This semester I have enjoyed learning about the interview process in both Writing Non Fiction and a religion and writing subject called Writing Religion and Spirituality. For the latter I interviewed a Christian friend about how Christianity is represented by the media and how it has been commodified and commericalised. The interview process interests my greatly- I love seeing how the interview takes unexpected turns. It was particularly interesting being in a more formal and academic space with a friend. You can really learn a lot about someone's values and interests if you ask the right questions and make them feel you are really interested in what they have to say.
Some things that I have learnt are very important for the interview process and writing up the interview are:
- Take the setting into account; including how the interviewee enters the space and holds themselves. Write this into the interview to set the scene and develop character.
- Look at the interviewee's body language and emphasis they place on certain ideas and topics. Tone and body language, not only words, can reflect a person's feelings (especially in regards to what they feel very strongly about).
- Ask the interviewee to expand on things. Even if you have a time limit you should not try and rush through all the questions as often the answers that are interesting take a bit more effort to get out of someone.
- Straight after you do the interview write up your mental notes about the setting and interviewee. Add any interesting points that you may not have been able to write down. If you recorded the interview then listen to it as soon as possible and take some more notes.
Time was my biggest issue when doing the interview- it went so fast and I did not get to ask as many questions as I would have liked. I also found that the interviewee had a strong focus on how people should live their lives around Jesus- I think this is because he is used to spreading the word of God and trying to get people to come to his Church. However, he still provided me with some great answers. Looking back on the interview, I wish I had recorded it as I did not get to take down many direct quotes as I was trying to paraphrase a lot of what he said so that I got all the information in writing to use later.
I really loved the interview process. It is a great change to write non-fiction (I have done too many short stories at uni!) and I hope that in the future I will get the opportunity to interview a variety of people about issues that I feel strongly about.
Image: http://effectiveonlineteaching.org/2012/03/28/how-to-cure-the-talking-head-syndrome-creating-online-videos-for-deeper-connection/
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