HOW TO ASK QUESTIONS DURING AN INTERVIEW OR
- Slides: 6
HOW TO ASK QUESTIONS DURING AN INTERVIEW OR PRESS CONFERENCE.
Distinguish between questions to gather information and questions to create sound bites and quotes. � Questions for information are asked in situations where you don't know what happened and the person holding the news conference has the information. � Questions for sound bites and quotes are asked to provoke emotion or opinion. These are the elements that humanize a news story and make it more interesting.
Ask your question in 1 or 2 sentences. � It is general news conference etiquette to keep questions short, to-the-point and on topic. � If you have questions for the person unrelated to the topic of the news conference, general etiquette is to wait until the end of all the questions to ask your unrelated question, or pull the subject aside after the news conference is over for a private conversation
Ask about context Any reporter can repeat the facts of a story. To make your story special, help people understand what it means. � For example, ask a veteran police officer his personal reaction to seeing a particularly heinous crime scene. If he says it was the worst he has ever seen it means far more than if you say that it was a terrible crime. � You can also ask someone to describe their sensation of surprise or relief in a good news story. Answers to these kinds of questions are used by all the reporters at the news conference in their subsequent stories. �
Listen to questions other reporters ask � The first questions in a news conference is usually about the basics. Reporters want to know the who, what, where, when and why of the issue. � Listen for the answers given. Often the people holding a news conference give incomplete answers or avoid answering altogether. � This is when you must follow up with aggressive questioning. Demand complete answers or at least make them explain why they won't answer.
Set them up � If the people holding the news conference are being less than open, catch them in their own contradictions. � Remind them of previous statements and established facts then demand to know how they can explain contradictions. � It doesn't necessarily matter whether they answer a question like that. Their hesitation or refusal is telling and can be featured as important in your story.
