Picture this. You sit down to conduct a personal history interview. You pull out your voice recorder and your client looks stricken. You reassure her that there’s no need to worry and ask your first question. She looks at the floor and gives a brief two or three word response. It doesn’t get any better. It feels as though your “pulling teeth”. Beads of perspiration break out on your forehead. You finish the interview and leave for home, tired and discouraged.
What went wrong?
Some of you will say it was the voice recorder that made the client uneasy. Nope! Not the recorder. Today’s devices are small and unobtrusive. There might be some initial discomfort but it passes – like gas. I’ve done hundreds of hours of interviews and within a few minutes people forget there’s even a recorder in the room. So don’t blame the recorder.
Sorry to say but the problem rests with the interviewer. If you’re not comfortable with the equipment or anxious about getting a good interview or worried about the questions you’re going to ask, then your anxiety is going to rub off on your client. Neuroscience research has uncovered “mirror neurons” which seems to indicate that if we see someone frowning or smiling, it triggers a similar internal reaction in us.
In a word the #1 secret to a successful interview is rapport. Here’s what you need to do.
before the interview, Make your initial visit a “get-to-know” .
Nothing creates more anxiety in a client than rushing in all “business-like”, ready to record. Take an hour to have a conversation with your client. Stress the personal. Imagine you’re dropping in on a favorite aunt or uncle. Do talk about the upcoming interview but spend as much time if not more on small talk. I try to get a quick sense of people’s interests by looking at how they’ve decorated and what treasures they’ve chosen to display. A question about a painting, photo, or figurine can unlock some charming stories. And it puts your client at ease. Find something in common – maybe it’s grandchildren, a favorite author, or similar childhood roots.
Arrive for the interview rested, mindful, Focused, and calm.
Remember that clients will pick up on your anxiety. This in turn makes them anxious. When you walk through the door to a client’s home, you want to be smiling and aware of what is happening from moment to moment. To do that effectively, you need to be rested and focused solely on the interview at hand. How does your client look? How are you feeling? What extraneous activities or sounds are intruding on your interview space?
Before the interview begins, start with some small talk.
I never set up my recorder or camera for an interview without first engaging my client in some small talk. It can be about the weather, their day or week’s activities, or any other subject that’s informal. I find a sense of humor and some laughter go a long way to defuse anxiety. I’m also mindful that we’ve a job at hand and I don’t let the chatting eat up too much time.
Set up the recording equipment with Practiced nonchalance.
Don’t make setting up your recording equipment a “big production”. The more I consciously avoid flailing about with my recorder and microphone, the less distressing it is for my client. This means you have to know your equipment superbly. It’s not the time to begin fretting over what folder you’re recording in or why you’re not getting sound in your headphones. It also helps to keep some chit-chat going while you clip on a lavaliere mic and adjust the sound levels.
rapport. that’s the secret.
What techniques do you use to build rapport?
Photo by Chickpea
Dan, thanks for another excellent article. You make a great point about how important it is for us to be completely comfortable with our equipment & the location.
On one of my life stories, I thought I had checked out the environment well enough in advance. However, on the designated interview day, we had an unseasonably warm, humid day and my client turned on the window air conditioner. It was so noisy & disruptive that I had to ask her to turn it off.
We couldn’t open the windows because of noise outside, so we literally sweated it out. I would have postponed the interview, but she had a terminal disease and I knew we had very limited time. Sometimes we just have to do the best we can.
http://www.bethlamie.com
@Beth LaMie. Thanks, Beth. I love your story. It’s true what you say. Sometimes we just have to make the most of a bad situation.
Dan, you hit the nail on the head with one word – rapport. I always schedule a FOC 1 hour ‘getting to know you’ session with my client, where I have the opportunity to ask and answer any questions either of us may have. At that stage, I also leave the client with a set of my Memory Cards, with full written and verbal information about how to use them.
I schedule the interview for 3/4 weeks time and ask the client to gather photos and other relevent memorabilia together for the interview day. This gives the client plenty of time to become involved with the interview process before the day arrives and I usually find that they are eager to show me their ‘bits and pieces’ before we move into the interview process, using the Memory Cards to guide the interview.
@Annie Payne. Thanks for this, Annie. Looking forward to meeting you in Victoria. Only a few weeks left!
Excellent advice. One of the things we have learned is that it is important to have a raelationship with our clients. From the very first phone call to the end of the project, we have consciously designed contact points to enhance our relationship. When the relationship is there, rapport takes place – and when we have good rapport, we end up with a great product and a satisfied client.
@Alan Naumann. Thanks for your comments, Alan.
Years ago, when I worked as a full-time portrait photographer, I used to start out each session by doing something clumsy (not hard for me!) like trip over the sync chord or forget to take the lens cap off. I was amazed by how the subject instantly got more comfortable seeing me do something dorky. Our clients are often eager to please or afraid of doing something “wrong,” and are looking at us as experts, which may make them nervous. If we show them right away we are human beings, that can help warm up someone who is shy. I’ve also found that asking them to tell me about a specific object–a knick-knack or photograph in their home–rather than trying to engage them in random small talk–takes the focus off them and makes it easier to open up.
@Alison Taylor. Thanks for these insightful comments. They’re terrific suggestions for relaxing a subject.