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Getting Started (Part 11): What to do During and After the Interview By Joanne D. Kiggins
Do you panic and procrastinate when it comes time to conduct an interview?
There is an underlying pride one feels after conducting an interview. It is pride in knowing you had the moxie to put yourself out there and be the professional you are. Interviewing isn’t always easy, even after you have read book after book, and article after article, explaining what you should do. As in all writing, interviewing takes practice, and with practice comes experience. With experience comes the confidence that you will make a good impression, get the information you need for your article, and know you have conducted yourself in a professional manner.
The following tips are compiled from my experiences with hopes that they will help you conduct interviews that will make your profiles shine.
You have a date and time set to meet with your interviewee. It doesn’t hurt to call the interviewee the day before to confirm the purpose of your article. You also have your list of questions ready for the interviewee. There’s nothing wrong with stating a few questions you plan on asking to give your interview source time to think about the topic prior to your meeting.
Dress appropriately and comfortably. If interviewing a CEO, s/he would be comfortable with someone wearing a suit. Jeans and boots might be appropriate if you are interviewing a farmer or horse breeder. The idea is to dress appropriately not only for your comfort, but also to help your subject feel comfortable.
Be on time. This is the first rule on interviewing. You want your subject to be comfortable with you, and there’s no better way to show you’re a professional than to have the courtesy of keeping to a schedule.
Begin light then get down to business. Start with light conversation to establish a rapport with your subject. You want your interviewee to open up, not clam up; so don’t barrage him/her with questions as you’re walking in the door. “You have a beautiful home” or “What a beautiful flower garden” are great mood setters.
Tape or take notes. I prefer both. Always ask permission to tape the interview. I always let my subjects know that I tape all my interviews to guarantee accuracy and it allows me to concentrate on them more fully. Taping the conversation also allows you to focus on the subject’s reactions and what is being said. Place the recorder off to the side in open sight so as to not distract your subject. Taking notes is valuable as well. Jot down reactions, atmosphere, and quirks, anything that may be of interest for the interview. Ask proper spellings of names and jot them down as well.
Be ready to listen. Ask one question at a time and listen to the answers. Sometimes a subject will respond with an answer that will lead you to ask questions you hadn’t anticipated. There may be times when you find yourself asking the interviewee for another interview on a totally different subject.
Don’t interrupt. Give your subject time to answer your question fully. Don’t interrupt by adding your comments; the subject could lose his/her train of thought and besides, it’s rude to interrupt someone mid-sentence. Let the interviewee know you are listening with genuine interest by making short comments after each answer.
Stay on track. If the interviewee gets off the subject, rather than ask another question, refer to something s/he said in the discussion, e.g., “Back to what you said earlier about…” This not only gets you back on track, but also shows the interviewee you are paying attention to what is being said.
Pay attention. Pay close attention to the subject’s reactions and body language. How an interviewee acts and reacts will indicate a formal or informal discussion. As the interview proceeds, pay attention to the time and body language. Is the subject shifting in the chair or fidgeting with a pen? If so, that should be a sign to take a short break or wrap up the interview.
Ending the interview. When you’re finished asking your list of questions, ask if the interviewee wants to add anything. You can ask, “Is there anything you’d like to add that I haven’t covered?” or add an open-ended question like, “What would you like the readers to know about you that we haven’t discussed?”
Thank you. Always thank the interviewee for the interview and leave the door open for yourself in case you might have follow-up questions. Let the interviewee know you may run into a quick question or the editor may ask for additional information.
Finishing touches. The end of the interview is the perfect time to ask to take photographs. Your subject will be more willing and comfortable after you have spent time with him/her. Thank the interviewee once again and offer to send a copy of the published article.
There will be times when an interviewee may ask to see the article prior to its publication. In all my years of interviewing, I have never allowed a subject to see my article prior to print, for a few reasons. I had been told never to allow it because the purpose of an interview is to receive candid answers to sometimes-difficult questions. Allowing an interviewee to read the article before print can lead to great quotes being withdrawn by the interviewee. That would defeat the purpose of the interview.
How do you avoid this? Whenever I’m asked by an interviewee to see the article prior to printing, I answer, “I’m sorry, I’ve made it a policy never to show my work prior to publication because I can never guarantee the editor will use the article as it stands.” Reinforce your professionalism by stating, “Publications do have limited space at times and there have been times when photographs and entire paragraphs have been taken out of my original piece.”
