Conduct the Interview
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Arrive on time for your interview, and dress professionally unless the occasion warrants different attire (for example, an interview on a farm). When you arrive, greet your interviewee and introduce yourself if you have not already met.
Keep the following considerations in mind during the interview:
- Explain the purpose of your interview. Be sure the subject understands that you are gathering information for use in a classroom speech, and ask for permission to use his or her responses in your speech.
- Start with friendly, easy-to-answer questions. Straightforward questions allow you to establish rapport before you pose more difficult questions. If the interviewee has a limited amount of time, however, move on to your most important questions quickly.
- Take notes. Be sure to jot down the words and phrases your interviewee uses.
- Stay focused. If the interviewee digresses, politely steer the discussion back to the topic.
- Maintain eye contact. Though you may occasionally need to look down at your questions or to take notes, keep the interview conversational and relaxed through frequent eye contact.
- Be open to new information. If new and valuable ideas come up, don’t feel forced to stick to your planned questions. Feel free to deviate from them to explore the new information.
- Listen carefully. To ensure you’re hearing your subject’s actual answers, paraphrase key responses back to the person.
- Record the interview if your subject gives permission. Secretly recording an interview is a serious breach of ethics.
In addition to traditional face-to-face meetings, people are increasingly using new voice-over-Internet-protocol technologies, such as Skype and Google Hangout for interviews. These can allow you to chat with experts in remote locations. Before conducting such an interview, review the tips in chapter 15.