Listen and Hear


As we continue our examination what makes for good interviewing technique, I want to talk about something that would seem obvious but is little understood. You have done your home work, you have observed all the formalities, you have set the ground rules. Now the tape is rolling, the camera is recording, and the interview has actually begun.

When your subject speaks, as much as possible, really listen to them. Don’t hear just the words they are saying, but also try to figure out what they are feeling, what they are really meaning, what they might be trying to avoid talking about. You can only do this if you listen intently, and not worry too much about your next question.

When you have done intense homework on your subject, there is a tendency to be concerned that you get all the right questions asked, to be thinking ahead to your next question, to be worried about audio levels, your hair, your clothes - almost anything but the person sitting across from you.

Yes, it’s a broadcast (or a recording), and there are lots of things that can go wrong. But things like audio levels, framing of the picture, how the interview will fit into your overall piece or program have to be forgotten. For those few minutes that you are speaking with a subject, there is nothing else in the world - whether they are homeless or presidents, super-stars or death-row inmates.

You owe your audience your full attention to your interview subject. For those few minutes, really hear what the subject is saying, don’t just listen. Your questions should make sense in the context of your conversation.

The final use of the interview will determine how you ask your questions and the order you ask them. We’ll discuss this in more depth in the next installment.

Until then, keep breathing!