Interviewing is one of the most difficult things journalists do, and having the skills to conduct a thorough interview is essential to a good story. "Coaching Tomorrow's Journalists," a NewsU course, offers tips on better interviewing:

• Read all you can about your subject before the interview.
• Prepare in advance -- write out your questions.
• Get a phone number in case you need to get back in touch with the source.
• Ask open-ended, "why?" questions, not yes and no questions.
• Ask the tough questions last.
• Be prepared to skip your own line of questions if the source is talking intelligently about relevant topics. But control the interview -- if he or she starts to digress, steer your source back to the topic.
• Make observations about backgrounds, settings, mannerisms and speech patterns. You never know when these are going to come in handy when you're sitting down to write and need to paint a picture.

Before interviewing, ask yourself some questions, such as "What do I want to know?", "What does my audience need to know?", "Who is most likely to give me what I need?" and "Who is closest to the action or issue?" Another NewsU course, "The Interview", provides these and other tips in a simulated game where you are a reporter doing interviews for a story assignment.

Log on to NewsU and enroll in "Coaching Tomorrow's Journalists" to find the rest of the tips on better interviewing and find other courses that will help you develop your skills.


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