The Interview

Introduce yourself and your publication to the interview subject before you begin asking questions. Explain the focus of your article.

Try to ease the person into the interview with small talk. This will help you and the interview subject relax and should make for a smoother, more productive interview.

Get the correct spelling of the person's name and their correct title. The credibility of the rest of your story will be jeapordized if this information is incorrect. Incorrect facts will also harm your reputation as a journalist.

Get the person's coordinates (where they'll be, home number, hotel number, etc.) in case you need to doublecheck any facts or quotes before the piece runs. The interviewee will appreciate the extra effort to get the facts right.

Prepare your questions beforehand and list them on a separate notepad so you won't have to flip pages back and forth.

Start with the easy, general questions, to loosen the interviewee's lips. Keep the questions brief and avoid multiple-part questions. Save any critical / tough questions for last.

If the person is uneasy speaking with you or doesn't have much to say, forgo the general questions and ask concrete, specific ones.

Generally speaking, you should ask open-ended questions (eg. why did you..? or how did you...) Don't jump right in if you think the interview subject can elaborate some more. Most people are uncomfortable with pauses in the conversation and may fill the empty space with other useful information that you didn't even think of.

Be a good listener. Remain open to different tangents in the interview. They may lead to revealing details or an interesting and relevant quote. Trust your instinct, but be sure to get all of your questions answered.

At the end of the interview, ask if there is anything else you should know. Doublecheck your notes to see if you missed anything.