Listening and Recording, Film 116
Instructor: Steve Wetzel

Interview

interview
noun
all applicants will be called for an interview   MEETING, discussion, conference, examination,
interrogation; audience, talk, dialogue, exchange, conversation.

verb
we interviewed seventy subjects for the survey  TALK TO, have a discussion with, have a
dialogue with; question, interrogate, cross-examine, meet with; poll, canvass, survey, sound out;
informal grill, pump; Law examine.


Some tips for an interview:

1. Choose an interviewee that is NOT your friend (this is not a requirement, but
will inevitably lead to a richer interview).

2. Choose a subject for the interview that extends far beyond commonly held
assumptions.  The subject itself may seem mundane, but perhaps the perspective the
interviewee brings to it is what transcends.  (Bob's experiences with eating food, which
he does with great care -- chews each bite 45 times before swallowing, AND he holds
a picture of a hen in his mind AS he swallows; this is all due to a weird mixture of
personal experiences and memories from his childhood farm, and is augmented
with great stories about this site, about this former life.  The subject of eating isn't
all that exciting unless one has something interesting to say about it).  Or maybe the
subject itself "transcends": your great aunt's experiences in the 20s and 30s as a laborer
and striker.

3. The interview's success depends largely on your demeanor and preparedness.  If you're
flaky and unprepared then your interviewee is probably not going to share much with you.
Why would she?

4.  Come ready with questions, but always be willing to let the subject digress or meander
without going too far from your objective.  To let the interview go too far from what you're
interested in talking about is a waste of time for both you and the interviewee.  Redirect: "That's
interesting, but can we back up for a second and can you tell me more about..."

5.  Close thy mouth; let the interviewee speak.

6.  Close thy mouth; nod approvingly.

7.  Close thy mouth; allow long pauses.

8.  Start simple, move toward more difficult terrain (intellectually and/or emotionally) later in
the interview.  You wouldn't start with, "So, it must have been rough having your arm
amputated; can you tell me about the first day you went out into the world without that arm?"

9. Avoid "yes" and "no" questions; instead push for elaboration, stories, memories.  

10.  Always end by opening it up for the interview to expound in any way she or he sees fit:
"Is there anything else you'd like to say?"

11.  Close thy mouth and wait.


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