Don't use confrontation interviewing

Firing questions like you're cross examining a hostile witness won't work. Confrontation interviewing causes people to clam up.

Putting yourself in a superior position to the interviewee will likely make him or her uncomfortable, and thus less likely to open up and be candid.

This, too, creates a barrier that doesn't encourage openness. Why don't counselors sit behind a desk during sessions? Because this discourages easy interaction. You want to make the interviewee as comfortable as possible.

It is best if you can conduct an interview in a fairly private place. Interviewing your fellow students in the school cafeteria with other students listening in, for example, will often result in the interviewees saying what they think the onlookers would expect them to say rather than what they believe.

If you don't understand, say so. If you don't understand the information, how are you going to explain it in an article so that your readers will understand? It is also acceptable to ask the interviewee to repeat a key point or to slow down. This can be done in a way that is flattering to the interviewee. For example, you might say, "That's really an important point you just made. Would you mind going over that again so that I am sure to get it down accurately?"

If you're trying to impress the interviewee with how much you know, you will probably not get the information you need. Your succinct, well-thought-out questions will tell the interviewee that you have done your research. You don't need to ask long, involved questions and dominate the conversation.

In other words, don't talk too much, which is often what beginners do because they are nervous. Some, however, just like to hear themselves talk, and the interviewee can't get a word in edgewise. If you ask clear, simple, open-ended questions and let the interviewee talk, you'll get far more information. Just because a journalistic interview is a "focused conversation" doesn't mean you should hog the conversation.

Beginners often feel uncomfortable when a pause occurs in the conversation, and they want to jump in to fill it. Don't do this. If you don't jump in, the interviewee will. The interviewee sees the silence as an indication that you expect more detail. If you don't fill the void, the interviewee will often elaborate. Beginners think of silence as their worst enemy; experienced interviewers see it as one of their best friends.

INTERVIEWING FAULTS

Failure to state the purpose of the interview

Clearly state the reason for the interview and what kind of information you are after. If you tell the interviewee ahead of the interview what you're after, the individual will likely start thinking about the topic and come up with pertinent information, which will make the actual interview more productive. In addition, if you fail to state the purpose, the interview is more difficult to keep on track. You don't need to waste your time or the interviewee's time discussing irrelevant information.

The biggest interviewing problem with journalists is lack of preparation. If the journalist is unprepared, he or she will ask unnecessary questions that waste the interviewee's time. Do your homework ahead of time: gather information on the interviewee and the topic, and definitely write a list of possible questions.

Novices sometimes think they can ask any question and get brilliant and interesting answers. But questions like "What's new?" will likely prompt an answer like "Nothing." Do your background research and prepare your questions carefully.

Closed questions are those to which the interviewee may respond with one or two words, particularly "yes" or "no." Open-ended questions, on the other hand, encourage the interviewee to elaborate.

Closed
Was a low free-throw percentage the biggest factor in the team's loss?
Was the student who brought the gun to school planning on using it?
Open
What factors contributed to the team's close loss?
Can you tell me anything about the student's reason for carrying the gun?

Both kinds of questions have their place, but beginners usually use closed questions too often. A closed question followed by the simple question "Why?" also encourages elaboration.

Remember to listen to what the interviewee says. Good follow-up questions prompted by the person's comments are often more revealing than the answer to your initial question.  Generally the prepared list can be thought of as your security blanket; if you're prepared you'll be more relaxed and will likely not need to look at your questions regularly.

Inexperienced interviewers often accept the first answer to a question without probing for further explanation or elaboration. They seldom as "Why?" or "What do you mean?" or "Can you explain that in more detail?"

Listening is hard work. If you show you're interested in what the interviewee has to say, you'll get more information. Behaviors that may indicate you're not listening include excessive note taking, lack of eye contact, talking too much, and the absence of follow-up questions.

Seasoned journalists usually don't find this a problem, but beginners worried about keeping the conversation going often think about what they will ask next. What happens? You're not listening, so you're missing information, and you certainly can't ask follow-up questions.

Try to keep the interview on track so you get the information you need. Gently and politely lead the interviewee back to the subject if it strays off course.

