The writer's art of developing a dialogue:
News, views nothing without interviews
Gaston DE ROSAYRO
An interview is a conversation with a purpose. We might add that it
is a controlled conversation. It could be defined as the art of asking
the right questions and getting the right answers. Interviewing is the
one of the most basic and often the most intimidating tasks in
journalism.
Interviewing is the one of the most basic and often the most
intimidating tasks in journalism. |
Whatever anyone may say to the contrary journalism is a creative
occupation. Despite the panjandrums propounding their theory that
articles are a fixed formula plugged with simple facts, I stand by my
statement. There is no place for theoreticians in the hurly-burly world
of practical, professional journalism. Hands on editors, the real
professionals, often laugh heartily at the avalanche of clichéd
poppycock that passes for most mainstream journalism.
It is odd that so much emphasis is put on teaching journalists how to
write an article when that skill is useless without also teaching them
how to develop strong interview techniques. The finished product may be
a piece of writing that you craft, but the material a result of the
interviews you conduct.
The art of interviewing is as personal as the art of writing. Every
reporter brings a different style and skill to the job of interviewing.
But all interviews are designed to accomplish one mission: Get
information to advance a story. This is best achieved with organisation
and preparation, whether it is a five-minute phone interview or a
two-hour confrontational affair.
In similarity to any creative profession, you use your perception to
re-interpret the world around you. You try to engage an audience with
ideas and issues. And then you create something meaningful from all the
incoherent information and noise out there.
You would have realised by now that a far more important piece of the
journalist's craft than is given credit to is the interview itself.
After all, a good news story provides information, and that information
needs to come from somewhere, or someone. A news hound may know the
facts to be true, or plainly knows the significance of those facts
because he has been following the same beat for 20 years. But even then
he needs to be able to attribute the words and context to an independent
authority. That means the reporter needs to coax people in the know to
spill their secrets to him, and to trust him or her enough that he can
attach those people's names to the secrets they spill.
Whether it is a five-minute phone interview or a two-hour
confrontational affair, interviewing
requires organisation and preparation. |
Winning trust, then ferreting out information are the first two
things a reporter must do. Well, the first thing is actually to get a
story lead so he or she knows whom to contact for the particular
interview. But once the conversation begins, what matters is that you
actually get your subject talking. Interviewing well may be a
journalist's most important skill since no interview means no story.
But here is the catch. Effective journalism may to a large extent
also be dependent on a total stranger's co-operation and participation.
Fortunately, interviewing is an art that can be developed. Some
journalists are natural-born interviewers, while others never get
entirely comfortable with the idea of asking strangers nosy questions.
Interviewing is a vital skill for any journalist. It is one of the most
important ways to gather information and create content for a story.
Almost all stories are based on some sort of interviewing. It is,
doubtless, considered an essential trump when engaged in the story
chase.
Yet there is no foolproof strategy to ensure success in controlling
an interview. But if you have prepared carefully and are armed with a
set of questions following a definite storyline, you might feel you have
done your part. But no, not really because no one said it was going to
be a piece of cake. Remember the complete responsibility is in your
court. To have the questions is one thing. To get full answers in the
depth you need is something else. One of the major problems, therefore,
is to keep the interviewee talking.
The best method of interviewing in my estimation, is the direct
approach. People will answer your questions most of the time, if they
know what you want. For the most part people want to be helpful and you
just need to tell them how they can. One of the secrets is to learn how
to approach the interviewee from the point of view of his or her own
interests. It is best to tell your subject what you want to know with
the assurance that your story can be to his or her advantage.
To start, do as much research as you can and prepare a list of
questions to ask. Once the interview starts, try to establish a rapport
with your source, but don't waste your time. If your source starts to
ramble on about things that are clearly of no use to you, do not be
afraid to gently - but firmly - steer the conversation back to the topic
at hand.
Remember that from the start to the end of his or her career, the
journalist is an asker of questions, a listener and a recorder of
replies. And since interviewing is based on meeting people, you can help
yourself by learning all you can about the psychology of human behaviour.
You do this by simply studying people. That is by observing them,
watching their every movement and gesture. Look closely at what they do.
Then try to surmise why they do it and what makes them do it. Finally
attempt to perceive what results they achieve and how they feel about
those results.
In his or her quest for the news the journalist must effectively be
able to play the role of prying detective, successful salesperson,
probing psychiatrist, wily diplomat, confidential friend,
cross-examining attorney and querying quiz-master all rolled into one.
Because no two people are alike, no two interviewing situations would
be alike. The journalist must be resourceful, adaptable, quick and
ready. Always have plenty of questions prepared and make certain they
are well-planned questions. Interviewing is at once an art and a
science. A good interview feels like a conversation, but moves
relentlessly toward the relevant truth. The successful interviewer will
capture the scattered memories of the interview subject by using
techniques that resemble hypnosis or by asking questions like: How do
you know that?
Good interview technique requires practice so don't expect to master
it immediately.
As you gain more experience interviewing, you will hone your own
techniques. Your personality as an interviewer will also play a
significant role in how you develop your approach. The journalist who
can put someone at ease enough to express themselves in a way that many
others have never seen them do is a gift. It is a gift which is often
not only the ticket to a great article but also a wonderful reward for
the writer as well.
And, one final note to reiterate what I have always been telling my
journalist students and trainees: I too still have a lot to learn. Don't
we all? |