As practice shows, interviews as a journalistic genre, despite their seeming simplicity, are the most difficult to give. The difficulty is not only the selection of questions, the conversation itself, but also the subsequent decoding. Therefore, in order to make the task as easy as possible, a professional journalist or copywriter prepares for the interview in advance.
Instructions
Step 1
Preliminary collection of material.
Try to learn as much as possible about your respondent and his profession. Read special literature, a magazine, or browse related sites. It would be nice to find a biography of your future interlocutor in advance. As a rule, it is not difficult if he is a well-known person. In addition, past interviews are excellent introductory material. What is it for? You will make a preliminary portrait of a person, you will know what he is and will be able to ask him really interesting questions without getting bogged down in trifles and biographical details.
Step 2
Preparing a list of questions
The first step helped you form an opinion about the person. Now informational and introductory questions automatically drop out of the list of questions: “Where were you born”, “What did you do”, etc. The study of biography will give food to more interesting questions: "How did you manage to break out of the province and become the coolest copywriter of all time?" Questions should reveal the essence of a person, give him a lot of room for thought and analysis. Analytics, especially in interviews, are many times more interesting to read than dry statistics.
Step 3
Chat with those who know the person
It could be anyone. If you know such acquaintances, you are in luck. Ask them what character a person has, how he communicates, what habits he has, what he loves, what questions he can ask him, and what is better to avoid, etc. For example, if you find out that you like the same book or music group, in an interview you can prompt him to talk about it, mention that you like it too - and the person will already be better disposed towards you.
Step 4
Rehearse the interview
It seems ridiculous, but the interview needs to be rehearsed. At least in my head. Imagine how you will talk, how you will meet, what words you will start the conversation with, what you will do if your interlocutor is silent and answers in monosyllables, or, conversely, will chatter incessantly. Sometimes you are limited in time - think how many questions you will have time to ask.
Step 5
Do not forget about the appearance
Put yourself in order: if your interlocutor is repulsed by something in you, consider that the interview will be a failure. Think about clothes. She should not be overly provocative or outspoken.
Step 6
Check the technique
The batteries of the camera and the voice recorder must be charged, blank sheets of paper must be found in the notebook, and it is better to take two pens with you.
