What is an interview? Conducting an interview

Nowadays, such words as journalistic investigations, interviews, briefings are quite often heard … What is their significance and where are they used? What is an interview, why and how to conduct it? We will try to answer these questions in the article.

What is an interview?

Interviews (from English interview, "conversation", "business date") - this is a way of talking, conversations that occur between 2 or more people.

Conducting an interview, as a rule, implies the presence of two parties: the interviewer, whose main task is to ask questions, and the interlocutor (s), which just give answers to them. Depending on the circumstances in which the interview is taken, it can be recorded on a video camera or microphone, conducted as an ordinary intentional conversation, broadcast live.

In the modern world, interviews play a large role in the active life of society. It is used as a method of research, analysis in many public areas (this includes journalism and communication, demography and sociology, advertising and marketing). Often, employers resort to interviews when interviewing a new employee. That is why so many people are interested in what an interview is.

Varieties of a similar conversation

Currently, there are several main types of interviews in the world.

The first, the most common and often used, is a simple conversation. In this case, the main task of the interviewer is to correctly build the conversation: the questions asked should be stated in a clear, easy to understand form. The essence of the conversation is to get as much information as possible.

The next type of interview is the so-called monologue. Its essence is that the interviewer sets out in his own words the essence of the conversation with the interlocutor. At the same time, the person who was interviewed in this way remains as if “behind the scenes”. As in the past case, the fundamental factor is the correct construction of the conversation.

The third view is called dialogue. In this case, the journalist usually talks with several people. The conversation, unlike other varieties, is deeper in nature, where subsequent questions usually follow from the previous ones. It is worth noting that the journalist may not be present during the conversation. In this case, the interview is a discussion of the interviewees.

The fourth variation is a task given to a group of interviewers. As a rule, this is a briefing (a short press conference, which is mainly informative), a press statement, various press conferences, etc. At the same time, the journalist somehow records what is happening, then processes the information received, adding his own comments to it, taking into account the specifics of the media that he represents.

The fifth is a collective dialogue, or, as it is also called, a “round table”. This format is rather complicated for the reason that for a productive work the interviewer needs to direct the conversation in the right direction so that it seems truly businesslike and relevant for others.

The “hot line” also refers to this kind of interview, in which the conversation is conducted with the “guests” of the studio, the radio program, the editorial office of a particular newspaper, etc. Viewers have the opportunity to call the air on specially existing numbers for this (if the conversation is conducted on radio or television). This is usually an interview with celebrities and stars.

How to interview?

It's time to talk about the main thing. As we said above, this method of conversation is used by people from completely different spheres of public life: from bloggers and journalists to advertisers and businessmen.

No matter what the conversation is with the interlocutor, the main thing in this kind of business is, firstly, to prepare for it, secondly, to conduct an interview directly, and thirdly, to process all the material received. We will approach each item individually.

Interview Preparation

The first step is to determine the purpose for which such a conversation is being held. If a person poses a certain task as accurately as possible, he can consider that he is guaranteed success.

Moreover, a well-designed interview will be a kind of “magnet”: if it is interesting and attractive for people, then they themselves can take the initiative, which will be a huge plus in the work of the interviewer.

In order to properly set the goal of the interview, you must answer the following questions:

• What are the reasons for interviewing this particular person?
• Can he tell something interesting to the public?
• What will be the benefit of this interview?
• Is it safe to say that this is an interesting interview?

If the interviewer cannot answer these questions, then no matter what method of conversation he uses, the result is unlikely to be interesting and productive.

A huge plus in the work will be a warning to the interlocutor about the upcoming interview. A person (and the interviewer himself) will simply be able to prepare well for this event.

It is also necessary to have information about the subject of the conversation in advance. In this case, the interviewer will have the opportunity to maintain a conversation, as well as clearly formulate the questions that interest him.

Greeting and start of dialogue

It may seem surprising, but greeting is practically the most important component of any interview. After all, the impression of a person is laid down from the very first seconds of communication with him.

It depends on many factors: the level of acquaintance of the interviewer with the person, the social status of the interlocutor, etc. You can greet a person as follows:

• In a formal form - by name, patronymic and by “you” (Hello, Vladimir Romanovich).
• In a semi-formal form - by name and by “you” (Hello, Vladimir).
• In informal form - by name and by “you” (Hello, Vladimir).
• In familiar form - in “you” and in the derivative form of the name (Hello, Volodya).

Communication with the interlocutor

After the greeting, it is necessary to “melt the ice” in communication. To do this, you can ask a few simple questions about the person himself: ask about his hobbies and hobbies, talk about pets. Next, you can move on to more serious issues for which an interview is being conducted.

Do not forget that the dialogue must be alive. The essence of the interview is that it should be a communication of two or more people.

Quite often there are situations when the interlocutors are proactive and active, their answers are interesting and rich, and the conversation itself is rather boring. This is due to the fact that there was simply no connection between the journalist and the people with whom he spoke.

This relationship can only be created when the conversation is not a questionnaire or a set of questions. Do not worry about the fact that the interviewer, if he does not plan questions for the conversation in advance, will not be able to conduct his work properly. Each person must have an individual contact. In this case, new questions will appear by themselves.

End of interview

It is necessary to end the conversation at the previously agreed time (whether it is an interview with the stars or with random passers-by). In no case should an interviewer delay his interlocutor, unless he himself expresses a desire. The main thing is that the conversation should leave a person with a pleasant impression.

After the received material must be properly processed, bring in a form convenient for the audience. This can be done by both the interviewer and other specialists (for example, editors).

We hope the article was helpful to you. We have revealed such questions: “What is an interview? Conducting an interview."