Tag Archives: Question

Encore! My Dears, Don’t Miss These 20 Fabulous Articles on Interviewing!

A good personal history interview is like a symphony – complex, engaging, and harmonious. Over the past three years I’ve written extensively about the art of the interview and assembled these articles here in one convenient list. Enjoy!…Read more.

4 Ways to Get Control of a Runaway Interview.

A weakness common to novice interviewers  is their inability to take charge of an interview.  Interviews frequently look  like a runaway train with the interviewer gamely hanging on to the proverbial  little red caboose.

Taking charge doesn’t mean forcing or dictating the direction of the interview. It’s more like riding a horse. Anyone familiar with riding knows that it requires confidence and a gentle hold on the reins. The same  approach applies to interviewing.

Here are four ways to keep control of your interview:

1. From the outset be clear what you want from the interview.

If you’re clear before you start on the topic that you want to explore and its parameters then it makes it easier  to stay on track.

For example, if you know you want to capture a client’s childhood stories about summer holidays, then start your interview by saying something like, “Tom, today I’d like you to think back to your childhood and your summer holidays. What’s a particularly strong memory of the games you played?”

2. Use short, focused questions.

The more precise your questions the more specific the answers from your interviewees.  For example, a good question would be “What was your Mother’s special gift or talent?” A poor question would be “Tell me about your family.”

Questions that aren’t specific make interviewees anxious because they don’t know what you’re searching for.  If you continue to follow-up with vague, unfocused questions, their trust will erode and so will the interview.

3. Gently interrupt.

It’s difficult, I know. It seems somehow impolite. But you’d be surprised how many people really don’t mind being interrupted in an interview. In fact they appreciate that you’re paying attention and bringing them back on topic.

To  interrupt  politely wait for your interviewee to pause before stepping in.  For example, “Margaret, this is a fascinating story about your aunt. Later we’ll be taking more time  to talk about your extended family. But I’d like to come back to the earlier question I asked about your mother?”

It’s important to acknowledge the interviewees’ remarks, assure them that the topic will be covered, and then gently nudge them back on track.

4. Go where there’s passion.

Sometimes it’s best to throw your plans out the window. An apparent innocent question on your part might trigger  a strong emotional response in your interviewees that has no apparent connection to your question.  If this happens,  take the time to explore the story behind the emotion.

Clearly your interviewees wants to talk about this now. If you put them off by forcing them back on topic, you can lose a really important story.

Conclusion

If you’re just starting out as a professional personal historian, I hope these suggestions will be helpful. Use them as guidelines not as hard and fast rules. Interviewing is more an art than a science.  With experience comes an intuitive sense of how to guide an interview and get the best possible story.

If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by email.

Photo by Mazeau

My Dears, Don’t Miss These 20 Fabulous Articles on Interviewing!

If you do not know how to ask the right question, you discover nothing.
~ W. Edwards Deming,  American author and lecturer.

A good personal history interview is like a symphony – complex, engaging, and harmonious. Over the past three years I’ve written extensively about the art of the interview and assembled these articles here in one convenient list. Enjoy!

  1. Are You Asking the Courageous Questions?
  2. How Prepared Are You to Interview Terminally Ill Clients? 
  3. Come to Your Senses and Unlock Childhood Memories.
  4. What Do You Do When Facing a Reluctant Family Story Teller?
  5. How to Use “Acknowledgment” to Build a Better Interview. 
  6. How to Listen with Your Eyes.
  7. The #1 Secret to a Successful Life Story Interview.
  8. Are You Creating a Supportive Milieu for Your Personal History Interviews?
  9. Caution: End-of-Life Interviews May Unlock Traumatic Stories.
  10. How to Boost Your Interviewing Skills.
  11. Avoid These Three Interviewing Pitfalls.
  12. What I’ve Learned About Getting “Truthful” Interviews.
  13. 4 Action Steps to a Good Life Story Interview.
  14. How to Listen With Your Third Ear.
  15. Want To Do A Better Job of Listening?
  16. How to Interview A “Challenging” Subject.
  17. How to be An Engaged Listener.
  18. How to Interview Someone with Dementia.
  19. Do You Make These Interviewing Mistakes?
  20. Nine Secrets of A Good Interview.

If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by email.

Photo by Erica La Spada