The Art of The Interview: As a newspaper feature writer for more years than I care to admi

» JudyLowe - As a newspaper feature writer for more years than I care to admi

As a newspaper feature writer for more years than I care to admit, I have found that some people are put off by a tape recorder. This isn't true with well-known people, of course, but ordinary citizens. If I see that someone will be "stiff" because of the machine (and I use a tiny one about the size of a pack of cigarettes), I don't use it.

A big advantage of taping is that you can look the interviewee in the eye and see his or her expressions, hand motions, etc. But it's usually a mistake, in my opinion, to depend on a tape recorder. Just as sure as you do, it will malfunction in some way -- usually, in my case, the tape manages to foul up. So good note-taking is essential, whether you tape or not.

An interesting thing I learned early-on was that I usually wrote down in my notes what I considered later, when I transcribed the tape, to be the most important points.

Tapes are a pain, though, when you're in a hurry. What I want to know is why is takes at least 2 hours to transcribe a 45-minute interview?? :-)

Judy Lowe,
Southern Gardening

-- posted by JudyLowe