Comments on: How to make friends and interview people http://minimediaguy.org/2007/02/20/how-to-make-friends-and-interview-people/ studying the media ecosystem Fri, 21 Nov 2008 19:39:57 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.3 By: Hunter Bishop http://minimediaguy.org/2007/02/20/how-to-make-friends-and-interview-people/#comment-6362 Hunter Bishop Thu, 01 Mar 2007 06:26:06 +0000 http://minimediaguy.org/2007/02/20/how-to-make-friends-and-interview-people/#comment-6362 I suppose the audio and multimedia types may be disadvantaged but I don't have enough experience in this area to answer with certainty. Don't you just edit out the dead air? Hope your workshop went well. I suppose the audio and multimedia types may be disadvantaged but I don’t have enough experience in this area to answer with certainty. Don’t you just edit out the dead air?

Hope your workshop went well.

]]> By: Hunter Bishop http://minimediaguy.org/2007/02/20/how-to-make-friends-and-interview-people/#comment-6252 Hunter Bishop Wed, 28 Feb 2007 07:22:34 +0000 http://minimediaguy.org/2007/02/20/how-to-make-friends-and-interview-people/#comment-6252 Excellent advice. One other thing I learned over many years of interviewing people for the newspapers I've worked for is the power of silence. Overcome the natural tendency to fill pauses in the conversation with more talk and invariably your subject will do it for you, often with something quite unexpected. It feels awkward at first, but after you get used to it you'll find that people tell you things they might not say otherwise just to fill the void you create by remaining silent a little longer than the normal social graces dictate. Postscript from Tom: Great addition, Hunter. As you suggest, sometimes the best interview tactic may be to let subjects stew in their own juices. But are the audio & multimedia interviewers disadvantaged? After all, print reporters can edit out the silences while broadcast types can lose the audience if there is too much dead air. Excellent advice. One other thing I learned over many years of interviewing people for the newspapers I’ve worked for is the power of silence. Overcome the natural tendency to fill pauses in the conversation with more talk and invariably your subject will do it for you, often with something quite unexpected. It feels awkward at first, but after you get used to it you’ll find that people tell you things they might not say otherwise just to fill the void you create by remaining silent a little longer than the normal social graces dictate.

Postscript from Tom: Great addition, Hunter. As you suggest, sometimes the best interview tactic may be to let subjects stew in their own juices. But are the audio & multimedia interviewers disadvantaged? After all, print reporters can edit out the silences while broadcast types can lose the audience if there is too much dead air.

]]> By: Chris Heuer http://minimediaguy.org/2007/02/20/how-to-make-friends-and-interview-people/#comment-5100 Chris Heuer Tue, 20 Feb 2007 23:04:03 +0000 http://minimediaguy.org/2007/02/20/how-to-make-friends-and-interview-people/#comment-5100 Tom - great, great insights - thank you so much for sharing this with us. I am really looking forward to tonight... Tom - great, great insights - thank you so much for sharing this with us. I am really looking forward to tonight…

]]> By: Social Media Club - » Social Media Club San Francisco Tonight - 20FEB2007 http://minimediaguy.org/2007/02/20/how-to-make-friends-and-interview-people/#comment-5099 Social Media Club - » Social Media Club San Francisco Tonight - 20FEB2007 Tue, 20 Feb 2007 22:55:50 +0000 http://minimediaguy.org/2007/02/20/how-to-make-friends-and-interview-people/#comment-5099 [...] If you were not aware of our meeting tonight here in San Francisco and are not busy somewhere else, we hope you can join us for a very interesting round table / workshop. We are very pleased to have our friends Tom Abate and Tom Foremski leading a discussion about what makes a good interview, and more broadly how to be better journalists. Tom Abate has written up a good post called “How to make friends and interview people” which you can read before coming down to CNet HQ tonight at 6pm. Please register here if you are coming… [...] [...] If you were not aware of our meeting tonight here in San Francisco and are not busy somewhere else, we hope you can join us for a very interesting round table / workshop. We are very pleased to have our friends Tom Abate and Tom Foremski leading a discussion about what makes a good interview, and more broadly how to be better journalists. Tom Abate has written up a good post called “How to make friends and interview people” which you can read before coming down to CNet HQ tonight at 6pm. Please register here if you are coming… [...]

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