Who is the course for?
All journalists, whether novices or experienced, will benefit from the interviewing course. Entry-level journalists may be unsure how far they can push for information while remaining polite and professional. The course gives clear guidance on this and other issues, once again drawing on Peter’s life-time’s experience of interviewing subjects from Raquel Welsh to the Dalai Lama. The core of the course is Peter’s famous role-playing session, which provides delegates feedback on how they present themselves, the questions they ask and the structure of the interview.
Basic Interview Techniques with Role-Play
The first course discusses the etiquette and conventions of interviewing, understanding terms such as on and off the record, whether to use a notebook or recorder, and what to do when the recorder goes wrong.
The course includes role-play sessions where Peter or his wife Leni – herself an experienced journalist and trainer – assume the role of the interviewee. The delegate, whose task includes preparing for the interview, will attempt to secure the information they need for their article.
Meanwhile, Peter or Leni will be watching the interviewer’s performance and, when complete, give a critique of:
- their body-language
- whether they have established a rapport with the interviewee
- how they structure their questions
- how well they follow up the answers
Advanced Interview Techniques with Role-Play
The advanced module includes two additional areas – coping with difficult interviewees and improving techniques such as finding their subject’s wavelength and hot-spots.
The role-play may present a range of problems: the interviewee could prove garrulous or taciturn, evasive or discursive, aggressive or rude. A full assessment of the journalist’s performance will be given.
Technical aspects covered during the session include:
- the differences between face-to-face and phone interviews
- where interviews take off and where they can go wrong;
- the art of asking leading questions
- when and whether to bluff
- what to say when the interviewee asks to see the interview before it is printed.
Peter Gillman Training 