UNIDAD CENTRAL DEL VALLE DEL CAUCA

LIC. EN LENGUAS EXTRANJERAS CON ÉNFASIS EN INGLÉS

TIPOLOGÍAS DISCURSIVAS ORALES EN INGLÉS
Mg. Carlos Manuel De la Cruz G.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT INTERVIEWING

Interviewing is one of the most basic - and often the most intimidating - tasks in
journalism. Some reporters are natural-born interviewers, while others never get
entirely comfortable with the idea of asking strangers nosy questions.
Before starting an interview, you should have a good idea of the type of interview you
are about to do and its purpose.

The purpose of an interview is to gather usable audio to illustrate your story. This
audio may be live or recorded. If it is recorded - which is more likely - the end result
could be 15 seconds or several minutes. The cut itself could be used for a news bulletin,
a package or a documentary. In spite of these varied uses, the principles of good
interviewing are the same. But before you start, you should have a good idea of the
type of interview you are about to do and its purpose. You will probably be guided in
this by the brief given to you by the news editor.

Remember the reason for getting audio through an interview is to have someone else
like an expert, official or eyewitness say something that the newsreader cannot -
comment.

Informational Interviews

This is primarily to reveal facts or opinions. For example, 'How many ambulances are
off the road because of a maintenance problem?'; 'Which way do you as an MP intend
to vote in tonight's crucial Commons vote?'; 'Why weren't the main roads in the county
gritted before last night's frost?'

Note some of the words used. The crucial words to use when asking questions are:
who, what, where, why, when and how. Questions starting with these words elicit
answers other than just 'yes' or 'no', therefore making them much more useful on
radio. They are known as 'open' questions.
 UNIDAD CENTRAL DEL VALLE DEL CAUCA
LIC. EN LENGUAS EXTRANJERAS CON ÉNFASIS EN INGLÉS
TIPOLOGÍAS DISCURSIVAS ORALES EN INGLÉS
Mg. Carlos Manuel De la Cruz G.
'Closed' questions such as, 'Do you think the county's roads were sufficiently gritted
last night?' can lead an interviewee simply to say 'yes'. The interview intended to
reveal information is most likely to achieve its objectives if the questions are short
and direct but 'open'.

There are exceptions. In some cases, a direct 'closed' question can achieve a dramatic
effect: 'So, after three deaths in as many years, are you going to resign?'

Interpretive Interviews

The interpretive interview is quite different. The subject of the interview needs to
interpret some facts which are already known. The fact is that interest rates are rising
again; the financial expert can be asked what effect this will have on mortgage rates.

You should still, though, ask questions using the word 'what'. In this case, you are no
longer dealing with an existing situation; the expert is being asked to look into the
future and sketch the probabilities, usually based on knowledge of what has happened
in similar circumstances before.

Emotional Interviews

The emotional interview is by far the trickiest type. Good reporting covers all shades
and colors of human emotional experiences. There is the happiness of the sporting
record-breaker; the anxiety of a mother whose child is missing; the anger of a man
who has been attacked and robbed.

In an emotional interview, a certain amount of silence is more telling than any words,
as the subject pauses to gather his or her thoughts, perhaps in the midst of mental
turmoil.

Journalists are sometimes criticized for exploiting the emotions of others who may be
in trouble or despair. In reality, no one can be compelled to talk if they do not wish to,
and it has been said that people suffering in some way can find relief in recounting
their feelings.

After a big train or motorway crash, there is rarely a shortage of survivors who are
anxious to tell their stories. It is often suggested by journalists that the act of
describing a narrow escape seems to reduce the shock. However, that is not to condone
the actions of a small minority of reporters - sometimes from newspapers - who
undeniably overstep the bounds of decency in their efforts to get the big 'tear-jerker'.
Journalists do not have the license to cause extra misery to people who are already
suffering enough.

Keys to a Successful Interview

 UNIDAD CENTRAL DEL VALLE DEL CAUCA
LIC. EN LENGUAS EXTRANJERAS CON ÉNFASIS EN INGLÉS
TIPOLOGÍAS DISCURSIVAS ORALES EN INGLÉS
Mg. Carlos Manuel De la Cruz G.
 Establish a Rapport: When starting out, don’t abruptly launch into your
questions. Chitchat a little first. Compliment your source on her office, or
comment on the weather. This puts your source at ease.
 Keep It Natural: An interview can be uncomfortable, so keep things natural.
Instead of mechanically reading out your list of questions, weave your queries
naturally into the flow of the conversation. Also, maintain eye contact as much
as possible. Nothing is more unnerving to a source than a reporter who never
looks up from his notebook.
 Be Open: Don’t be so focused on getting through your list of questions that you
miss something interesting. For instance, if you’re interviewing the cardiologist
and she mentions a new heart-health study that’s coming out, ask about it. This
may take your interview in an unexpected — but newsworthy - direction.
 Maintain Control: Be open, but don’t waste your time. If your source starts
to ramble on about things that are of no use to you, politely — but firmly —
steer the conversation back to the topic at hand.

