Interview Techniques- Joe Brookwell

Interview question types

Open-

An open styled question is a question that asks more than just a "yes or no" answer, an example of this would be, "so how was your day?" instead of "did you have a good day".

Closed-

A closed styled question is made to find a "yes or no" answer, an example of this would be, "do you own a pet?"

Single-

A single question style is a question that someone asks with the intent of any getting one answer. This is used primarily in interviews. An example of this would be, "what university did you study at?" with this style of question you can only really get one answer.

Multiple-

A multiple styled question allows the interviewer to find out multiple things within one question. An example of this would be, "what aspects do you like about this product?" This question allows the interviewer to find out more than one point and also gives the interviewee a chance to give more than one point at a time.

Direct-

A direct question is used to find something in particular that the interviewer wants to know, an example of this would be, "what age are you?" a question like this is direct because unlike the others it isn't broad and targets a set answer.

Suggestive-

suggestive questions are designed so that the interviewer can ask questions about the subject matter, an example of this would be "Do you think this was wrong?", asking questions like this can give a better understanding of what the interviewee personally feels. 

Interview styles

Hard news- 

Hard news is the kind of fast-paced news that usually appears on the front page of newspapers. Stories that fall under the umbrella of hard news often deal with topics like business, politics and international news.

Hard news and soft news are considered the two major types of news stories available.

Combative-

Combative interviews often involved two sides arguing against one another, this style however will be a lot more intense for the set audience, the people involved may be asked to perform more extreme than they might be usually. When watching a combative interview you will find that the people involved may use body language more than actually talk diplomatically between each other. 

Light hearted-

Light hearted interviews are usually directed in a way that is relaxed and calm for the viewer, an interview done in this matter will usually have a subject matter that is easy watching, such as charity work or a local fundraising event that will show the event in a family friendly way.

Entertainment-

Most interviews are done to entertain, however some interviews would come under the "entertainment" genre, interviews such as this usually don't appear in news outlets because they may not be legitimate.

Some interviews are directed so the audience has a laugh rather than actually give factual information, this has sometimes lead to audiences finding it hard to see the difference between a fake and a real interview.

Investigative-

Investigative interviews are interviews directed so the interviewer pushes questions toward the interviewee, words such as, "why" and "how" will be used to try and get the most amount of information from the interview.

Interviews that may be going poorly could turn investigative in a sense as the interviewer could start to ask more pressing questions as the person involved could be just answering "yes" or "no" which is a nightmare for any interviewer.

Structure-

Structure is very important in anything in the media, however making sure that an interview is well structured before the start is crucial in its success. This is because if you go into an interview without a clear structure it may turn out awkward or possibly just fail completely.

Mostly interviews are planned before hand so everyone involved will know what they need to do and what both parties want out of it. This will help the interview flow much smoother and will look a lot more seamless.

Introduction-

There are two types of introductions in interviews that are important to note, firstly an introduction to whomever is being interviewed, this will usually be a greeting such as a handshake or even just a quick hello swell as stating the name of the person being interviewed.

Developmental questions 

confidence building- 

Confidence building is predominantly used in interviews when promoting something the interviewee is involved in, this may be seen with an opening statement like, "I've just seen the film and your performance was brilliant". This may allow the interviewee to come out of their shell and be more expressive.

Key questions-

Key questions are all different depending on the subject matter of the interview or what the interviews overall meaning is for, for example if the interview is promoting a movie you will get the interviewer asking key questions such as "so when is the movie released", this would be regarded as a key question because ultimately both parties want to put the movie over and allow the audience to know whats up with it.

Another example of a key question in an interview would be "What are your career goals". A question like this is important for the interviewer because it allows them to understand how motivated they may or may not be, whatever the answer this can shape the rest of the interview.

Communication skills

Building rapport-

Rapport is the connection between two people; its the connection you have to someone which shows that both parties are on the same page. This skill is very useful in life however within interviews its crucial that you understand the importance of it. This is because within an interviews environment you must make the interviewee feel a connection to you, after all if you do not it could end up awkward and hard to watch

Active listening-

Active Listening involves both the interviewer and the interviewee, this is when you can hear for example a "hum" which would directly follow what someone had said. This is used to make sure that the interviewer is making it clear enough that they understand what is being said.

Body language- 

Body language in interviews can alter any message both parties are trying to get out, for example if the interviewer comes to the interview very lazy and seems to look as if they don't want to be there, the interviewee may possibly decide to not answer questions fully and as they may do if the body language was different.

Bruce Willis awkward interview- this interview shows Bruce Willis halfheartedly answering questions which ultimately leads to the interview becoming very awkward and hard to watch.

Journalistic Techniques-

Print- Printed interviews are often designed so the viewer is given an overall view of what came out from the interview, you will usually be given an introduction which may state where it is being taken place who is interviewing and who is being interviewed. This commonly leads to the questions and answers. However printed interview are very much different in context compared to one being taken place via television or radio. This is because with TV or radio the viewer can get more than just yes or no answers, the viewer is allowed to see how the two parties may interact with each other via body language. An example of this would be within sports, sports interviews commonly take place post match with the player seen just after the event. A television interview allows the audience to see how the player may have coped during the game with the individual huffing or sweating, injured or unwell. However with a printed interview the journalist would have to state what the player looked like describing the way the react. This ultimately is a down side to printed interviews as the reader may not fully understand just how the may be. The printed interview will have to rely on pictures taken at the time or during the event for the audience to fully understand what happened.

Intentions behind an interview-

Firstly the main aim for any interview is to find information from the subject. However not all interviews purpose is just this. An example would be trying to evoke an emotional response. Interviewers may ask questions that make the subject angry or upset so the cameras get more than just a yes or no answer. This can make for great TV which would subsequently lead to higher rates in views. This is because people like to see a reaction. This isn't the only reason however, an interviewer may ask questions that evoke an emotional response so the interviewee comes out of there shell and may give more answers if the interview is going rather slowly. Also evoking an emotional response can give the audience a greater understanding of what the person is thinking instead of saying.