PRACTISING INTERVIEW SKILLS

The word "interview" refers to a conversation between an interviewer and an _________.

The length and intensity of the interview do not depend on the nature of your story, and how the interviewee is involved.

• TRUE

• FALSE

Everything should be organised and checked beforehand so that you can focus on your goal.

• TRUE

• FALSE

Which TWO tasks should we do before conducting an interview to ensure we cover the aimed topic?

• Schedule enough time for the interview

• Outline the structure of the interview

• Refer to the outline during the meeting

• Ask as many questions as you can

• Include many open-ended questions in your interview

__________ is needed in order to connect effectively with your interviewee when communicating.

• Choosing a suitable location

• Knowing exactly what you need from your interviewee

• Determining the goal your interview was aiming for

• Researching your interviewee

Reviewing the interviewee's information, including their _______, ____, or ________ before you go into the interview can help you decide what areas of their work and expertise you want to discuss.

• pictures, address, phone number

• identity document, account number, recent bills

• knowledge, story, viewpoint

__________ is a good technique to ease in and break the tension.

• Using sarcasm

• Using lots of technical terminology

• Starting with softball questions

• Embellishing your accomplishments

Which kind of questions would be more effective to get useful information from your interviewee?

• Softball questions

• Gossip questions

• Open-ended questions

• Situational questions

You are interviewing a politician about an alleged bribery scandal involving his staff. You have asked him about the issue, but he avoids answering the question directly in his answer. What should you do?

• Ask him highly open questions so he has more freedom to share the information he wants to share.

• Move on and ask the next question; you want to keep your interviewee comfortable.

• Start making unrelated small talk to help calm the politician down and help him open up.

• Use probing questions to follow up on his answer and lead him to more specific answers.

Which of the following questions represents a moderately open question, the type of question that you should primarily use in your interview?

• 'How was your summer?'

• 'What was it like to hike the Appalachian mountains this summer?'

• 'Which Appalachian trail was your favourite to hike this summer?'

• 'Did you enjoy hiking the Appalachian mountains this summer?'