Questioning Techniques

5/8/08
Don’t let them bullshit you
• Make them explain their jargon
• They often use euphemisms to camouflage reality e.g. “Passenger underflow” really means that people won’t fly with that airline
• Institutions dealing dangerously often use euphemisms to hide things. At 3 mile island there was an accident at a nuclear power plant. Representatives used various euphemisms such as “abnormal evolution” to try and hide what really happened.
• Ask what these phrases mean!

Listen to the answers
• Don’t only pay attention to what you are going to ask next— listen to what is being said by the interviewee
• Ten minutes later is too late to realise that something important was said by your interviewee and you may not be able to question them about it again.

Dare to ask the cheeky question
• Build up to the question
• Do ask blunt and personal question
• This may provoke black look, but will hopefully provide an answer
• Ask question open and spontaneously to try to cause an outburst or answer

Stop people rambling
• Do not just tell them you are short of time
• Advice from John Brady is to the ramblings with something trivial (e.g. parking or weather) then ask the question you want answered

Review questions and answers at the end• After interview look over all answers. This is for two purposes:
o See if you discover any information gaps
o To get more information from person

Never make promises of how the story will be treated• Only the editor will know how the story will turn out
• You cannot answer as you do not know
• Say you are just reporter and give the interviewee your editor’s name and number