I was just reading one of the articles for Monday about interviewing. I thought that it was very interesting how simple it is to get information during interviews. According to this article, "To be a good interviewer you must learn to listen--both to others and to yourself." If one is interviewing an athlete, politician or peer, one basically needs to be attentive and prepared with questions. I also learned that it is important to try to have a conversation with the person you are interviewing instead of just asking them questions.
Have any of you guys ever been in the position of interviewing a peer for a school newspaper or magazine? If so, how did you conduct your interview? What skills did you use?
Tell me what you think.
This past year, my Spanish class did a project in which we had to interview an immigrant from any country and then write an essay about that person's experience in Spanish.
ReplyDeleteSince the person being interviewed did not necessarily have to be from a Spanish-speaking country, I decided to interview Jackie, a freshman whom I had met the week before who moved to New York from China.
This interview was very interesting, but also very challenging, because, although Jackie was very nice and talkative, it was hard for me to understand her accent.
Often I had to kindly ask her to slow down or repeat things, but what was great was that she did not need much prompting. I would ask a simple question like, "Why did you move to New York?" and she would tell an entire story about how bad her school in China was, how her parents wanted to give her a better education by coming to America, and how she has relatives in New York.
Not only was it an excellent experience in reguard to interviewing, but it was also an portal into a different culture and I am very grateful that Jackie gave me that opportunity.
I had the opportunity to interview LaMont Jones, the fashion editor for the Pittsburgh Gazette as a project for my journalism apprenticeship. The interview happened to fall on my 17th birthday—it was a great birthday present!
ReplyDeletePrior to the interview, I performed a deal of research on Mr. Jones’ career: I read many of his columns to get a feel for his style, browsed his blog and reviewed his online biography.
Setting up the interview was a major step. I had the responsibility of contacting Mr. Jones myself without any help from my teacher. Of course, the best way to get a hold of Mr. Jones was by e-mail. So, I wrote Mr. Jones a personable e-mail introducing myself and explaining why I was contacting him. I made sure to tell him how much I appreciated a response, knowing how busy his schedule was.
After a series of e-mails back and forth, Mr. Jones felt it would be best to do a phone interview rather than meeting in person. I had a list of questions that I prepared to ask Mr. Jones and I was feeling quite intimidated at first. I felt that I should stick to these questions and ask nothing further. However, after hearing Mr. Jones’ warm greeting, I relaxed and strayed away from my list of questions, but still asked questions within context. I asked questions ranging from why he chose to pursue a career in journalism to who his favorite designer is. It turns out that I actually learned more from asking Mr. Jones spontaneous questions. I got a feel for who Mr. Jones is as a person and a professional-- not just a big-time editor.
I greatly benefited from my interview with Mr. Jones: I familiarized myself with the interview process and I made a connection with a man of high status. Mr. Jones actually offered me an opportunity to shadow him for a day.
From this experience, I learned that being a journalist not only requires a talent of writing, but also involves making connections and making a good impression.
When Interviewing I try my hardest to stay alert and keep my main focus to the reason why I am there, and that is to get a good story. I try to ignore distractions such as people near by and electronics. Interviews are pretty easy to me because I am a fairly friendly person.
ReplyDeleteA few years ago I contributed to a music news Web site called Drivenfaroff.com, for which I interviewed a few different bands, including Cobra Starship and Hawthorne Heights. The tip from the articles yesterday that I could have used most prior to those interviews was not to be afraid of your interviewee. It is easy to grow nervous when interviewing someone, especially a prominent public figure or a celebrity. You can grow self-conscious and forget that you are not there to make a good impression, but instead to find information for a good story. So above all else, do NOT be afraid of your sources!
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