Digital News - The Perfect Interview

After our lecture with Helen on Interview Essentials I have researched into how to make the perfect interview. I plan to use the notes made from Helen's lecture to ensure that when we do our package interviews the best we can. 

 So what are interviews actually used for?

 - They are essential to story telling
- They give the audience immediate access to power and influence
- The responsibility lies at the interviewer's raison d'étre (asking the right questions that the audience want to know)
- It's important to arm the interviewer with knowledge as knowledge is power
- You've got to know facts and figures. Information is always needed
- Be equal to your interviewee or one step ahead in knowledge
- You must do your research!
- Pre-interviews are a good way of getting your interviewee relaxed and you are also able to see if they are a good speaker and engager on camera
- However, beware that you don't lose spontaneity by asking the same questions when pre interviewing. 
- Sometimes pre interviews aren't possible if you are on a tight schedule or your interviewee only has a certain amount of time to spend with you
- Know about your interviewee including their style and foibles as it will give you a better chance of a better performance
- It can be helpful to practice the interview set up with our groups before we go so that we can prepare and come across as professional as possible.
- Always think of the interview as a conversation, it will help them to give you the best answers possible
- You've got to build up your interviewee's trust
- Always avoid robotics of looking at the questions. Maintain eye contact and a friendly smile
- listen for good sound bites that will make concise storytelling
- long answers are problematic. Redirect the question to make the answer more concise
- Live piece needs to interject with some authority to keep the piece on track and time
- Record the questions asked even if you're not going to use them
- Don't rustle the papers else you will have terrible sound!
- The best interviewers are curious
- Ensure you are paying attention to your interviewee
- No closed questions and anecdotes are a good thing to have
- Lots of questions to fully explore the story
- On the live, ask the important questions first
- End interview on a round up question so you can end with a 'thank you'

 When preparing for the interviews in our package we will definitely include the above tips and tricks. 

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