Three ways to get better quotes from interviews

Good stories contain good quotes. We tell our journalism course students that you only get good quotes by conducting good interviews.

I told a sports journalism course student last week that if you come away from an interview thinking: ‘He didn’t really say much’, then you are to blame! A good interview will also produce good quotes, angles and information.

Interviewing is hard to teach, as so much depends on whether you ‘click’ with the person. Sometimes you do, sometimes you do not. But with experience, you will be able to get over this. Our fashion journalism course lists a range of strategies.

If you sense someone is going to be hard work, then you should spend more time chatting with them, and hope they loosen up. If that does not work, you have to pinpoint if there is a reason why they are reticent – and deal with it.

Perhaps the person wants to talk about something else – if so, let them. But, if you have a specific angle you have to cover, make sure you leave with what you came for – even if they will not say much about it.

Here are three tips to help you get great quotes from interviews – whether you conduct them face-to-face, by email, chat or by phone.

1. Avoid double-barrelled questions. These are two questions in one, for example: ‘How did this happened, and how do you feel about it?’ They confuse the interviewee because they do not know which question to answer first – and they often forget the second one by the time they have answered the first one. Either that, or they end up not really answering either. If you listen carefully when TV and radio reporters ask double-barrelled questions, you will find the interviewee almost invariably only answers the second one.

2. Understand the difference between open and closed questions. Closed ones will not get you very far in an interview. If you ask: ‘Did you enjoy your trip?’, do not be surprised if the person just says: ‘Yes.’ Instead, ask: ‘How do you feel after your trip?’ Obviously, a PR-trained celebrity will probably give you a quote whatever you ask them – though it might not be the one you want. But imagine cornering Naomi Campbell as she leaves the airport. If you ask her a closed question when she is keen to get away, she is likely to answer: ‘Yes’ just to be awkward. Questions should never give the interviewee an opportunity to be obstructive or evasive.

3. Remember to avoid just asking questions about what the person does. Try to get under their skin to get an insight into what makes them tick. Personal aspects are always popular with readers.

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