Interviewing is one of the core journalism skills but also a tricky one to learn and hone. Here is some advice to help you get started
Whether you work in print, broadcast or digital media, you will need to do an interview at some point. And there is no such thing as a good interview without solid preparation.
It is not as difficult as many young journalists imagine. It is about creating the right atmosphere for your interviewee, keeping it conversational and asking the right questions.
To help you out, Andrew Littlefield looked at the four principles of interviews laid out by Stephen D. Isaacs, journalist and professor at Columbia University. In his article for the Content Marketing Institute, Littlefield illustrates these principles with real-life examples from top interviewers like Larry King or Barbara Walters.
"Rule no. 1 for me is preparation. Know everything you can – or everything you have time to study – about what or who the subject of the interview is," says host Kai Ryssdal quoted in the article. "From there everything just sort of happens."
Journalism is complex but the secret to good storytelling is simple: people love to read about people. Join our course with David Atkinson and learn all the secrets of engaging your readers with a good story.
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