Did I do enough research? What does my source look like? Where do I park? Am I too early? Am I too late?
This is the panic attack I have in the car on my way to many stories. No matter how much research I have done I have a fear of blanking out, forgetting a face, forgetting a fact, or when a subject is sensitive, putting my foot in my mouth.
I did a story last week at a local museum at which the administration had changed very recently. The museum’s publicist briefed me a little bit about the sources I would be talking to that day (who they are in respect to the museum, how long they have been there etc.) and one of them was the museum’s former director.
Since the woman was a publicist and not a reporter when she explained to me that the person I was working with was the “former director” she dressed it up in a way that my brain instantly assumed the individual had retired voluntarily.
Click to see the video
During our interview I asked her something along the lines of “Is there anything extra you did for this exhibit since it’s your last one?”
She looked like I had just shot her.
Every elementary lesson I had regarding body language made my heart go “Mayday! Mayday! Moron with a microphone!” and my brain scream “You idiot! You idiot!”
I turned to look at the publicist to fill in the blanks since I knew I was standing in a minefield without a metal detector. She was ghostly at that moment. Then the publicist said, “Oh, well I was explaining to him how you had stepped down as the director,” and my brain told me “they are speaking in code.” I just played along. Although I still don’t know the circumstances of her stepping down for sure I think her answer is pretty self-explanatory. “It might be my last exhibit at this institution, but I have too much to offer to stop now,” she said.
Is it just me, or does that pretty much say it all?
I did the only thing I knew to do after that, I moved on. After the interview, I apologized for the question and explained that I didn’t mean to catch her off guard. She told me it was ok, even though I know it wasn’t. I didn’t want to leave things on a sour note though, what if I needed her again? Plus, I felt really bad that I may have hurt her feelings.
I reached back into the depths of my education and remembered something a former dean of mine taught me about job interviews. Get your interviewer to talk about themselves and then you’ll both feel like the interview went well.
I asked the woman to tell me a little bit about some of the other stuff she has organized for the museum, “just so I can see how this one is unique.” Bingo. She lit up when she heard I wanted to know more, which I did; I was just lucky enough to time the question perfectly. “You’re a good interviewer,” she told me after all was said and done.
Thank you, Marcy!
So here’s my point. The thing about going out everyday and doing a new story is that, while it will help you to improve, it also drastically increases the number of opportunities reporters have to screw up.
I have found a few methods to making both my sources and myself more comfortable for if and when those moments happen.
1. Research your topic as much as you can.
Information regarding your sources is not always readily available so be sure to know the next best thing, your topic. If you know a little bit about the topic you’ll know what you don’t understand or have knowledge of which will enable you to have an intelligent conversation.
Conversations [as opposed to a series of questions] are much more comfortable for both you and your source because your source won’t feel like you are poking at them with a stick. Plus, sources say more in a conversation because of all of the opportunities to go off on a ‘tangent.’ You never know what gems or nuggets you’ll find in the parts of your conversation that are slightly off topic. Maybe some extra information you wouldn’t have found otherwise. Perhaps even a-whole-nother story.
2. Come up with little one liners to get a giggle
I was talking to my colleague, Erin Geismar, about this one. Whenever I do an interview (especially man on the street) it is such a task to get someone to a.) answer my questions and b.) do it on camera.
After the time it takes me to get set up, my sources begin to lose a bit of their nerve and they stiffen up. I have this need to have people who seem loose and comfortable in my videos. People are much more receptive to that so I have a list of things to say that I tap into when I am looking to loosen someone up.
For instance, whenever I interview I use my iPad to take notes, but now I also use it as a prop. People are so fascinated by the fact that when I draw out the letters, it interprets them and turns them into typed text (although Palm did master that one nearly a decade ago). Their fascination takes them off edge.
Also, particularly with people who are older than my generation, I can say something like ‘I’m not being rude… this is for taking notes, I’m not texting my friends.’ Usually I get at least a little chuckle with that one.
Click to see the video
Another thing I do is say “Now you said you’re an expert on this right?” Instantly, the person goes “um, nooo.” And then I say, “I’m only kidding, relax, I just want your opinion.” For whatever reason, when I draw out that contrast I find people actually getting comfortable. It forces them to realize talking to me is harmless.
And finally there’s “Ok, so I am going to start out with the hard questions and make my way down to the easy ones. Could you please say and spell your first and last name?” That also usually helps my source to relax too because they are busy thinking “what an idiot.”
3. Don’t be a robot
Sometimes just being in the same mood as your source makes everyone more comfortable. I did a story this week about a 23-year-old restaurant that had collapsed under the weight of the economy. It was Thursday and the restaurant was closing for good on Sunday.
I called the restaurant and asked one of the owners if it’d be alright for me to come with a camera and talk to him about what he was going through. He agreed.
When I walked through the door he and his wife were sitting in a booth waiting for me. They looked so sad.
They invited me to sit and I did. It was the perfect opportunity me to get to know the restaurant that I was sitting in for the first and last time.
We talked for about ten minutes and his wife was in tears within the first 30 seconds. She told me she couldn’t do it on camera. I knew this was not one of the situations where I could convince a source to change their mind so I respected her wish. I told her it was ok and asked that she just give me some background off-camera.
I felt something change in the conversation. Although I never suspected her husband would back out I felt like he was much more open to talking to me.
By no means did I have the foresight to know that answering her the way I did would make my interview go smoother, but I did learn from it.
If you notice, my three methods are to make my source more comfortable. What about me? I find that when I sense my source is comfortable I feel much better.
Finally, one thing I learned (particularly from this week’s gaffe) is not to be afraid of making mistakes [during an interview]. No matter how fearful I am of making them, I am still going to make them. Now I do my research and as much as I can, but I go into the interview with the understanding that I may screw up.
My father has spent most of my life telling my mother (who is also a worry wart) and me that “worrying over it will stress you but it isn’t going to change anything,” and he’s right.
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