It has struck me that having to interview a subject as part of an assignment is something that is not as straight forward as I thought.  Interviewing someone for a job is not the same as interviewing a subject that you are then going to use to write up a piece, and in either case, interviewing is something that takes practice to get what you want out of the meeting.

Here are my thoughts on how to approach and conduct an interview with a subject.  Note that these are born out of minimal experience interviewing a subject as part of my writing career so pitch in with your criticism and suggestions.

What is the Purpose of the Interview?

Establish what the objective of the interview is to be.  Are you interviewing the subject because you are writing about them or will be featuring them in your commission?  Are you looking to use the subject’s knowledge and experience to support or counter the position you are taking with your commission? 

Think before you start as all else follows.

Research the Subject and Topic Area Beforehand

You may be looking to elicit information from your subject and build up your own knowledge on the topic but that does not preclude you from equipping yourself with some knowledge in anticipation.  Imagine you were interviewing Bill Gates or Richard Branson and your first question was “So, what is the name of your company?”; I doubt the interview would last 30 more seconds.

If you want your subject to open up with you, show you have some knowledge of both them and the topic which in turn will help them engage with you.  You also will be able to identify information that is important if you have some knowledge to start with otherwise you may overlook something important.

Prepare a List of Questions Beforehand

One interview I conducted had to have prepared questions submitted in advance to the subject.  Even so, you should already cover off the questions you are lookng to have answers to rather than conducting an interview ad hoc - it’s easy t forget things and preparing questions beforehand will help you structure the interview and tactfully, keep control of it.

Mix Open with Closed Questions

If you are simply asking closed questions, e.g. “Are you a woman?” to which the answer can only be yes or no, you will have a very stilted interview, very formal, and you will miss out on a mine of information that the subject has but which you will not have opened up.  Closed questions need to be used when you are looking to nail a factual matter down as open questions will provide fuzzy answers.

Asking open questions, e.g. “How often do you review your work and why?”, to which the subject cannot answer yes or no and must provide a discursive answer, will help you to get the subject responding to you with answers based upon their experiences, opinions and actual practice. 

A good interview will mix the two sets of questions which will help the interview proceed and also produce information and facts that you need.

You Have Two Ears and One Mouth - Use them in that Ratio

The subject is not giving you their time so you can dominate the conversation - you actually want them to do most of the talking.  Your job as the interviewer is to come away with the information you are looking for, and hopefully important information that you did not expect to find.

Let your subject do most of the talking and listen.  This does not mean it is a one way conversation as your job is to recognise when a question needs to be asked or a the subject is to be prompted.  Ask your subject to expand on statements thaey have made and feedback responses they have already made to reinforce the points they make and demonstrate you are actually listening and interested, e.g. “You mentioned your time in Paris in the nineties; tell me more about your experiences their and what challenges you faced.”

Leave the Door Open at the End

You can never be certain that you have got everything you need from an interview.  You may forget something or research down the line may mean you need to go back to your subject and ask for clarification or more information.

Before you quit the interview, take the time to thank your subject and ask them if they are happy for you to come to them with more questions at a later date.  It doesn’t have to be face-to-face, email or telephone can suffice but make sure you ask them and get them to say “yes”; by this time unless you have really upset them, they are unlikely to say “no”.

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Read a paragraph from one of your favourite novel writer - then do the same with another.

Can you tell the difference between the two?

I like science fiction and Iain Banks is a favourite.  I also like John Grisham novels when I’m on a transatlantic flight.  the two writing styles are very different irrespective of the US/UK spellings.

The difference is their voice.

It may seem strange to ask if you have a voice as a writer - after all you are not speaking.

I am naturally a sarcastic, play the Phillistine type of individual - I always look for the twisted meaning in a conversation but there is no malice - I just like the play with words, and most of all, the humour in a conversation.  I’m also in my prime - mid forties, solvent, travelled and experienced in life - sounds like an ad in a dating site profile, but this is correct and is reflected in my writing.  Cavalier, sometimes off-hand and slightly jaded but with a glint in my eye and as has been noted already, I don’t really care what other people think about me (or my writing).

Your writer’s voice will depend a lot on your own character, but how you are in a crowd is not necessarily the real you.  I know people who are very deeply intelligent, deeply sensitive to the extent that they will cry listening to Beethoven but to the world at large, they are hard as nails.  On the other hand, I also know people who look like they would not say boo to a goose but in fact are deeply adventurous and without fear. 

When you are writing, no-one need know what your public persona is - you are free to be who and what you really are.  How your true personality comes through in your writing gives you your writer’s voice - serious, droll, witty, boring, technical, exciting and the adjectives can just go on and on.

Why is having a writer’s voice important?

Ask yourself this question - what makes John Grisham different from the legions of wannabe legal fiction writers?  What makes Iain Banks different from the hordes of sci-fi wannabe’s? 

