Last week, I conducted my first interview for an article. Interviewing is scary to a lot of freelance writers, and I’m no exception. The idea of calling up strangers and asking them questions makes my little introverted soul curl up in the fetal position. But, I’d signed up for Linda Formichelli’s online course in magazine writing. I’d paid good money for it. My homework was due. The accountability gave me the push I needed to contact game developer The Odd Gentlemen and ask for an interview.
And you know what? It wasn’t that bad.
It wasn’t perfect. Skype disconnected us towards the end and I lost my train of thought at one point during the conversation. But finally doing an interview gave me the confidence to say, “Yes, this is nerve-wracking but I CAN do it!”I’ve now done two interviews for the class. Here are a few of the things I’ve learned:
1. People are nicer than you think
I’d always imagined that if I were to ask someone for an interview, they’d tell me to get lost. Maybe there are people out there who will, but so far everyone I’ve been in contact with has been nice and professional. Even one person who, it turns out, had nothing to say on the topic was very nice about it. Many of the people I requested an interview from never responded, but no response is better than a bad response right? Most people like to talk about themselves. Odds are, if you ask them for an interview, they’ll be flattered.
2. Always ask, “Do you have anything else to add?”
This tip I picked up from a co-worker, an anchor at a local TV news station. At the end of the interview, make sure to ask the person if they have anything else to add. They might think of something you missed, or add an extra tidbit of information that can be used as a sidebar for your article.
3. Don’t be afraid to ask off-topic questions
When I landed the interview with the game developer, I was eager to ask him a few questions about the company’s last release and their current project, but thought it might be considered a no-no. I asked anyway, and the developer was happy to answer the extra questions, giving me material I can use for a whole other article. If you’re going to ask off-topic questions, though, keep it brief. The person is taking time out of their busy day to speak with you. You don’t want to overstay your welcome!
4. Check your equipment beforehand
A day or two before the interview, I made sure Skype was set up properly by testing a few calls out on my friends and family. I made sure the sound quality was good. I made sure the MP3 recorder worked, and that I knew how to use it properly. Nothing is worse than conducting an interview and finding out later it didn’t record! I made sure I had a notebook and pen to take hand-written notes with. Just in case. Because I took time to prepare, though, they weren’t needed.
5. Get permission
State and federal wiretapping laws can be tricky (there’s a good explanation of it here). Find out what the laws in your state are. For instance, the state of Florida – where I live – has a “two-party consent” law, which requires that all participants in the conversation give consent to be recorded. To cover your own backside, always ask the people you are interviewing if you can record the conversation before you start asking questions.
[Photo by kev_hickey_uk]
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
You’re doing better than I am. I want to get some articles out there and try to submit to print publications, but I’m in that self-deprecating “I’m not good enough phase” that keeps me from ever taking that step.
We’ll see how the summer builds my confidence as I work on some fiction and try to prep it for submissions.
Good luck on the articles, though!
Give it a shot! The worst that can happen is that the print mags say no.