I heard this story on The Art of The Interview the other day on NPR. David Folkenflik profiles John Sawatsky, former journalism professor and Canadian interrogator and now ESPN interview guru, about his ten principles to conducting good interviews. Sawatsky says Mike Wallace and Larry King are examples of what not to do. King and Wallace fire back, of course.
It got me thinking about a sometimes overlooked skill for planners. Do we do enough to prepare? Do we really know how to get to the truth? Do we know how to interpret body language?
Here's what some other people have to say about doing good interviews:
An article from The Poynter Institute school for journalists lamented the lack of adequate skills taught by journalism schools. It seemed to inspire a feedback from lots journalists who added their comments on good interviewing.
James Lipton, who relies on Bernard Pivot's ten questions to coax confessions out of actors, had this to say in a a conversation with Larry King about his early legal training: "I was originally going to be a lawyer, and the only thing I remember from the art of cross-examination is... never ask a question the answer to which you do not know." While Larry King responds: "Except in a good interview, I like never knowing the answer."
The Reid Company has copyrighted something called The Reid Technique for training law enforcement personnel. You have to sign up for the seminar to get answers, but I wonder what they have to say about "Asking Provoking Questions" and "Factors Affecting a Subjects Behavior?"
It's interesting to see how many different perspectives on interviewing there are. It makes me wonder if it's just about curiosity, preparation and good chemistry with your subject.
Anybody have other useful tips for doing good interviews?
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