Professionals Podcasts – Interviewing techniques

http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/professionals-podcasts/interviewing-techniques

Introduction
Professionals Podcasts from LearnEnglish help you to improve your English for your career in the
workplace, and cover a large number of business and work themes. They are suitable for learners at
intermediate to advanced level.

This support pack contains the following materials:

• a language task: vocabulary
w

• two comprehension tasks

w

• the article
w

Task 1: Vocabulary
.b

You are going to listen to a journalist giving advice on interviewing techniques. Before you listen, here
rit

is some vocabulary you will hear. Match the words and expressions with the definitions.
is

1. colour
hc

2. off the record

ou

3. opinion question
nc

4. leading question
il.

5. interviewee
or

6. interviewer
g/
le

7. press conference
ar
ne

Definitions
a. question about what a person thinks or feels
b. something which the speaker doesn't want included in the story
ng

c. interesting or unusual details or qualities

d. person who answers the questions
lis

e. question which tricks someone into giving the answer you want
f. meeting where someone makes a public statement and reporters ask questions
h

g. person who asks the questions

© The British Council, 2011 Page 1 of 4

The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.
 Professionals Podcasts – Interviewing techniques
http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/professionals-podcasts/interviewing-techniques

Task 2: Comprehension
Listen to the journalist's advice on interviewing techniques and put the pieces of advice into the
correct category, according to what a journalist should or shouldn't do when interviewing someone.

a. Do
1. Ask leading questions
b. Don’t
w

a. Do
2. Add to your notes soon after the interview
b. Don’t
w

a. Do
w

3. Ask opinion questions first

b. Don’t
.b

a. Do
4. Start the interview by saying who you are
b. Don’t
rit

a. Do
5. Ask questions that have already been answered
is

b. Don’t
a. Do
hc

6. Imagine what will happen in the interview

b. Don’t
a. Do
ou

7. Listen carefully to what the interviewee says

b. Don’t
a. Do
nc

8. Finish by reviewing what has been said

b. Don’t
a. Do
il.

9. Prepare questions in advance

b. Don’t
or

a. Do
10. Interview people in an unfamiliar place
b. Don’t
g/
le

Task 3: Detailed comprehension

ar

Listen to the journalist again and complete these notes made by a journalism student by typing one
word in each space.
ne

1. research person and _____ matter of interview

ng

2. prepare questions in advance and decide on ________

lis

3. ask questions about _______ first – easier to answer

h

4. introduce yourself and state ______ for interview

5. don’t use list of questions as rigid ______

6. ask for _______ to support claims made

7. end by reviewing main areas – ask if interviewee wants to ______

anything else

© The British Council, 2011 Page 2 of 4

The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.
 Professionals Podcasts – Interviewing techniques
http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/professionals-podcasts/interviewing-techniques

8. ask if you can ________ them again if necessary

9. review your _______ as soon as possible after the interview

Transcript
w

I know it sounds obvious, but you really must prepare before the interview. Find out as much as you
w

can about the person you’re going to interview, and the subject matter of the interview. Prepare your
w

questions in advance. Think about the order you will ask them. A rule of thumb is to ask questions
about facts first, leaving opinion questions until later. Most people find questions about facts much
.b

easier to answer, so they start to feel more at ease. Spend a little time imagining how you hope the
interview will go. Visualise yourself in the situation, introducing yourself, asking the first question.
rit

Think about where the interview will take place. Try to interview the person in a place which is
is

appropriate to the interview – their place of work, for example. Interviewing a person on their territory
hc

can put them at ease, and also provide you with colour for your story.

How you start the interview can influence how successful it will be. Be confident and courteous. Start
ou

by introducing yourself, and stating the reason for the interview. Set your ground rules. For example,
you may want to insist that the interviewee says in advance if they want what they say to be off the
nc

record.

During the interview, you should be polite but firm. Ask your questions in a confident manner, and
il.

listen carefully to the answers. Very often an inexperienced interviewer will simply go through their list
or

of questions, not realising that some of them have already been answered. Use your list of questions
as a base for the interview, not a rigid script. Ask follow-up questions. Ask for evidence to support any
g/

claims made by the interviewee. Don’t be afraid to ask ‘How do you know that?’ But never ask leading
questions. Let the person say what they want to say, not what you want them to say.
le

When ending the interview, you should go back over the main things that have been said. This gives
ar

you a chance to review your notes. You should then ask the interviewee if they want to add anything
else. And finally, ask if you can contact them again should you need to.
ne

OK, so the interview is over, but you have one last task. As soon as possible, sit down and look at
ng

your notes. Are they clear? Is there anything else you can add to them? Do this while you can still
remember what was said. And write down all the colour you can remember – about the person and
the place.
lis
h

© The British Council, 2011 Page 3 of 4

The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.
 Professionals Podcasts – Interviewing techniques
http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/professionals-podcasts/interviewing-techniques

9. notes
8. contact
7. add
6. evidence
5. script
4. reason
3. facts
2. order
1. subject
Task 3

7-do; 8-do; 9-do; 10-don’t

1-don’t; 2-do; 3.-don’t; 4-do; 5-don’t; 6-do;
Task 2

7. f
6. g
5. d
4. e
3. a
2. b
1. c
Task 1

Answers
w
w
w
.b
rit
is
hc
ou
nc
il.
or
g/
le
ar
ne
ng
lis
h

© The British Council, 2011 Page 4 of 4

The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.