Interview Method

 An important method with interviewing is making the person you're interviewing feel comfortable. Giving them a sense that they can trust you is important, just as Mark Kermode, an experienced film journalist relays. “Indeed, even the most gregarious interviewee will hesitate, stumble, or reconsider if properly questioned by someone whom they trust and (perhaps most importantly) respect.” he said, when discussing how to open an interviewee up and getting them to give answers that are not just well rehearsed.

I found that having a decent conversation with them before the interview really opened them up. It made them feel comfortable and gave them a different perspective in that it revealed to them that I wasn't just out to trip them up. That I was a real person. When I chatted to my PR student that I was going to interview, it really put her to ease. She went from being extremely nervous and worried, to comfortable and open. It more importantly stopped her from feeling the need to be defensive in her answers.

Another important interview method I experienced was listening to their answers. I found that I got a lot of great answers from follow up questions. It also gave the interviewee the opportunity to delve more into their answer and bring the point that they wanted across. This is of course assuming that you're not trying to uncover a truth that they are trying to hide.

References

 

Kermode, M 2008, 'The Recalcitrant Interviewee', Cinema Journal, no. 2, pp. 135-141.