Face – to – Face Interviewing

Although the telephone is widely used for interviews, especially when time and distance are factors, the most effective and in-depth interviews are likely to be face-to-face. Correspondingly of course, there is much more etiquette, potential disasters and nerves involved in these such interviews. Luckily there are numerous tricks and tips a first time interviewer can use to combat the situation.

Thomas Clifford, an award-winning corporate film maker has a list of his 22 most valuable interviewing techniques. True, his interviews are specifically for on-camera, but many of the procedures are the same no matter what differences there are in the who, what, where and how. His list includes specific questions you should always ask, such as ‘what’s at stake?’ and ‘how did you get into this business?’, which are applicable to almost anyone. He also includes his number one tip – to make the interviewee feel as relaxed and comfortable as possible. It is proven that the interview will be much more successful this way.

Andrew Denton is known for his ability to make his interviewee’s feel relaxed as possible. When interviewing David Hicks’ lawyer Major Michael Mori,  Denton abides by Clifford’s number 1 tip, opening the interview with jokes and a conversational tone. When asking the more controversial questions, Denton really listens to Mori’s answers, and asks suitable followup questions. Denton does ask similiar questions over and over, and this technique appears to work well when dealing with potential controversy as the interviewee feels obligated to add a bit more on to what he previously said. Denton’s body language is also interesting to watch.

 

On the other hand, certain techniques can be taken too far, and the interview can become almost laughable – you do not want your interviewee to be laughing at your efforts. The following video is a parody, courtesy of Full Frontal and is effective in showing us what NOT to do.