{"id":11729,"date":"2024-10-10T17:34:56","date_gmt":"2024-10-10T17:34:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/?p=11729"},"modified":"2024-10-16T17:39:31","modified_gmt":"2024-10-16T17:39:31","slug":"13-ways-to-consider-an-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/2024\/10\/10\/13-ways-to-consider-an-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"13 ways to consider an interview"},"content":{"rendered":" \n
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I once estimated how many bylined pieces I\u2019ve published in my five decades of scribbling for money. Including everything from 300-word bleats to 8,000-word slabs, I believe I\u2019ve written somewhere around 3,000 stories.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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Now imagine how many interviews I have conducted for all that work. Imagine the number of dumb questions, astute questions, informative replies, curt replies, self-indulgent monologues, misheard statements, revelations, lies, confessions, obfuscations, factual errors, wrong memories, hazy memories, remarkable memories, \u201cums\u201d \u201cahs\u201d and \u201cwells\u2026\u201d, the number of times scientists began an answer with \u201cso\u2026\u201d, profanities excised, profanities left in, misheard Qs, misheard As, illegible notes that appeared to have been written by my foot, failed recorders, unfortunate statements, and bon mots<\/em>. There\u2019s been a lot.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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Important note: Most have been for magazine features: arranged, unrushed, detailed, comprehensive, sometimes but not often confrontational. Rarely have I done interviews familiar to newspaper reporters \u2014 eyewitnesses, next of kin, celebrities on junkets, members of the audience, athletes in locker rooms (thank god).<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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That said, I\u2019ve listened to myself for 50 years, and the advent of podcasts means now I\u2019ve listened to dozens of other people conduct interviews. A few do it very well, with grace and courtesy and minds electric with curiosity. Some \u2014 including big names in the business \u2014 are terrible. The spacious middle of the bell curve is occupied by people who do all right but do things that sometimes leave me talking back to my phone or dashboard in exasperation.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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Exasperation leads to action. Hence this baker\u2019s dozen observations and comments about interviewing.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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I.<\/h2>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
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I have read so many articles and interviews about how to conduct an interview, perhaps too many. So many that I\u2019ve lost count of the number of people who have said, \u201cA good interview becomes a conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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Well\u2026<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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An interview is a formal process \u2026 We are not engaged in conversation.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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A conversation is a generous exchange of thoughts and feelings. It\u2019s a little gift economy of information, opinion, courtesy, affirmation and acknowledgment that creates social links and reinforces bonds and makes possible reasoned social discourse. It\u2019s how we maintain kinship, friendship and alliances, how we resolve conflict, how we express ourselves outside art. It\u2019s how a society coheres and a culture responds to change.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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An interview<\/em> is a formal process in which I, the reporter, request information from you, the subject. I have honestly declared who I am and why I want to interview you. Our relationship is professional only. We are not friends, kin, allies or collaborators, no matter how amiable our exchange might be. We are not engaged in conversation.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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II.<\/h2>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
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So what? This: If you replay the recording of an interview and what you hear is a conversation, then you talked too much and listened not enough. You have let the interview become, in part, a platform for your own views, emotions, anecdotes, biography, and it\u2019s unlikely that any of that is pertinent to your story. You have overlooked that your subject probably has little interest in you and thus little interest in a chat. What have you gained by expending a quarter or a third of your limited interview time talking about yourself to someone who doesn\u2019t care?<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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III.<\/h2>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
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At more of a meta-level, pretending that an interview is a conversation is less than honest. Pretending to become your subject\u2019s friend or ally or confidant is a con \u2014 usually a little one, but a con all the same. It\u2019s all too easy to betray the person across the table. Ethical professionals keep their notebooks open, their pens in motion and their intentions clear. Some of our respondents will make wrong assumptions about this relationship and believe that they were, indeed, part of a friendly or sympathetic conversation. There\u2019s not much we can do about that, but we don\u2019t need to encourage it.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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IV.<\/h2>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
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Which is not to downplay the importance of rapport. When a journalist sits down to be interviewed about interviewing, or addresses a conference, and brings up turning an interview into a conversation, what they\u2019re often talking about is establishing some kind of unthreatening common ground that will persuade the subject to be forthcoming. There are dozens of reasons for people to be reluctant to talk to us, starting with their own shyness or reticence or wariness about the press. We do need  our subjects to trust us, and that\u2019s harder when we can\u2019t find our way to rapport.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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Ethical professionals keep their notebooks open, their pens in motion and their intentions clear.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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Establishing good rapport is not easy and never guaranteed. It starts with clarity about roles and intentions: I\u2019m here to ask you questions, you see me writing down your answers, and you are responsible for what you say. If I can convince you that I will be honest and professional and that I intend to listen, we will be off to a good start.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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V.<\/h2>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
