Take careful notes while interviewing your subject.
Information for college newspaper articles and research papers is often obtained during an interview. A student sets the stage for the interview by first calling the person with whom she wants to talk and asking her for 45 to 60 minutes of her time. The student should give the person an idea of what she would like to discuss and schedule a mutually agreeable time to meet. Then the interviewer's job shifts to preparing.
Instructions
1. Research your topic and the person you are interviewing, noting information you may want to discuss. For example, if you are writing an article on cultural diversity at your college, and the president you are interviewing has increased cultural diversity awards, take thorough notes on that aspect of her tenure.
2. Prepare a list of questions before the interview. Each question should be on topic, as clear as possible and open-ended enough for the person you're interviewing to supply you with useful material. Bring this list with you to the interview.
3. Arrive at your interview several minutes early and review your questions and notes. When the person you're interviewing joins you, chat for a few minutes about something light, just to get comfortable. Take out your notebook and pen, and turn on your tape recorder if you have one. Put it in plain sight after politely making it clear that you're using it. Taking notes will help you focus your writing later and it demonstrates that you are listening.
4. Ask your first question, preferably the most general one you have prepared. To use the college president example, you might first ask, "What do you believe are the benefits of a diverse campus?" An open-ended question such as this will warm up your subject.
5. Move through your prepared questions in an order that feels comfortable, skipping questions when your subject naturally answers them in her response to other questions and adding follow-up questions when appropriate. When your subject steers the conversation off topic, ask a direct question to bring her back on track. For example, "Our college's annual report states that you now want to increase scholarship funds for minority students. How do you plan to increase these funds, and by how much?"
6. Thank the person you're interviewing for her time when you have covered all of your questions or the interview time has been used up, whichever comes first. Let her know approximately when the story will be published and ask permission to call if you have any questions while you're writing.
7. Type up your notes as soon as possible to ensure that your direct quotes and summary are accurate. If you used a tape recorder, listen to the whole recording and use it to fill in the gaps in your notes.
Tags: person interviewing, your subject, college president, cultural diversity, questions when