Interviewing--More Tips and Tricks

We've been talking about interviewing and how important it is. To recap, you do an interview not just for a profile but, often, of an expert to get background information you need, or to get a quote to add details or impart necessary information to a story.

Before the interview you should:

1) Do as much background research on the person that you can. If they have a publicist ask that person to send a bio. Check out any books about them and familiarize yourself with their work. Be wary of using the work (articles) of others as real background research. Instead these are just to paint a larger picture. See if you can pick out a theme in the way this person is portrayed. It might be a clue into their personality.

2) Write down your questions--they may not be all you'll ask, in fact they likely won't--but it presents a good starting point to keep you on track.

3) Do the interview in person (if it's a really important one) or on the phone as a second choice. Email interviews don't give you the opportunity to take the conversation in new directions or dive deeper if something interesting is said. It may seem easy but it produces flimsy work. Use it as a last resort.

Also are some link to good pieces on Interviewing. Please check them out...

1) Interviewing: The Forgotten Skill http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=36&aid=37661

2) Interview Techniques http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=36&aid=38681