Interview Project

The interview project will have several steps to it:

1. Examine professional interviews to get ideas about how to create a dynamic

interview and interview questions.

2. Choose someone in your own life to interview: family member, community member,

family friend, someone you consider a “hero,” someone you’ve always wanted to

talk

to and find out what makes them the person who they are today.

3. Create interview questions that will generate an interesting and engaging interview.

4. Set up a time and place for your interview--give yourself at least one hour.

5. Decide if you’d like this to be a video project or a “pod cast” before you begin.

6. Conduct the interview! Remember to have your video or recording device read to

go, check that it’s working, etc. before you begin.

7. After the interview is done, follow up with a thank you note.

8. Write an "Interview Essay"

9. The final phase will be to put your interview together into either a podcast or an

imovie, using your interview essay as your guide.

INTERVIEW ESSAY:

Unlike a personal essay, in which you, the writer, speak from a position of experience and authority about yourself and your experiences, an “interview essay,” involves being the voice of authority about a subject you have interviewed and thus come to know better. Think of the interviewer as being the MC -- introducing the interview subject. The interview voice is the voice that holds the essay together, brings the information to the reader, and then steps aside periodically to allow the interviewee’s voice to speak for itself.

We want to distinguish between a straight transcript of an interview:

Interviewer: “Tell me about the origin of your name.”

Hugo First Allen: “I was born at exactly midnight on January 1st. So was another baby. The newspapers were asking what the babies’ names would be. My mom looked at the other parents and said, “You go first.” The newspapers misunderstood, and thus my name was recorded.”

and an interview essay, in which you, the writer, skillfully use a variety of means to tell the story of the interview subject. At times, you will include the exact words of the interviewee; at times you will paraphrase what he or she has said. Some of the questions you ask may be included. Many will not. It will be seamless, flowing back and forth between your voice as writer and the voice of the interviewee.

Use of Quotations:

Quotations are crucial to this essay. You must include quotes from the interviewee for the essay to be a true “interview essay.” But you must decide how many quotes to use and where. Use quotes to do two things: 1. provide information; 2. provide the reader with a better picture of what the interviewee is like as a person. Quotes are most effective when they show something about the person’s life and personality.

Use of Characterizing Description:

Because you have spoken to the interview subject, you simply know more about the person than your reader does. Using quotes is one way to show the person. Trying to show how the person spoke is another way. Did the subject laugh? Think for a long time before answering? Tear up? Clap her hands? Look off into the distance? You don’t have to describe or explain every comment made, but using some description is an effective way to paint a picture of the interview subject.

Attention to Pace and Organization:

Deciding how many quotes to put in and where is crucial. It is also important to decide what your focus will be in the essay. Essentially, a good interview essay will form a generalization based on the the interviewing. The quotes and descriptions are used as examples to support the generalizations. By listening to the interview subject and becoming the expert on him or her, you draw conclusions and use the information from the interview to support those conclusions.

A few tips for interviewing:

  1. Interview someone who has done something interesting or who has an interesting story to tell.
  2. Interview someone you feel comfortable speaking with.
  3. Interview someone who likes to/is willing to talk.
  4. Interview someone who is readily available.
  5. Find an angle or focus for the interview.
  6. Prepare questions ahead of time.
  7. Follow up with more questions during the interview.
  8. Use a good recording device.
  9. Convert the recording into notes and a story board before writing.

See this link for great interview questions: http://storycorps.org/great-questions/

You can also generate your personalized list of questions here: http://storycorps.org/record-your-story/question-generator/list/

Tips on interviewing here: http://www.meridianstories.com/storytellers/tool-kit/conducting-an-interview/

Information on Designing your "Documentary" of the Interviewee is here: http://www.meridianstories.com/storytellers/tool-kit/create-a-short-documentary/