Comfort the interviewee by saying, “I wouldn’t want you to read my article then be disappointed that the entire piece wasn’t published, but I will send you a copy when the article is published.”
This form of explanation has worked for me and has also left the door open in the case that I may need to call the interviewee if the editor does indeed want additional information.
After the interview
Don’t wait. Write the article as soon after the interview as possible while it is still fresh in your mind and you’re still excited about the subject.
Send a thank-you either by e-mail or snail-mail. Let the interviewee know you appreciated his/her time and you will provide a copy of the article when it is published.
Ask your editor to send a complimentary copy of the issue to the interviewee. Be sure to include the interviewee’s address when you send the article. If that isn’t part of the editor’s normal plan, ask for extra copies to be sent to you, so that you can send them yourself.
When the article is published, send another thank-you letter with a copy of the article. Or if the editor is providing a copy to the subject, ask if s/he has received that copy. I sometimes personally hand deliver a copy to my interviewees. Either way, the little extra effort shows the source you’re a professional and s/he will remember you for it.
The more interviews you conduct, the more experienced you’ll become. All those feelings of panic you once felt about interviewing will be replaced with priceless discussions with unique individuals.
Interviewing can be fun, and with practice and professionalism, you might find yourself searching for more and more experts to add to your list of sources.
Now, get out there and shine!
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS FROM READERS (Questions have been cut and pasted here from the e-mails.)
Question from V. (who wishes to remain anonymous).
I’m handicapped and have a very limited income since I am unable to work. The nature of my handicap means I can’t go places to interview people, spend time in the library, or even walk into the book store at our local mall, let alone drive to the book stores further away. For this reason I now limit my writing to fiction, or the very occasional article that I can research/interview via e-mail, online or through personal knowledge. I have written seven novel manuscripts. There are a few that publishers have expressed interest in, but one in particular that has gotten some great coverage and could probably find a respectable publisher. My concern is, should I even try to market this manuscript, either through an agent (have had some interest there, also) or on my own when I am unable to take on any of the marketing? If a do start attempting to market this manuscript again, wouldn’t I need to tell an agent or publisher up front that I am handicapped and unable to do any marketing, book signings, personal interviews?
I’ve never seen a question like this addressed anywhere, yet I’m sure there must be other writers who are handicapped. I hope you will consider the question of enough interest to answer it.
Dear V., Congratulations on having seven novel manuscripts and publisher interest. Many writers who are disabled find it troublesome, if not impossible at times, to get out and about to conduct interviews. If you’re already researching online and conducting interviews by e-mail, you’re off to a great start. If you have a library card, you might want to call your local library about its library cardholder online research center. Because you told me where you live, I know your local library participates. There’s a multitude of information and sites available for research on many topics.
Concerning your novel manuscript, you asked whether or not to tell an agent or publisher up front about your handicap and inability to help market. If an agent or publisher is truly interested in your piece, your handicap should have nothing to do with it. Many publishers have employees who handle most of the PR work and marketing. There’s nothing to keep you from helping with the marketing by sending news releases to newspapers and announcing its publication in the “accomplishment and self-promotion” areas of sites when your book is published. There is also such a thing as cyber signing now, where publishing houses, Amazon.com, and others attach a pre-printed author signature to the front page of the book. When speaking with those agents and publishers who are interested in your work, let them know your abilities or lack thereof, and suggest cyber signings. If they know up front, it will make it easier for them to decide how to market once the manuscript is accepted. As far as interviews, that can be done by mail or e-mail through the publishing company as well. Many famous authors do not do interviews and the publishing companies handle the fan mail and interviewing questions with an “author profile kit” which includes pre-printed questions and author answers as well as a photograph of the author if applicable. Good luck with all your projects. Let us know what happens.
If anyone, disabled or not, has any other suggestions or comments for V., please e-mail me. I will be happy to forward the suggestions to her.
Joanne will accept questions by e-mail about writing from readers and answer those questions in her column.
E-mail Joanne: joannedkiggins@comcast.net Visit her site at http://home.comcast.net/~joannedkiggins.Joanne Kiggins has published more than 2,500 articles. She was award
recipient of the 1990 Woman of the Year for Beaver County, Pennsylvania, for her
accomplishments in her community and excellence in journalism. For more columns by Joanne (Stanko) Kiggins, please click here. |
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