 Wrapping Up: At the end of the interview, ask your source if there’s anything
important that you hadn’t asked about. Double-check the meanings of any
terms they used that you’re unsure about. And always ask if there are other
people they recommend that you speak with.

Notes About Note-Taking

Beginning reporters often freak out when they realize they can’t possibly write down
everything the source is saying, word-for-word. Don’t sweat it. Experienced reporters
learn to take down just the stuff they know they’ll use, and ignore the rest. This takes
practice, but the more interviews you do, the easier it gets.

Recording an interview is fine in certain circumstances, but always get permission

from your source to do so.

Transcribing interviews involves listening to the taped interview and typing out
virtually everything that's said. This is fine if you're doing an article with an extended
deadline, such as a feature story. But it's too time-consuming for breaking news. So if
you’re on a tight deadline, stick to note-taking.

Always take written notes, even if you’re using a recorder. Every reporter has a story
about the time they thought they were recording an interview, only to get back to the
newsroom to discover that the machine’s batteries were dead.

Choose the Best Quotes

 UNIDAD CENTRAL DEL VALLE DEL CAUCA
LIC. EN LENGUAS EXTRANJERAS CON ÉNFASIS EN INGLÉS
TIPOLOGÍAS DISCURSIVAS ORALES EN INGLÉS
Mg. Carlos Manuel De la Cruz G.
So you’ve done a long interview with a source, you have pages of notes, and you’re
ready to write. But chances are you’ll only be able to fit a few quotes from that lengthy
interview into your article. Which ones should you use? Reporters often talk about
using only “good” quotes for their stories, but what does this mean? Broadly speaking,
a good quote is when someone says something interesting, and says it in an
interesting way.

What Is a Good Quote?

Broadly speaking, a good quote is when someone says something interesting, and says
it in an interesting way.

Look at the following two examples:

“We will use U.S. military force in an appropriate and decisive manner.”

“When I take action, I’m not going to fire a $2 million missile at a $10 empty tent and
hit a camel in the butt. It’s going to be decisive.”

Which is the better quote? Let’s consider this by asking a broader question: What
should a good quote do?

Grab the Reader’s Attention

Using our two examples, it’s clear the first quote is dry and academic-sounding. It
sounds like a sentence taken from a particularly dull research paper or dissertation.
The second quote, on the other hand, is colorful and even funny.

Evoke Images

A good quote, like good writing, evokes images in the reader’s mind. Using our two
examples, it’s clear the first quote evokes nothing. But the second quote evokes a
bizarre image that’s bound to stick in the reader’s brain – a camel being hit in the
posterior with an expensive, high-tech missile.

Convey a Sense of the Speaker’s Personality

Our first quote leaves no impression of who the speaker might be. Indeed, it sounds
more like a scripted line from an anonymous Pentagon press release.

The second quote, however, gives the reader a feel for the personality of the speaker
– in this case, President George Bush. The reader gets a sense of both Bush’s
determination and his penchant for off-the-cuff humor.
 UNIDAD CENTRAL DEL VALLE DEL CAUCA
LIC. EN LENGUAS EXTRANJERAS CON ÉNFASIS EN INGLÉS
TIPOLOGÍAS DISCURSIVAS ORALES EN INGLÉS
Mg. Carlos Manuel De la Cruz G.
Convey Regional Differences in Speech

Looking again at our first quote, can you discern where the speaker was raised? Of
course not. But one could argue that Bush’s quote, with its salty humor and coarse
imagery, contains some of the colors of his Texas upbringing.

A reporter I worked with once covered a tornado in the Deep South. He interviewed
victims of the twister and in his story contained a quote that included the phrase, “I
tell you what.” That’s a phrase you’re only likely to hear in the South, and by putting
it in his story, the reporter gave readers a feel for the region and the people affected
by the storm.

A good reporter could do the same thing in any area with distinctive patterns of
speech, from the South Bronx to the upper Midwest to East Los Angeles.

Given everything we’ve discussed, it seems clear the second of our two examples is by
far the better quote. So what makes a bad quote?

Unclear Speech

Anytime someone says something in an unclear or unintelligible fashion, chances are

you’re not going to use that as a quote. In such cases, if the information contained in
the quote is important to your story, paraphrase it – put it into your own words.

In fact, reporters often must paraphrase much of what they gather in interviews
because many people simply don’t speak very clearly. People don’t craft their speech
the way a writer crafts a sentence.

