Comments on: Better interviews: Don’t follow Mike Wallace

By: Charlotte-Anne Lucas

Charlotte-Anne Lucas — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 00:10:00 +0000

When I’ve taught the semester-long class on Interviewing at UNLV, I’ve used a lot of the information linked off of the NPR page on Sawatsky here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5625218
One of the highlights of that class also is listening to the “CBC Interview with Trucker About Beaver Attack,” which Sawatsky calls one of the best interviews ever. It is absolutely hysterically funny and tremendously worthwhile.
The interview includes a one-word non-question that is quite simple and profound: “Ouch!”

By: JoeyH

JoeyH — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 20:37:58 +0000

I always like to share with my students a couple of tips from NBC’s Bob Dotson on interviewing:

— remember that most ordinary people will answer a question three times…if you give them the space to do so. First, they’ll you what they think you want to hear. Then, they’ll explain their answer. And, if you stay silent and wait a beat, they will then give you what will probably be the best sound bite. The key is to not jump right in…but give them silence and space…they’ll want to fill that silence.

— understand the power of the “non-question question.” At the scene of a disaster, your opening line to a victim might be “That looks like a nice home you had there.” It’s not a question, but that statement gives an opening for all kinds of emotion to come out.

By: Mindy

Mindy — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 13:26:50 +0000

I think Sawatsky’s objection is to yes or no questions. It doesn’t yield a lot of insight if the interview subject is not expanding on his answers. Plus, we all know that when someone asks an athlete, “Did you take steroids?” the athlete is going to answer, “No.” So what good is that question? No one learns anything from the answer.

By: Chuck Nelson

Chuck Nelson — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 20:22:13 +0000

I have a problem with anyone from ESPN casting a critical stone when it comes to gathering and reporting news stories. The network and magazine have had their share of blunders in recent years.

While I think the first blockquote you use is excellent advice for any journalist, Sawatsky’s questions in the article assume that he already knows the answers and he just needs the subject to “fess up.” Always a dangerous position where objectivity and fairness are concerned.

I’m also not sure I understand why he objects to asking direct questions. Asking a future hall of famer point blank if he’s ever used steroids is hardly a softball question.

The point should be how to ask informed, intelligent questions, not figure out how to make the subject squirm.