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The fastest way to rapport is to show, from the first question, that we are paying attention. Few people can resist talking to someone who is not only listening, but taking them seriously enough to write down what they\u2019re saying. We all crave acknowledgment and we all want to be heard. Approach someone with honest interest and attentiveness and you find that often as not, your problem will not be getting them to talk. Your problem will be getting them to stop.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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VI.<\/h2>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
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Accept that you will never establish rapport with some people. No matter what you do, they remain icy, hostile, suspicious, or all but mute. Journalists do not come armed with subpoenas; no one ever has to talk to us. Why someone would agree to an interview with me and then refuse to answer my questions is a mystery, but I\u2019ve had it happen more than once. People can be funny that way.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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The fastest way to rapport is to show, from the first question, that we are paying attention.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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Sometimes the damnedest things open someone up. Many years ago I flew from Cincinnati, Ohio, to Birmingham, Alabama, to investigate a financial scandal. There was someone who had known the central figure of my story all his life, so I called this guy up and he agreed to be interviewed. When I sat down in his CEO\u2019s office, though, it was obvious within five minutes that he had no inclination to answer any of my questions. I\u2019d come hundreds of miles for these interviews, but he didn\u2019t care. He wouldn\u2019t even stop his paperwork to meet my gaze. After about 15 painful, worthless minutes, I noticed that he had a collection of miniature duck decoys sitting on a table by my chair. I picked one up and correctly identified it as a hooded merganser. He looked at me quizzically and asked me to name another one. I named three more. (Don\u2019t ask me why I knew the species of ducks; I just did.) Suddenly, I was in business. He couldn\u2019t believe that a boy from Ohio knew ducks (in his pronunciation, duuuucks<\/em>), but since I did, I was good people and he\u2019d be glad to answer my questions. Which he did for the next 45 minutes.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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There ya go.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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VII.<\/h2>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
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On the matter of questions: Ask them one at a time. Not, \u201cCould you tell me what happened ______, and also why ______, and what you think came of it?\u201d Ask a single question, keep it short, then shut up and listen. The answer will lead to the next question, and the next; you don\u2019t need to bundle them four at a time. In my experience, the quality of answers is in inverse proportion to the number of questions you pose in one breath. You will get around to all of them, at least the important ones.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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VIII.<\/h2>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
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And don\u2019t supply answers to your own question: \u201cWhy did you leave the meeting early? Was it ___, or because ___, or your disaffection with ___?\u201d You are here to ask questions, not administer a multiple-choice test. Just ask, then shut up and listen.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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Ask a single question, keep it short, then shut up and listen.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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When you supply a set of possible answers, you do one of two things, neither of them good. If it\u2019s a knotty question, you provide your subject with an off-ramp to avoid a more straightforward, candid, and revealing answer. Or you signal that you\u2019ve already composed the story in your mind and aren\u2019t listening to anything except what contributes to and validates that narrative. Or both. Let your subject provide the answers. Set the stage for surprise.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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IX.<\/h2>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
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And anyway, supplying possible replies is a subconscious form of competing with your subject, a sort of stealthy bragging that you already know the answers. Don\u2019t do that. Don\u2019t compete with your subject. No matter how experienced we are, we never get over a certain amount of insecurity when we go in to interview someone. It\u2019s all too easy to allow that insecurity to turn the interview into a sort of status competition. Don\u2019t pretend that you know more than you do. Don\u2019t waste everyone\u2019s time by trying to assert common status where there isn\u2019t any. In the context of the interview, your subject has the higher ground \u2014 she knows more about something than you do, and you\u2019re the one who needs to hear it. That\u2019s why you\u2019re here with a notebook. Get over it.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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X.<\/h2>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
