Your Interviewing Success Action Plan

Walk out of any door on any street and before long you will meet someone who has lived through exciting times and experiences that most editors and their readers would love to hear about. Your mission is to find them and record what they have to say for an eager audience.

Your Plan of Campaign.

Yes, you will need a plan, a simple list that you can follow to make sure you've covered everything. Write these points up into a checklist on Word, print it and tick each item off as you complete it.

1. Choose your subject.

How do you go about finding a suitable subject who has an interesting life, or something interesting to talk about? Perhaps you have a friend, an acquaintance or an old school friend who would be ideal. You may have read a local news item about a celebrity or personality that strikes a chord and think an article on the person involved would be popular.

2. Choose your publication.

Before you interview anyone it's sensible to decide which magazine or newspaper you are thinking of sending it to. This will help you work out what questions to ask to please the readership of the particular publication.

3. Contact Interviewee.

Contact your prospective interviewee by letter rather than phone. On the 'phone their reaction may be an immediate 'No', but a letter lets you explain your request, and will give your prospect the chance to mull it over before deciding, hopefully, that they want to go ahead. Your letter should be polite and cover how long you expect the interview to take (one hour is good), which publication you intend sending it too, and an assurance that they may read the article before you send it off.

4. Follow up.

If you have heard nothing after a few days, that's the time to pick up the phone. Ask if they've had chance to read and consider your request and deal with any questions they may have. This is where you gently reassure them over any worries they may have.

5. Arrange a meet.

It's generally best to do the interview in the subjects own home. They will be more comfortable in familiar surroundings. Arrange a time and date and, if you plan to take a recorder with you, ask if they mind being recorded.

6. Prepare Questions.

Take time to think up some thoughtful questions based on the readership of your targeted publication. Write these down in your notebook rather than trusting your memory.

7. Your Interview Kit.

You'll need a notebook or legal pad, sharpened pencils with rubbers (not biros - they run out), a tape recorder, if you have one, plus spare batteries (important), and last but not least your list of carefully prepared questions.

The Interview.

Break the ice and lead into your first question obliquely if you can. Often the answer to one question will trigger others, but be careful not to go off at a tangent.

Make brief notes using only a phrase as a mental marker for later. Interviewees can be unnerved if you are frantically writing down every word. You need to give them your full attention as much as possible.

When you've finished, thank them profusely and ask if you can send them the article so they can correct anything you may have got wrong.

Conclusion.

When the article is published contact them again to say 'thank you' and, if it seems appropriate, ask if they know anyone else who has a story to tell. This is an excellent way of getting an introduction to another interesting subject and, if you do a good job, can quickly get you recognised and used by editors.


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