Interviewing someone to learn about them can be a daunting and uncomfortable task for both the interviewer and interviewee. By creating a warm, open, and honest environment while taking steps to build rapport, a real relationship will develop, and you will find that the interviewee will begin to “sing”, as Dr. Elizabeth Tunstall puts it.
The key to a successful interview starts with treating the interviewee as one would treat any person they wish to build a relationship with. Make them feel comfortable with some light silliness, compliments, and show true excitement to hear them talk. Brandon Stanton of Humans of New York told the Harvard Political Review that one should focus on the individual and try best to tell their story; not some bigger one. Once the person in front of you, the interviewer, is just another friend, you can hear the realness of their stories and how it makes them who they are, rather than how it fits into your larger story.
Some of the most valuable insight from these two videos, I think, are the pitfalls one can run into when interviewing. There are two I’d like to highlight. Pre-constructed answers from the interviewee and poor response/seqways from the interviewer. Brandon often encounters responses that the interviewee thinks he/she should be saying, rather that the straight up honest story. Encourage people to dig deeper and steer them away from those pre-constructed answers. Thats where the stories are. When in that zone of comfort, one can get push further. Once you get your interviewee in a place of comfort and honesty, you need to engage them but more importantly keep yourself engaged. Staying engaged is one of the hardest thing to do, and during the clip where Jeremy Alexis kept says “that’s interesting” I realized that in past interviews I have done the same thing myself. It’s a proper phrase to use, but perhaps when using it one should follow with a related question to show there is genuine interest.
Again, a successful interview starts with a real relationship. Understanding what the person has gone threw on a real level, when possible, will make all the difference in your narrative perspective, as well as it improve your relationship. I particularly liked the rock climbing example, and I noticed that the more successful interview clips involved physical action. One interviewer tried on different pairs of jeans. Be a participate observer, rather than a fly on the wall.
Between “Getting People to Talk: An Ethnography & Interviewing Primer” and “On the Record: Humans of New York Interview”, I can say I have a better understanding of how to interview someone for a narrative piece. Both videos were thorough and clear in their messages, and I look forward to putting them into action.
Really being interested is critical to a good interview!