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But don\u2019t approach an interview as a supplicant, either, apologetic for taking time out of your subject\u2019s day or in need of explanation or enlightenment because gosh, you know this is an imposition and thank you so much for agreeing to my dumb questions.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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No matter how experienced we are, we never get over a certain amount of insecurity when we go in to interview someone.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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A proper interview is a professional transaction, and your subject isn\u2019t gifting you with anything. We\u2019re all adults here and your subject consented to be interviewed. Never apologize for doing your job, and don\u2019t be sorry (or sheepish) about all you don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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I cringe when I hear journalists or podcasters say, five times in a 30-minute interview, \u201cCould you please talk a little bit about\u2026\u201d A \u201clittle bit\u201d? Why only a little bit? You want your subject to tell you a lot, so why be timid about asking for it? You don\u2019t need to act grateful for having been granted an audience. Your subject hopes to gain something, too; that\u2019s why he or she agreed to see you.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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XI.<\/h2>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
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Over the course of five decades, my shortest interviews all began with the subject stating, \u201cI won\u2019t talk to you unless I get to read the story before it\u2019s published.\u201d (I never agree to that, and if the subject insists, the interview is over.) My longest single interview took 10 hours, with a forensic psychiatrist who is an expert on serial killers. We began at noon, after he\u2019d kept me waiting in his office lobby for an hour past our appointment. Then we talked through lunch, we talked through him canceling an appointment so we could keep talking, and we finally stopped at 10 p.m. only because we were too hungry to keep going. The next night we got together for five more hours. It was all valuable and not once boring. And not once did I say, \u201cCould you tell me a little bit about\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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If an interview is vital for your story, do what you can to leave the rest of your day open. You never know what might happen in that ninth hour.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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XII.<\/h2>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
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If your job entails talking to elected officials or corporate executives or athletes or police officers or entertainers, you will encounter people who are adept at dominating the room and dictating terms. I once interviewed the CEO of a large insurance company. He had a doctorate and insisted, in all situations, on being addressed as Dr. Barrett, so I might have known what I was in for. He walked into the meeting room and handed me a piece of paper. This was our \u201cinterview,\u201d already written by him, despite our never having spoken. He\u2019d composed it as a dialogue \u2014 Mr. Keiger\u2019s questions, Dr. Barrett\u2019s answers. As far as he was concerned, once I had the paper in my possession the interview was over. I am rarely speechless. This time I came close. But in the end I courteously informed him that this would not be sufficient and I intended to ask him some further questions. He didn\u2019t look pleased, but he didn\u2019t throw me out, either.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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You want your subject to tell you a lot, so why be timid about asking for it?<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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For a successful interview, you \u2014 the one with the notebook \u2014 want to be in charge. You should never be arrogant or dismissive or abrupt about it, but whenever possible you do need to be firm in a courteous way. You may not succeed in getting what you need from a domineering subject \u2014 honest, factual, detailed answers are not required by law \u2014 but sometimes it\u2019s better to walk away than to cede control. If you\u2019ve had to do so, the next day call the person back to reschedule. You\u2019ve established the ground rules, and you\u2019ll be surprised how often you get another shot at the interview.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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XIII.<\/h2>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
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Expect the unexpected.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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An artist once interrupted one of our many interviews for a magazine profile by announcing he wanted to paint my portrait, and he did. It made for a good bit in the story. A few weeks later, he exhibited the picture at City Hall. My wife hated it.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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Speaking to people right after lunch can be problematic. The CEO of a large investment firm nearly fell asleep in the middle of our interview. I watched him struggle to remain attentive, but his eyes were crossing and he kept listing in his chair. He was a courteous man and I felt bad for him.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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Another CEO, this one the boss of a huge jet-engine manufacturer, a Fortune 100 company, interrupted our interview because, he said, \u201cI have to tinkle.\u201d<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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I\u2019ve often spoken to people in their homes. On one such occasion, my subject\u2019s toddler daughter climbed into my lap during the interview and fell asleep.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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I once had a subject, a horse trainer, warn me not to pet her barn cat. I did anyway. The cat bit me. Guess I should have shut up and listened.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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* * *<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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Dale Keiger, <\/strong>retired editor of Johns Hopkins Magazine, is author of the anthology \u201cThe Man Who Signed the City: Portraits of Remarkable People\u201d and writes a newsletter of essays in \u201cThe Joggled Mind.\u201d<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A magazine writer and editor shares real-life lessons from 50 years of interviewing: It’s not a conversation and you are not a supplicant<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11730,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"topics":[],"authors":[325],"issue":[],"class_list":["post-11729","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-essays-on-craft","authors-dale-keiger"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n13 ways to consider an interview - Nieman Storyboard<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/2024\/10\/10\/13-ways-to-consider-an-interview\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"13 ways to consider an interview - 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