RadioAsia 2016 kicked off this morning with a workshop from Ben Williams, Director of Beyond Broadcasting UK on what he called “The Heart of Talk Radio” – The Interview.
“When you prepare for an interview, where do you start?” he asked the workshop audience made up mostly of Chinese local broadcasters.
- Research your subject
- Research the interviewee
- Brief the interviewee.
Ben then introduced the workshop to one of the great success stories from UK Radio – “Desert Island Discs”. Desert Island Discs has been running for 76 years, and puts a different light on the interview subject by asking questions, and also asking the guest to name 7 songs (discs) they would take with then if stranded on a desert island.
“What makes this successful is the a producer will meet with the interviewee the week before and spend one hour with them in a pre-interview, getting to know them and also asking what they want to talk about”, Ben continued
The great interviews are researched well, and the effort is put into the interview before you press record, or you go live. But not everyone has the time. A few simple tips for presenters during the interview:
- Avoid writing down the questions
- Listen!!
- Monitor (with headphones)
Ben introduced the workshop to a successful series of short audio interviews called “The Listening Project”. It’s effective because it features real people talking about real experiences, it shows a real human connection, it’s personal, showcases a natural conversation and it’s simple.
Creating a great interview is all about
- Planning and research
- Getting to know the interviewee as best you can before the interview
- Understanding which button to press – what are the ways to unlock something interesting
- Put your ego aside. It’s about the interviewee
- Be more human, and less of a news journalist
One final thought from Ben Williams:
“…all good interviewers and journalists need to be curious and skeptical.”