In-depth interviewing

Interviewing is the art of listening and asking follow-up questions. What truth, experience, emotion or motivation lies behind the rehearsed talk of the interviewee? And how do you get to that ‘second story’?

Together with Mark Lee Hunter, I give this training, which is special because we practise in realistic role-plays. You interview one of the trainers (who assumes a role you get to decide) while the other gives feedback. You learn as much from your own interview as by watching and listening to the other trainees.

The course is accompanied by a comprehensive handbook with checklists, questionnaires and scenarios to help you prepare for your next interview. On request, we also pay attention to writing up interviews. If you conduct mainly friendly interviews, for example with colleagues or for the internal medium of an organisation or company, we can also teach you how to present the interviewees as competently and sympathetically as possible.

What you will learn

1. Deepen conversations with friendly sources

• Prepare the interview: assets, character, role, question burst
• Listening techniques: tips for follow-up questions
• The second story

2. Solutions to antagonistic situations

We now take a closer look at situations that investigative journalists often face:

• When the interviewee hesitates to talk
• When the interviewee asks not to be quoted or to remain anonymous
• When the interviewee talks too abstractly
• When the interviewee evades your questions
• When the interviewee lies
• When the interviewee needs to be confronted

3. Practicalities

• Note-taking: methods and software
• Recording and transcribing
• Writing and editing interviews