Tips for Radio Interview
- 1. Assignment by Hassan zaib Msc Mass communication 1 Semester Roll number 765 Submitted to Sir Sheraz
- 2. Radio interview tips A live interview is very different from a taped interview. Watch out for verbal pauses— “Uh,” “Um,” and “You know.” Radio will not be as in-depth as print. Be careful not to repeat the negatives in a reporter’s question.
- 3. INTERVIEW A form of presentation in which one person interviews one or more than one person. An interviewer conducts a program with the help of questions. The major component here is the question an interviewer asks.
- 4. Facts Feelings Motives Opinions ASPECTS These four aspects are suited to any situation. Every story has a fact. That story is felt and experienced by the person and society in its own way. Every person has his/her own motives for the story. And, these facts, feelings and motives add up to form own opinions about the subject matter. Facts Feelings Motives Opinions
- 5. BASIC APPROACH An interview is not a debate between two topics. An interview does not determine win or loss. An interviewer merely is representing the questions of audiences and their curiosities. Since the interviewer is a representative of the audience, he/she should avoid the use of “Me” during interview. • An interviewer should not be aggressive however challenging the situation is. Some interviews might just be for entertainment, like with celebrities, where there is no motive or goal for an interview. In that case, the interviewer should not do challenging questions to them
- 6. COMPONENTS Interviewer Interviewee Aim and context Question The control of an interview is completely in the hands of an interviewer. An interview is considered successful when an interviewer is able to fulfill the motive of the interview in a simple and efficient manner.
- 7. An interviewee is the central character in an interview. A question to the interviewee must be relevant to his/her field. If the public does not have enough trust in the interviewee, then the words he speaks will be considered as a propaganda, which will kill the main agenda of the interview.
- 8. In an interview, and interviewer should not start speaking in a free manner, but rather be steered by the interviewer. And, to steer this story, there has to be a definite aim. Every interview has certain context, and the interviewer should understand the context and try to reach for the aim
- 9. To tell a story through an interview, question is the must. An interviewer investigates the elements of a story with the help of question. The sequence of question determines the sequence of the story. Therefore, relevant questions and their sequences are extremely important for an interview.
- 10. STRUCTURE Standard Opening Introduction of Interviewee and the topic Winding up Question and Answer Standard Closing
- 11. NATURE OF AN INTERVIEWEE Interviewee differs according to nature. Someone might be calm and cool, while others might be aggressive. He might not have heard about the respective radio station or program. An interviewer must prepare questions according to the nature of the interviewee by understanding about him/her beforehand.
- 12. NATURE OF AN INTERVIEWEE • Might be expertise in a special field; • Might be extremely talkative; • Might be Shy/Modest; • Might be Cunning and Smart • Might be expert in twisting facts and situations; • Might be emotional; • Might be logical; • Might be aggressive; • Might use technical terms and jargons a lot
- 13. PREPARING FOR AN INTERVIEW Before doing an interview, there has to be a proper research regarding the topic of interview and the interviewee. If there is no preparation for it, then the interview will look amateur, and there will be a lot of shortcomings in the questions. This might even raise questions against the interviewer. Preparing for an interview means to gain enough information for forming questions for the interviewee. For that, the following things should be taken into account.
- 14. QUESTIONS NOT TO BE ASKED Double Question An interviewer must not ask more than one question at a time. If this is done, then the interviewee might omit some questions. For example, “Why could Pakistan not perform well in international match? Are Pakistani players ready for world cup? In how many years will the Pakistani Cricket team will bring the world cup trophy? 10 years? 15 years?”
- 15. QUESTIONS NOT TO BE ASKED Wide Question These types of questions does not specify anything. They are too general, and the information obtained from them are vague and confusing. For example, “What is the situation of journalism in the world?” “How are you seeing the current affairs of Pakistan?”
- 16. QUESTIONS NOT TO BE ASKED Irrelevant Question Questions should not go out of topic or be done just for sake of doing questions. For example, “When are you going to play in Nepali movie?”
- 17. QUESTIONS NOT TO BE ASKED Loaded Question A question should not be a personal attack by the interviewer. For example, an Anti Army person asks a Army officer, “Wasn’t it because of you that the situation in Waziristan got worse? Do you blame yourself for that?
- 18. QUESTIONS NOT TO BE ASKED Meta Question An interviewer should not be rude and ask questions in an unethical way. For example, “Do you want to answer my question or not?” “Just tell me one thing, are you involved in Watergate scandal or not?”
- 19. QUESTIONS NOT TO BE ASKED Double-barreled Question A question must not be done to raise double meaning or double impression, or put the interviewee in an ethical dilemma. For example, “Weren’t you angry when your opposition leader changed the policy?”
- 20. WHAT TO INFORM INTERVIEWEE BEFORE AN INTERVIEW? What is the topic and theme of the intervie w? Is this interview live broadcast or recorded? How long will the interview run? Is this interview a part of a program or the main event? What is the context of this interview? Who are the audiences of this interview?
- 21. GOOD LISTENING When we talk about listener in terms of inte rview, we are talking about the interviewer. A good interviewer should be a good listen er. If the interviewer stops paying attention to the things an interviewee says, the inter viewee might lose focus of the interview. A good listening makes way for follow- up questions. In terms of listening, intervie wer is classified into three types. They are: 1) Active listening; 2) Selective listening; 3) Passive listening.
- 22. AFTER THE INTERVIEW Checking if the things said in an interview a re suitable according to the editorial rules. Telling the time of the broadcast of the inter view. During the time of parting with the interview ee, official “farewell” should be given. After taking interview of witness in an incid ent, the interviewer should try to cross che ck the facts that the witness had said.
- 23. THE END