NFIB

The Art of Interviewing Made Simple, Part II
03/ 28/ 2002


Workers in many types of businesses need to interview customers or clients-- or co-employees within their own company. Those who might conduct interviews include writers, reporters, graphic designers, secretaries, managers, and executives at every level of an organization. Interviews are often needed to gather information for reports or articles, or to obtain data for business planning. Many people dread having to interview someone, but in today's Workshop, Jeffrey Moses continues the discussion of how to easily and successfully interview anyone. Last week's Workshop described how to prepare for an interview. Today's article discusses the interview process itself.

An interview can take place in person, sitting right in the room with the person, and over the phone. It's often easier and faster to conduct an interview on the phone because it can save time. You don't have to travel to the person's office, and you don't have to go through formalities of making conversation when you get there. Set an appointment for when the interview will take place, then when you make contact by phone you'll both know that you have, for instance, half an hour or one hour to talk, and you'll both want to take maximum advantage of that time.

If the interview takes place by telephone, call the person at the scheduled time - but before you launch into the interview ask the person if he or she is busy. When someone feels pressured (for example, has someone waiting for them in the next office), they probably won't give you as good an interview as they would when they can devote their complete attention to your questions.

If the interview is in person, when you arrive take a moment or two to discuss lighter matters before beginning. This lets the person unwind from previous meetings or appointments, and will make the interview process more relaxed for both of you.

If you call a person and hope to interview them immediately, without scheduling a future appointment, introduce yourself and tell them why you are calling. When possible, mention the name of the person suggested or set up the interview. This will help increase your credibility, and assure the individual that you are, indeed, calling for a valid reason. If the person you're calling is busy at the moment, ask if you can schedule a different time.

At the start of an interview, ask for any specific information that is essential- such as the spelling of the individual's name, their corporate title, their length of time with the company, etc. Then begin with the list of topics and questions you prepared prior to the interview. When asking a question, speak fairly slowly and precisely, so the person can easily understand what is being asked. Once you've finished the question, give the person time to consider. People often want to think about their words before answering. If a person doesn't answer within about 5-10 seconds, ask a condensed version of the same question to make sure that they understood.

In general, it's usually best to keep the interview more of a conversation than a formal question-and-answer session. Break up the questions once in a while by asking about something regarding the person's job that is not too far off the topic being discussed. This helps keep the tone lively and spontaneous, and can lead to valuable information that might not be uncovered by sticking only to the prepared list of questions.

Once a person begins answering a question, avoid interrupting until they are finished. If you don't understand something they say, or need anything clarified or expanded upon, just make a note about it and ask them later. Many people become confused or even annoyed when interrupted too often, so make a point of letting people finish.

On the other hand, if the person you're interviewing rambles on and on, you'll need to break in occasionally to keep the interview focussed. Do so in a polite, helpful way to avoid irritating the person.

As the interview proceeds, you'll need to keep a record of the answers. You can do this either by writing down the answers in longhand on a pad of paper, or by actually recording the conversation by cassette recorder. Usually people don't mind taking the time for someone to write down their answers (it's usually flattering, in a way), but recording the conversation lets you pay closer attention to what's being said, and it helps speed up the interview. When people feel nervous about being recorded, assure them that the recording is confidential, and that only you and your immediate supervisors will have access to it. Of course, when you plan on using a recorder, you should always ask the person's permission before beginning.

If you're interviewing by phone and want to record the call so you can write down the information later, all you'll need is a little microphone for your recorder that attaches to the phone so you can get a nice clear voice on tape. Any Radio Shack or electronic store has one. There are two types of attaching microphone. One type plugs into the recorder on one end and has a small suction cup on the other. The suction cup attaches to the back of the receiver near the top ear piece. This type costs only a few dollars. The other kind, which costs a little more but is easier to use and gives a clearer sound, allows you to attach directly into the phone line. Ask at an electronics store and they'll show you how both types work.

Before you start the interview and the taping, make sure that you have fresh batteries for your recorder, or connect it into a wall socket. Either way, you want to make sure that you don't run out of juice halfway through. If you have any doubt about the strength of the batteries, put in fresh ones. Nothing's more embarrassing than to have to tell someone that the hour they spent talking with you wasn't recorded because your batteries were low.

Also, make sure that you have enough cassette tapes handy right at your fingertips. Label them clearly, especially if they will be transcribed later.

An important reminder: always keep an eye on your tape. Don't let it run out on a side while the person keeps on talking. When you get to the end of a side, or near the end, just break in and tell the person that you need to change the tape. They usually won't mind, even if they're right in the middle of a sentence.

After the interview, jot down any notes you may want to make. Do this as soon after the meeting as possible so that they're fresh in your mind.

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