Don't accept broad, general statements from your sources. Go for concrete information. Ask for data, facts and figures, and surveys.

If you go into an interview with preconceived notions or conclusions about the subject, you'll probably fall into two traps. One, you'll likely ask questions that tend to support your conclusions, and, two, you'll fail to listen to arguments that don't support your conclusions. Such questioning will also frustrate the interviewee and, as a result, will not encourage him or her to talk freely.

"He who asks questions is a fool for five minutes. He who does not ask questions is a fool forever." --Chinese Proverb

"Judge a man by his questions, not his answers." --Voltaire

"Ask a dumb question, get a dumb answer," says the proverb. By contrast, brilliant questions beget brilliant answers. Offbeat questions draw offbeat answers. If you want answers with fresh insight, try bringing fresh insight into your questions.

Questions can be placed into rough categories -- nine have been chosen here

OPENING QUESTIONS

Opening questions come in two categories, icebreakers and first moves.  First impressions count. Your opening questions quickly establish you as an intelligent, open-minded professional journalist -- or as a bumbling amateur. They demonstrate that you've done your homework -- or that you haven't. They establish the interview as potentially stimulating -- or a hopeless bore. Your first questions should be phrased carefully so as to suggest your open-minded tolerance.

Icebreakers

These questions or comments establish the first lines of communication. Icebreakers must be fitted to the situation and the person. Some typical examples are:

1. Comment or inquiry about a personal effect. "I see you're wearing a smile button, Mr. Big; any special significance to that?" "That's an interesting picture," Mr. Jones.

2. Use of respondent's name. People like to hear their names used -- and pronounced correctly. Report what people are saying about him. People love to hear about themselves.

3. Talk of current events or weather.

4. Talk of mutual interests or acquaintances.

First Moves

Is there a question that encourages lengthy replies with only your smiles and nods for encouragement? Yes, It's "Start at the beginning and tell me..."
 

Filter questions are designed to establish a respondent's qualifications for answering.  A simple filter question -- "Where were you when the tornado struck?" The filter question needs to be asked whenever the respondent talks on a subject for which he has unknown credentials.

Nothing is quite so effective as the newswriter's 5-W concept for outlining the factual dimensions of any situation under discussion: who, what, when, where, why and how.

Numbers help to define a person or situation. Statistics dominate athletics, business, finance and beauty contests to an unfortunate degree but seem largely ignored everywhere else.
Such detail is concrete, dramatic and often overlooked. How many students has the retiring teacher flunked? How many miles has the dedicated jogger run since he began 15 years ago? How many miles does a teacher walk in a week up and down the halls of South Eugene?

Sometimes a conceptually defining question can be asked in one word: Why? You have to create the right atmosphere and rapport to encourage candid answers, and you have to listen with intelligence, perception, and sympathetic understanding.

One method is to use the GOSS formula: Goals-Obstacles-Solution-Start:

1. Goal-reaching questions, such as, "What are you trying to accomplish?" or, "What's the purpose of your organization?"

2. Obstacle-revealing questions, such as, "What problems did you face?" or "What stands in your way now?"

3. Solution-revealing questions, such as "How did you handle the problem?" or "What plan do you have for resolving the conflict?"

4. Start-revealing questions, such as, "When did the program have its beginning?" or "Whose idea was it?"

The probe is designed to encourage the respondent to explain or elaborate on something he's already said. You might try simply picking a key word or two from the interviewee and repeating it softly in a gently questioning tone of voice: "Feel uneasy . . ." Then wait for elaboration.

Many inexperienced writers do not take full advantage of the quotable quote.Anything uttered by an interview respondent is potentially quotable. You have to recognize the role of the quotation in one's written work. You must also encourage a respondent to speak more colorfully, more candidly, more humanly, less formally. A quote should be special, like a dash of spice, rather than routine.

An anecdote is a "storiette" depicting a true experience and containing a primitive sense of plot and characterization. In feature articles, as well as in ordinary conversation, it is usually used to illustrate a point.

The "creative" question is essentially an on-the-spot hypothesis to be tried out on the respondent for confirmation or denial.

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