Reading Summary #8 from Mike Wayman

Reference: Israel, S. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/shelisrael/2012/04/14/8-tips-on-conducting-great-interviews/

Topic Sentence: This article was written from a media professional's point of view. 8 tips to for the interviewer to get the most out of any interview.

Summary:

• Start slow, safe and personal, First off, you relax your subject and you humanize the interaction
• Coax, don't hammer, interviews who have the up-close, but soft style that coaxes revealing, newsworthy, useful answers.
• Make some questions open ended, get the interviewee to tell his story and let the readers decide what they think of his or her ideas.
• Ask what you don't know, surprises mean something that has not been previously reported.
• Let the interviewees wander a bit–but be careful, sometimes state that you had hoped to get from the person something that you could not have found on the internet.
• Don't send advance questions, the result feels far too scripted, and the answers start feeling like they were written by a committee.
• Be prepared. Find the overlooked, let the subject know what subjects you want to cover. Also ask if there are other topics she or he would like to add.
• Listen, really listen, pay close attention to what is not answered and make on-the-spot judgements on why that area was skipped or glossed
• There are dumb questions, Try not to ask a question that your subject has already answered

Application to Lesson Topic: There are lots of ways to interview but these tips may help you get the best interview.

Application to Emergency Services: In emergency situations the interview is an important way to get to the heart of the issue. Put a human face to a disaster.