Honing Your Interviewing Skills: Techniques for Journalists

The interview is the backbone of journalism. It’s where facts become stories, where sources become characters, and where raw information transforms into something the audience can connect with. But conducting a good interview is far more than just showing up with a list of questions. It demands careful preparation, strategic questioning, sharp listening, and a firm commitment to ethics. Whether you’re profiling a public figure or chasing a breaking news lead, your interviewing skills will directly determine the quality of your story.

Preparation is non-negotiable 🔗

Great interviews don’t happen by accident. They are the product of thorough groundwork done before you even meet your source. As Columbia University’s journalism resources outline, there are four core principles of interviewing: prepare carefully, establish a relationship with the source, ask relevant questions, and listen attentively. Failing at the first step – preparation – sets off a chain reaction that weakens everything else.

Research your subject and the topic 🔗

Before sitting down with anyone, you need to become a mini-expert on both the person and the subject matter. This means reading previous interviews they’ve given, checking their social media profiles, reviewing any relevant public records, and understanding the broader context of the topic you’re covering. The International Journalists’ Network (IJNet) emphasises this point: doing as much research as possible – even checking the person’s social media – helps you formulate better questions and develop an effective icebreaker to build rapport.

Research also protects you from looking uninformed. A well-prepared reporter can ask more sophisticated, layered questions, which signals to the interviewee that you take the conversation seriously. This, in turn, makes them more likely to give thoughtful, detailed answers rather than surface-level talking points.

Setting the stage: logistics and environment 🔗

Where and how an interview takes place matters more than many reporters realise. For in-person interviews, a quiet, comfortable environment encourages openness. For phone or video calls, a stable connection and minimal background noise are essential. Preparing an organised outline of topics – rather than a rigid script – keeps you on track without stifling the natural flow of conversation. Your goal is to create conditions that make the interviewee feel at ease and willing to share openly.

The art of the start: building rapport and control 🔗

The first few minutes of an interview set the tone for everything that follows. They determine how comfortable your source will be, how much they trust you, and how forthcoming they’ll be. Getting this wrong can make the rest of the conversation feel like pulling teeth.

Breaking the ice: starting on the right note 🔗

Begin with a soft approach. A little small talk – about the weather, their recent work, or something you noticed in the room – goes a long way. The Open Notebook notes that chatting casually for a few moments helps build rapport and establishes a baseline conversational tone. Before diving into your questions, briefly explain the purpose of the interview, how long it will take, and how the material will be used. This transparency puts the interviewee at ease and demonstrates professionalism.

Start with easy, factual questions – clarifying a name spelling, confirming a job title, or asking about their role. These low-stakes questions warm up the conversation and help the interviewee get comfortable speaking to you before you move into deeper, more challenging territory.

Maintaining control of the conversation 🔗

Control in an interview doesn’t mean domination. It means guiding the conversation so you get the information your story needs without letting the interviewee wander into irrelevant tangents. This is where preparation pays off. When you know exactly what you need, you can gently redirect a straying conversation without being confrontational.

If an interviewee gives a long-winded answer that doesn’t address your question, you can politely interject with something like, “That’s interesting – and going back to the point about [specific topic], could you tell me more about that?” The key is maintaining a balance between being respectful and being persistent. As veteran journalist Fred Zimmerman of The Wall Street Journal advised, watch and listen closely in the early stages to understand the source’s attitude – then adjust your approach accordingly.

Strategic questioning: more than just asking 🔗

The questions you ask – and how you ask them – determine what information you get. A poorly phrased question gets a flat, unhelpful response. A well-crafted one can unlock an entirely new dimension of the story.

The power of open-ended and follow-up questions 🔗

Open-ended questions are the workhorses of any interview. Questions starting with “how,” “why,” or “tell me about” require more than a yes-or-no answer and push the interviewee to think more deeply. Closed-ended questions have their place – they’re useful for confirming specific facts or figures – but they shouldn’t dominate your conversation.

The real gold, however, often comes from follow-up questions. As Shorthand’s guide on journalistic interviewing explains, active listening helps journalists pick up on details or “crumbs” that the subject drops in their answers. These crumbs become the basis for deeper follow-ups that yield richer, more detailed information. Always be ready with prompts like “Can you elaborate on that?” or “What happened next?” – these are the questions that take your interview from adequate to exceptional.

Using “bridging” and “flagging” techniques 🔗

Bridging and flagging are navigational techniques that help you steer an interview smoothly through different topics and highlight what matters most.

Bridging is a technique for transitioning from one topic to another. As a journalist, you use it to move the conversation away from an unproductive line of discussion toward something more relevant to your story. For example, you might say: “That’s an important point, and it actually connects to something I wanted to ask you about – the policy change you mentioned earlier.” The bridging phrase links the interviewee’s last point to your next question, making the transition feel natural rather than abrupt. MaRS Discovery District’s media guide describes bridging as a powerful tool for refocusing an interview on its most critical points.

Flagging is the technique of signalling to your interviewee that you’re about to raise an important or sensitive point. Phrases like “This next question is critical…” or “I know this is a sensitive area, but I need to ask…” serve two purposes: they alert the interviewee that something significant is coming, and they give your audience (in a live or broadcast context) a reason to pay close attention. Flagging also shows respect – it tells the interviewee you’re not trying to ambush them.

There are a couple of other related techniques worth knowing. Listing involves organising your response requests into numbered points (“There are three areas I’d like to cover…”), which gives structure to the interview and reduces the chance of the interviewee going off-topic. Cherry-picking is useful when an interviewee throws multiple topics into one answer – you simply choose the thread most relevant to your story and pursue it.

