Next question! Interviewing tips

In my last post, I talked about how effective communication seems to be more and more scarce. One practical form of communicating is interviewing, a task writers in any number of settings are often required to undertake. A reporter quizzes a cop to collect details for a crime story. A copywriter questions a client to corral details about a product. A public relations practitioner interviews sources to mine the raw material for news releases, speeches and articles.

As with other types of communication, interviewing is subject to rules that if followed will make the process go more smoothly and will produce better results. Here are a few that are appropriate in a business or organizational setting:

-- Prepare yourself. Review research material. Develop a list of questions. But remember that just because you have a list of questions, you should be willing to depart from it if your subject's answers suggest a new line of inquiry.

-- Urge your subject to express him or herself in terms you understand. Many people being questioned cling to the lingo of their job or speciality with the doggedness of a prosecutor grilling a witness. If you understand the jargon, that's okay. You can simplify or explain it, if necessary, when you write. But if not, make them explain. You can't write what you don't understand.

-- Collect more details than you think you'll need. When you sit down to write, it's better to have more material than not enough. Plus, you can't always be sure of the full scope of your piece until you start pounding away at the keyboard.

-- Don't assume. Seldom a good idea and certainly not when you're collecting details for a writing project. It's better to ask what may seem like an obvious question than to guess that you know what someone's saying.

-- Take good notes. Sounds obvious, but not everyone does. "I'll remember that later," the careless interviewer thinks. Not always and maybe not accurately. Not only do I try to take thorough notes, I annotate them with a red pen as soon as possible after the interview to clarify my often sloppy scrawl. (I envy those who know shorthand or can swiftly jot notes.)

-- Tape recorders. Some writers use them routinely. I rarely do and for several reasons. First of all, they're subject to breaking or suffering some other malfunction, so if you're wise, you'll take careful notes anyway. Secondly, if you rely on a tape recorder, you need to scroll back through the tape to check quotes and other details your subject provided, which is a waste of time. Tape recorders also can cause some interview subjects to freeze up. They don't like the idea of their every word being recorded. I'm not saying using tape recorders is wrong. They can be a helpful backup to your notes. But always take good notes.

-- Double-check name spellings and titles. Submitting copy, even in rough draft form, with a misspelled name or an incorrect title marks you as a sloppy writer. "What else did he get wrong?" people who read the piece might wonder.

-- Don't be afraid to follow up after the interview to clarify information. Many writers hesitate to do this, thinking it makes them look unprofessional or inattentive. But the opposite is true. Most interview subjects will respect your thoroughness and attention to detail.