach, going into
more depth. Maintain
eye contact, nod, show
surprise or particular
interest, and otherwise
engage. If the person
believes that you’re
truly interested,
they’re more likely to
keep talking.”© 2018 by Teaching That Makes Sense, Inc. All rights reserved.

The best interviewers,
the best people who do
this for a living, are
people who are at the
end of it, curious.
They’re leaning in.
They’re listening
carefully. They’re
picking up on things
that we haven’t heard
before. If you’re
bored…people at home
are going to be bored,
too.
Gwen Iﬁll
Washington Week

How to
Ask Good
Questions© 2018 by Teaching That Makes Sense, Inc. All rights reserved. For more information contact Margot Lester at margot@thewordfactory.com

Frank Graﬀ
WUNC-TV
Every complete story
answers the Who, What,
When, Where, Why and
How questions. I use
quotes to back up the
information, add
context and emotion.

If somebody really
doesn't want to talk,
point out that you want
to cover both sides and
it won't look good if
the person's side isn't
seen on camera or
quoted.
© 2018 by Teaching That Makes Sense, Inc. All rights reserved.

Sources appreciate
when the interviewer is
paying attention to
what the interviewee
says.
They are taking time
out of their day to help
you, so the least you
can do is know enough
to not ask a dumb
question!
And always have follow-
up questions.
Gustavo Arrellano
Columnist & Commentator© 2018 by Teaching That Makes Sense, Inc. All rights reserved.

My advice for others
covering traumatic
events is - if possible -
go slow. Interview
people in a comfortable
space. Check in with
them throughout the
interview to see how
they’re doing.
Believe what they say.
Believe what they’re
feeling. Have water and
tissues nearby. Take
breaks. And remember to
breathe. Samantha Broun
transom.org© 2018 by Teaching That Makes Sense, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Sawatsky
• Avoid "yes" or "no" questions except to
confirm an exact piece of information.
• Inquire about "how", "why"and “what".
• Keep questions short and focused on a single
subject.
• Ask “how do you know?”, but not in a snarkly
way.
• Request examples and descriptions to help
your source remember and articulate
responses.

The Sawatsky
• Get comments on things you know are true.
• Keep your opinions away from your
questions.
• Don’t argue with or try to convince sources
of your side.
• Avoid hyperbole and charged words.
• Talk about sensitive subjects without
sounding combative.

• How do you know that?
• Why do you think that?
• What’s the one most important
thing we should know and
why?
• Why should the audience care
about this as much as you do?
A Few Good Questions

• What’s the biggest
misconception people have, why
is that a problem, and what’s
the truth?
• What haven’t we talked about
that you think we should?
• What else should we know about
this and why?
A Few Good Questions

• How would you brieﬂy describe the
issue/problem/solution?
• Why is/isn’t now the time to
address this?
• How is this diﬀerent from what’s
been tried before?
• What are the broader implications?
• What do you say to people who
disagree with you on this? Why?
A Few More Good Questions

• How does this eﬀect you
personally?
• Why is this good/bad?
• What was your ﬁrst thought
when you heard about this?
• What do you think should be
done instead, and why?
A Few More Good Questions

Questions?

with
Margot Carmichael Lester
Twitter: @word_factory
Blog: thewordfactory.com/our-blog
Instagram: @beabetterwriter
Thanks for attending
Strategies for Getting
Sources to Talk

© 2017 by Teaching That Makes Sense, Inc. All rights reserved. For more information contact Margot Lester at margot@thewordfactory.com© 2018 by Teaching That Makes Sense, Inc. All rights reserved. For more information contact Margot Lester at margot@thewordfactory.com
Presentation Materials
http://bit.ly/HSJC-SMI

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Journalism: How to get sources talking

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