Active listening: the most underrated skill 🔗

Many beginning journalists focus so much on their question list that they forget the most important part of an interview: listening. Active listening means fully concentrating on what the interviewee is saying, not just waiting for your turn to ask the next question.

Yellowbrick’s journalism guide highlights that active listening helps journalists uncover deeper insights, understand different perspectives, and ask relevant follow-up questions that uncover unique angles. When you truly listen, you catch contradictions, hesitations, and emotional shifts that a distracted interviewer would miss entirely.

There are several practical ways to improve your active listening during interviews. First, maintain eye contact and use non-verbal cues – nods, leaning forward – to show engagement. Second, don’t transcribe every word while your interviewee is speaking; make brief notes of key phrases and record the conversation (with permission) for accuracy later. Third, embrace pauses. When an interviewee finishes a thought, resist the urge to immediately jump to the next question. A brief silence often prompts them to add more – sometimes the most revealing part of their answer. As Columbia Journalism Review notes, silence can be a powerful asset in an interview, not an awkward gap to fill.

Ethical conduct: the foundation of trust 🔗

No amount of preparation or questioning skill matters if you compromise your ethics. Ethical conduct is what separates journalism from interrogation. It’s the foundation on which trust between reporter and source is built – and without trust, you won’t get the stories that matter.

Informed consent and transparency 🔗

Your interviewee should always know who you are, which outlet you represent, and how their words will be used. This is especially critical when dealing with people who are unfamiliar with the media. The Online News Association’s ethics guidelines note that many interviewees may not fully understand what they’re getting into by granting an interview, particularly young people or those who have never spoken with a reporter before. Being upfront about your intentions builds credibility and protects both parties.

Related to transparency is the issue of ground rules. Clarify at the start whether the conversation is on the record, off the record, or on background. The Associated Press defines “on the record” as information that can be used without restriction and attributed by name; “off the record” means the information cannot be published; “background” means the information can be used but under negotiated conditions that protect the source’s identity. Making these distinctions clear prevents misunderstandings and potential breaches of trust.

Protecting vulnerable sources 🔗

Extra care is needed when interviewing minors, victims of crime, trauma survivors, or people in emotionally fragile states. These individuals may not fully grasp the consequences of sharing their story publicly, and it’s your responsibility to ensure they’re not harmed by the process. This might mean choosing a private, comfortable location for the interview, giving them the option to stop at any time, or explaining that their words may be archived online permanently.

Maintaining confidentiality of off-the-record information is equally important. As IJNet points out, a journalist’s reputation depends on keeping confidences – no one wants to speak with a reporter they cannot trust. Breaking that trust doesn’t just damage one story; it can close off entire lines of communication for future reporting.

Accuracy and fairness 🔗

After the interview, your ethical obligations continue. Present the interviewee’s comments accurately and in their proper context. Taking a quote out of context to fit a narrative is not just bad practice – it’s a betrayal of the trust your source placed in you. Fact-check names, titles, dates, and statistics before publication. If you’re unsure about something, go back to the source for clarification. A brief follow-up email or call can prevent errors that could undermine your credibility and your publication’s reputation.

Closing the interview and what comes after 🔗

How you end an interview is almost as important as how you begin it. Before wrapping up, always ask some version of the question: “Is there anything I haven’t asked that you think is important for people to know?” This open invitation often yields a final, crucial detail that you hadn’t anticipated. It also signals respect – you’re telling the interviewee that their perspective matters beyond just your predetermined questions.

After the interview, organise your notes immediately while the conversation is still fresh in your mind. Mark the strongest quotes, note any areas that need verification, and identify gaps that might require a follow-up. If you realise you missed something, don’t hesitate to reach back out. A short follow-up email or a second, brief phone call is entirely normal and often welcome.

Finally, maintain the relationship. A quick thank-you message after the interview is a small gesture that goes a long way. Sources who feel respected and valued are more likely to take your calls in the future – and in journalism, a strong network of trusted sources is one of the most valuable assets you can have.

Putting it all together 🔗

Interviewing is a skill that improves with practice, but it’s never something you fully master. Every interviewee is different, every story has its own demands, and every conversation brings unexpected turns. The best journalists approach each interview with thorough preparation, ask questions that go beyond the surface, listen with genuine attention, and conduct themselves with integrity throughout. It’s this combination – not any single technique – that consistently produces interviews that inform, engage, and resonate with audiences.

What do you think? Of all the techniques discussed here – bridging, flagging, active listening, ethical transparency – which one do you find hardest to put into practice during a real-time conversation? And how do you strike the balance between being thoroughly prepared and still allowing the interview to feel like a natural, unscripted dialogue?

References

1. https://www.columbia.edu/itc/journalism/isaacs/edit/MencherIntv1.html
2. https://ijnet.org/en/story/12-dos-and-donts-journalistic-interviews
3. https://www.theopennotebook.com/2024/02/20/how-to-steer-an-interview-so-you-get-what-you-need/
4. https://shorthand.com/the-craft/how-to-interview-like-a-journalist/index.html
5. https://learn.marsdd.com/article/master-speaking-techniques-for-media-interviews/
6. https://www.yellowbrick.co/blog/journalism/mastering-active-listening-techniques-in-journalism
7. https://www.cjr.org/realtalk/the_art_of_the_interview.php
8. https://ethics.journalists.org/topics/interviewing/