What is an interview? Interviewing

Such words as a journalistic investigation, an interview, a briefing often sound these days ... What is their significance and where are they used? What is an interview, why and how to conduct it? Let's try to answer these questions in the article.

What is an interview?

Interviews (from the English interview, "conversation", "business meeting") - this is a way of talking, talking, which occurs between 2 or more people.

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

In today's world, the interview plays a big role in the active life of society. It is used as a method of research, analysis in many public spheres (here you can include journalism and communication, demography and sociology, advertising and marketing). Often interviews are resorted to by employers in an interview with a new employee. That's why so many people are interested in what an interview is.

Varieties of such a conversation

At the moment, there are several basic types of interviews in the world .

The first, which is the most common and often used, is a simple conversation. In this case, the main task of the interviewer is the correct construction of the conversation: the questions asked should be presented 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 lies in the fact that the interviewer sets out in his own words the essence of the conversation with the interlocutor. In this case, the person who took this kind of interview, remains, as it were, "behind the scenes." As in the previous case, the fundamental factor is the correct alignment of the conversation.

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

The fourth type is a task given to a group of interviewers. Typically, this is a briefing (a short press conference, which is mainly informative), a statement for the press, various press conferences, etc. At the same time, the journalist in some way captures 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 difficult for the reason that for productive work, the interviewer needs to direct the conversation in the right direction, so that it is presented to the people around as truly business and relevant.

The "hot line" also applies to this type of interview, in which the conversation is conducted with the "guests" of the studio, the radio program, the editorial office of a newspaper, and so on. Viewers also have the opportunity to make calls on specially assigned numbers (if the conversation is conducted on the radio or on television). As a rule, this interview with the stars and celebrities.

How to interview correctly?

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.

Whichever conversation is conducted with the interviewee, the main thing in this kind of business is, first, prepare for him, secondly, to conduct an interview directly, and thirdly, to process all the received material. Let's go individually to each item.

Preparing for the interview

The first step is to determine the purpose with which such a conversation is conducted. If a person as precisely as possible sets himself a certain task, he can consider that success is assured to him.

Moreover, a well-thought-out interview will be a kind of "magnet": if it is interesting and attractive to people, then they themselves can take the initiative, which will be a huge plus in the interviewer's work.

In order to correctly set the goal of the interview, it is necessary to answer the following questions:

• What are the reasons for interviewing this person?
• Can he tell something interesting to the public?
• What benefits can be derived from this interview?
• Is it possible to say with confidence that this is an interesting interview?

If the interviewer can not answer these questions, then whatever method of conversation he uses, the result is unlikely to be interesting and productive.

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

It is also necessary to have in advance information about the object of conversation. In this case, the interviewer will have the opportunity to support the conversation, as well as clearly articulate the issues of interest to him.

Welcome and dialogue start

It may seem surprising, but greeting is almost 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 interviewer's level of knowledge 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 "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 a familiar form - on "you" and on the derived form of the name (Hello, Volodya).

Communication with the interlocutor

After greeting, you must "melt the ice" in communication. To do this, you can ask some simple questions about the person: ask about his hobbies and hobbies, talk about pets. Then you can move on to more serious issues, with the purpose of which the interview is conducted.

Do not forget that the dialogue should be alive. The essence of the interview is that it should be a conversation between 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 communication between the journalist and the people with whom he spoke.

This relationship can be created only 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 do his job properly. Each person must have an individual contact. In this case new questions will appear by themselves.

Completion of the interview

End the conversation at the agreed time (be it an interview with the stars or with random passers-by). The interviewer should never detain his interlocutor, unless he himself expresses a wish. The main thing is that the conversation should leave a pleasant impression on the person.

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

We hope that the article was useful to you. We disclosed the following questions: "What is an interview? Conducting an interview. "