 Over
the years, I've done a lot of interviews, both in connection with work
and for personal research purposes. I've never had to do adversarial
interviews, where you're trying to dig out information your subject is
unwilling to disclose, so if that's what you're looking to do, seek
advice elsewhere. Here's a combination of advice from MIT, from eHow, and from my own experience -- the ten steps to a great interview:
- If possible, get permission to record the interview, or at least take copious notes:
Recording allows you to pay attention to your subject, but can
intimidate some people. Notes can be a distraction, but they do force
you to pay attention. The objective is to capture as much of the
interview as possible, as literally as possible. You will always learn
more from a second listen or read of what your subject told you.
- Make sure you're talking to the right person:
A brief advance discussion can determine whether the person you've
scheduled the interview with has the information you're looking for, or
whether someone else would be a better candidate, saving you and your
subject a lot of wasted time.
- Arrange, plan & research the interview in advance:
The time you spend querying your subject about information you could
have researched in advance is time that could be spent delving deeper
into your subject's mind -- which is the most valuable part of the
interview. Don't show up uninvited -- agree on time, place, length,
format, scope, and purpose of the interview in advance.
- Consider whether to send the questions in advance:
This can help your subject prepare better, but could also inhibit
him/her, if you ask supplementary questions that he/she's not prepared
for. Make it clear that you reserve the right to ask additional
questions. Unless you want written responses to your questions instead
of an interview at all, discourage your subject from responding in
writing.
- Establish rapport and trust with your subject up front:
Thank him/her up front for his/her time and cooperation, set the ground
rules, ask if there are subjects you should avoid, and what use you
can/cannot make of the results of your interview. Offer your
credentials and a brief background of the reason for the interview if
you think it will help establish rapport. If time permits, begin with
casual conversation to find common interests and common ground.
Consider offering a small gift to the subject at the conclusion of the
interview, thank the subject again at the end of the interview, and ask
if it is possible to contact him/her with additional questions later,
and if so, how. Always be courteous, don't interrupt, and if the
subject appears annoyed, change the subject. And turn your cell phone
off during the interview.
- Listen, explore, challenge, probe:
Don't be wedded to your prepared questions. The discussion could well
take you in unforeseen and important directions, so you need to be
flexible and let the conversation go where it will. If you don't
understand, say so. If something strikes you as implausible or
illogical, ask how your subject knows or why he/she believes what he's
saying. Make close note of sources cited by the subject, and if
necessary, ask how names and words are spelled. Think of your audience
as you ask questions, and how interested they will be in the questions
and answers you're soliciting. At the end of the interview, offer your
subject the opportunity to talk about anything else he/she thinks would
be of interest to you or your audience, and if there's someone else
they think you might benefit from talking to.
- Pay attention to the surroundings: Make
observations about the subject's office (if that's where you meet) and
the subject him/herself -- unusual appearance, body language or
behaviour. Learn to read between the lines if answers are evasive or
emotionally-charged. You might discover some things that the subject
doesn't want to, or didn't intend to, tell you directly.
- Respect confidentiality, including that of your sources if requested: Never betray a confidence -- or your career as interviewer will be over.
- Review your tapes/notes right after the interview:
You'd be amazed how quickly you'll forget what he/she meant, or you
meant, and additional annotations will remind you later and avoid
confusion.
- Verify what you've been told, if you're going to be relying heavily on it:
If your subject has cited other sources, check them. If something has
been said is contentious or dubious, run it by another source and check
the underlying facts. Some people have hidden agendas, and will have no
qualms using you as a mechanism to promote them. And some people are
genuinely misinformed, and if you get back to them on a factual error
they have made they will probably be grateful to have it scrubbed from
the interview transcript.
See? Nothing to it.
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MADE IN CANADA
trust your
instincts 
