Tips for Handling Interviews
Many civil society companies promote democratic practices and the collective decision-making that goes with it. So if a member of your company is asked to grant an interview your organization may say they want to discuss it first. This is particularly true of companies that do not have media liaison structures or policies in place.
Perhaps your company wants to decide whether the person who has been invited for the interview is the most appropriate, or even wants to do it. Maybe they think the chair person should do it. But a journalist does not have much time – maybe not even as long as 30 minutes – to get an answer from you. So your company – unless it decides it does not want to do any interviewing – may have to strike a balance between its internal processes and meeting the needs of a journalist and his or her deadlines.
Think about what kind of interviewees you have been most impressed and influenced by. Make a list starting I have been most impressed by interviewees who…
Your list probably includes personality traits and approaches that include:
- sincerity
- honesty
- humility
- integrity
- warmth
- energy
- enthusiasm
- genuine passion for the topic
- offer useful and convincing information
- appeared to know what they were talking about
- shared peopleís real experiences
- spoke in everyday language.
Now make a list of the interviewees you have been least impressed by. Start your list by writing. I have been least impressed by interviewees who…
Are these some of the points that came up for you?
- overbearing
- arrogant
- rude
- argumentative
- made their point at all costs – even if it meant cutting into another panelist’s response
- poorly informed
- spoke too softly
- spoke too loudly
- lacked confidence
- spoke in an abstract academic way
- used lots of jargon
