6 more useful interview tips

An interview should not be taken for granted. The reporter must understand that he has to be well prepared if he wants substantial answers.

Here are six more tips to conduct a news interview:

Tip 1
Respect the wish of a subject who requests that the statements made off the record are not printed. Sometimes the subject may provide explosive information that he does not want to be traced back to him. In such cases, explain to the subject that you consider the information important for your readers, and would like to print it by attributing the information to sources close to the official or government sources or company sources. This will make the subject trust you, and provide important tips in the future too.

Tip 2
An interview is a good way to build a relationship. Make sure that you nurture every subject as a valuable source.

Tip 3
There is no shame in asking the subject to repeat himself. It is quite possible that you have misunderstood what the subject said or you were so busy taking down a point that you missed an important point altogether. In such situations, ask the subject to answer the question again.

Tip 4
It is also important to understand clearly what the subject is saying. Do not feel ashamed in acknowledging that you have not understood what he said. Ask him to explain once again. This way you will save yourself the embarrassment of coming to wrong conclusions.

Tip 5
There may be occasions where a subject may try to intimidate you by being deliberately offensive or rude. In such cases, keep your cool, and continue to keep asking questions irrespective of the response. Your job as a reporter is to get information, especially information that is in public interest. So, don’t be thrown off by deliberate misbehaviour. The only thing you need to make sure is that your questions are well researched and are not offensive.

Tip 6
There are times when a subject may try to misinform you, even utter lies. In such cases, you don’t have to call his lie. A better approach is to move to another question, especially if the lie is not important in the context of your story. Otherwise, it is better to call the subject later, and say that you were cross-checking a statement. This gives the subject a way to wriggle out of a potentially embarrassing situation. If, however, you had pressed the subject at the time of the interview, then he would either have gone into a shell or would have become offensive. The purpose of the interview would have been lost.