Sure their ideas and plots are great, but no-one has a monopoly on ideas; it is how they tell their story, word for word, that holds the reader and makes them popular and commercially successful.  In short, it is their voice - develop yours and let the real you come through.  In this respect, we can look at a writer’s voice as being the relationship with their readers, probably to such an extent that without ever hearing your real voice, a reader will be able to look at your writing and say ”That’s so and so!”

Your writer’s voice is what will make you different from the crowd and eminently readable.

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Why I have never used their site I do not know - I stumbled upon it quite by accident and spent several hours tracing through the links and resources they have.

You can find the site here.

The link is to the media resources for the London freelancers part of the site, but this itself is only a small taste of what is on offer.

As a research resource it is brilliant and I particularly liked the help it gave on how to handle using translation engines.  I frequently use Babelfish  (Babel from the biblical tower where different languages were spoken and Babel Fish from the Douglas Adams invention in Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy).  I speak rusty French and Jurassic Russian, and use the site when I’m writing or reading material in either language as a check on my own understanding.  The advice the NUJ site gives is to use more than one translation engine so you are able to comprehend better the “shadow of meaning” that the words convey.  I like that phrase “shadow of meaning” and the advice is sound.

You will find here press and media outlets by the bucket load, home and foreign, with some fantastic resources to gain perspective and help from around the globe.  The information is not restricted to simply media with links to political and government organisations as well as others.

Try out the light relief section too for some journalist in-jokes:

“I just wake up in the morning and tell myself, “There’s been a military coup”. An then it all makes sense.”

Unnamed US Department of State official

Of particular note for those wanting a grin, check out the Daily Mail headline generator

Does teenage sex tax your house?

Will Ken Livingstone affect your house price with AIDS?

Could Tony Blair strip the middle class of all dignity?

I could just keep going but I’d better stop and behave myself.

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I know when I’m striking a chord with someone, even a discordant one when they leave a comment that doesn’t say anything constructive.

Churchill once said. “Minds are like parachutes, if they are not open they don’t work” and he was right - a parachute will not work unless it is open but he was also wrong - a mind can be closed yet the results can still be successful and gain the owner credibility, kudos and success. 

I think the reason is because as human beings, we are fallible and imperfect - which accounts for why McDonalds is so popular amongst many other things in this world.

Writing reflects yourself so who you are is realistically mirrored with whatever you write - I have posted previously on how I put my “James Bond” hat on in order to write an eBook on dating that would appeal to spotty oiks and sad gits that wanted to date “chicks”, but irrespective of the mental subterfuge, something of that piece reflected me personally.

If you don’t like it - tough.  It’s who I am.

On the other hand, I have posted on how taking a position with your writing, unambiguous and unequivocal will help you convey your message and ideas.

This applies even when you are dead wrong. 

Ask Dr Goebbels or any ad man about that point and you’ll see what I mean.

What personally ticks me off is I am by no means a good writer - I know that.  I’m unlikely to win critical acclaim for a writing a novel or two but I do have an open mind.  Again as Churchill quipped, “I’m always ready to learn but not to be taught.” and that perfectly describes me too unless I respect my teacher.

My point is this - if you have something to say about my writing, then say it - don’t hide behind an anonymous comment and pretend you have some upper hand or inside track on how to be a better writer.  Writing is something for all of us, not just the “hoi-poloi” and and I may not listen to what you have to say, but then you don’t have to read what I have to write.

Where is brawling Norman Mailer when you need him?

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Copyright exists in anything you create, as soon as you write something down or record it in some manner, you have copyright.  The work must be your own, so plagiarised material is excluded.  If you are employed or have a contract which stipulates that copyright passes to whoever has commissioned your work, then copyright vests with your employer.

In the UK and European Union, copyright lasts for 70 years after the death of the writer, or if the work is published after death of the writer, for 70 years after publication.

A general rule is not to surrender copyright unless you have negotiated suitable compensation.  Retaining copyright gives you the right to be rewarded for your work and if successful, may continue to benefit your family for decades after your death.  Look at the estate of JRR Tolkien, the author of “Lord of the Rings” and consider the royalties paid the owners of the copyright from the movies that have been made.

You don’t have to actually assert copyright on your work but adopting a “belt and braces” approach does no harm and will help to deter those who may seek to infringe your rights.  I tend to follow this myself whenever copyright is not passed on with my work, and the usual form is (c) My Name 200X which is the year it is published or created if not published.

There are exceptions to what is subject to copyright.  For instance, there is no copyright in a title so you are free to use someone else’s title for your own work.  You need to take care as you may fall foul of what is known as “the tort of passing off”; in other words, you can be sued if you are attempting to benefit from naming your own work after someone else’s popular title in an attempt to make money by trading off the title. 

There is also no copyright in ideas unless you have documented in fine detail what that idea is and the idea is 100% genuinely original.

If you use photographs in your work, then copyright will vest in whoever took them, even if you have commissioned them yourself.  If you want copyright to vest in you, you must ensurethat the commissioning agreement stipulates this.

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