Basic Factual Data

If you’re interviewing a source who’s giving you reams of data, such as numbers or
statistics, that kind of information should be paraphrased. There’s simply no point in
quoting, for instance, the CEO who tells you his company’s revenues increased 3
percent in the second quarter, 5 percent in the third quarter and so on. It may be
important for your story, but it’s boring as a quote.

Profane or Offensive Speech

Most mainstream news organizations have policies banning or limiting the use of
vulgar or offensive speech in news stories. So, for example, if a source you’re
interviewing starts sweating profusely, or uttering racial slurs, you’re probably not
going to be able to quote them.
 UNIDAD CENTRAL DEL VALLE DEL CAUCA
LIC. EN LENGUAS EXTRANJERAS CON ÉNFASIS EN INGLÉS
TIPOLOGÍAS DISCURSIVAS ORALES EN INGLÉS
Mg. Carlos Manuel De la Cruz G.
An exception to that rule might be if the profane or offensive speech serves some larger
purpose in your story. For instance, if you’re profiling your town’s mayor, and he has
a reputation for salty language, you might use part of a profane quote in your story to
show that, indeed, the man likes to cuss.
 UNIDAD CENTRAL DEL VALLE DEL CAUCA
LIC. EN LENGUAS EXTRANJERAS CON ÉNFASIS EN INGLÉS
TIPOLOGÍAS DISCURSIVAS ORALES EN INGLÉS
Mg. Carlos Manuel De la Cruz G.
ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEW QUESTIONS WORKSHEET

Oral history is an interview that records a person’s recollection of experiences,

thoughts, and feelings about a specific event or a period of time. By showing how
national or international events affected the lives of individuals, oral history adds a
personal dimension to the study of the past.

Collecting oral history interviews is a way to discover primary sources. The person
you interview can surprise you with a wealth of information and insights into major
events of our times or times in the past. These guidelines will help you organize an
oral history interview.

Preparation

First choose your subject. Whom would you like to interview? Consider the following
points:

 What historical information could be obtained from this person?

 Would this person be willing to participate?

Think about how you will record your subject's words. If possible, obtain a recorder
and get your subject's permission to record your interviews. If students aren’t able to
locate and use one, they should take detailed notes of the interview.

Planning the Interview

 Write an introduction to your interview. Introduce yourself if necessary, and

include an explanation of this project and its purpose.

The beginning: Hello everyone, good afternoon! Welcome once again to your
favorite channel, the one and only, the memorable, the special "Being love"
(applauses) Thank you, thank you. Well, my dear public as you have been asking for
a long time and my job will always be to please you (smiles) in this opportunity our
dear guest is a very influential man in our life, yes in the life of all of us.

 Gather the following basic information from the interviewee: Full name, birth date
and birthplace, and occupation. Write three warm-up questions to follow this basic
information.

This man has suffered a lot, and has done a lot to be able to be here with us today,
I already have you anxious, don't I? (laughs) ok, our guest of the day is JESUS
CHRIST (surprise sound) Yes, Jesus as you already know he is known as the son
of God, he is such a wonderful man that I don't even have words to describe him,
simply (sobs) we have the great honor to ask him some short questions about life,
 UNIDAD CENTRAL DEL VALLE DEL CAUCA
LIC. EN LENGUAS EXTRANJERAS CON ÉNFASIS EN INGLÉS
TIPOLOGÍAS DISCURSIVAS ORALES EN INGLÉS
Mg. Carlos Manuel De la Cruz G.
about how to be those children that our God expects us to be, about how to reach
that peace that the world needs.

 Write at least six questions to help you get stories and details about the event or
time period you are studying.

Just four questions:

 What was and still is your purpose here on earth?

 How hard is it to live for God and give up that freedom you could have?
 Talking into account the teachings to your disciples and that of “being fishers
of men” as a read in your story, what teachings do you hope that they
spread?
 What do you think about fashions nowadays? Do you agree with it or is it a
sin?

 Prepare some follow-up questions. These questions should help you to clarify and
expand upon the information from your interview.

Some of them…

 You have done a lot to be here today, haven't you?

 In heaven and according to the holy bible there are 3, right? father, son and holy
spirit?
 Can we have freedom?
 Is there fear of being punished by God?

Conducting the Interview

 Make an appointment with your subject and be on time.

 Explain to your subject that you will be using the information for a class project.
 If you record the interview, be sure your subject agrees to it.
 Bring along your notes to help you guide the interview. Your subject may wander
off with an interesting story. Continue with it as long as it adds to your
understanding of the topic. If it does not, politely return to your list of questions.
 When your interview is finished, be sure to write your subject a thank-you letter.

BLANDON VARELA VALENTINA- GARCIA GARCIA DANIELA