00:00:00

The archive

The library

210 evergreen reads. Reference and explainer writing only: nothing here claims a news event, an audience or an archive that does not exist.

Ethics of the chair (26)

  1. Consent and the Right to Decline01:03
  2. The Off the Record Agreement01:04
  3. Protecting a Vulnerable Subject01:04
  4. The Power Imbalance in an Interview01:04
  5. Editing a Quote Without Changing Its Meaning01:06
  6. Cultural Sensitivity in Questioning01:06
  7. Interviewing Children01:10
  8. Interviewing Survivors of Trauma01:10
  9. The Duty to Check a Claim01:08
  10. Avoiding the Entrapment Question01:07
  11. Disclosing the Interviewer's Own Bias01:06
  12. Anonymity and Its Limits01:06
  13. The Right to Review Before Publication01:04
  14. Compensation and Its Complications01:06
  15. Interviewing Across a Power Gradient01:03
  16. The Ethics of the Ambush Interview01:05
  17. Respecting the Right Not to Answer01:08
  18. Recording Without Disclosure01:06
  19. Cultural Protocols Around Eye Contact01:06
  20. The Ethics of Paraphrase in Translation01:03
  21. Rapport Without Manipulation01:04
  22. Publishing an Unflattering Answer01:09
  23. Care After a Difficult Interview01:06
  24. Interviewing on Behalf of an Employer01:08
  25. Boundaries Around Personal Questions01:07
  26. Persistence Versus Pressure01:04

Famous formats (26)

  1. The Exit Interview01:15
  2. The Oral History Interview01:15
  3. The Vox Pop01:17
  4. The Press Conference01:14
  5. The Long Form Sit Down01:15
  6. The Panel Interview01:01
  7. The Profile Interview01:06
  8. The Deposition Style of Questioning01:04
  9. The Roundtable Conversation01:12
  10. The Walk and Talk Interview01:05
  11. The Written Questionnaire Interview01:02
  12. The Live Broadcast Interview01:07
  13. The Pre-recorded and Edited Interview01:11
  14. The Job Interview01:06
  15. The Audition Style Interview01:06
  16. The Intake Interview01:13
  17. The Formal Inquiry Interview01:08
  18. The Academic Research Interview01:10
  19. The Survey Interview01:06
  20. The Exit Poll Interview01:11
  21. The Debate Style Interview01:10
  22. The Group Interview01:12
  23. The Phone Screen01:10
  24. Structured Versus Unstructured Formats01:08
  25. The Crisis Interview01:13
  26. The Retrospective Interview01:12

Interview history (26)

  1. The Newspaper Origins of the Interview01:05
  2. Radio and the Rise of the Spoken Interview01:02
  3. Television's Transformation of the Sit Down01:08
  4. The Oral History Movement01:06
  5. Interviewing in Ethnography01:05
  6. The Influence of the Therapeutic Conversation01:06
  7. Courtroom Examination as an Ancestor01:10
  8. Letters as a Precursor to the Interview01:09
  9. The Rise of the Long Profile01:06
  10. Interviewing During Wartime Reporting01:06
  11. The Podcast Return to Long Conversation01:07
  12. The Interview in Political Campaigning01:09
  13. Origins of the Workplace Interview01:06
  14. The Market Research Interview01:01
  15. Evolution of the Talk Show Conversation01:02
  16. Interviewing in Documentary Film01:06
  17. The Interview as a Diplomatic Tool01:07
  18. From Stenography to Recorded Tape01:04
  19. The Interview in Early Newsreels01:04
  20. Interviewing Traditions Across Press Cultures01:04
  21. The Interview in Memoir Research01:08
  22. The Survey Interview and Social Science01:00
  23. Ethics Learned From Institutional Interviewing01:04
  24. The Interview's Role in Reconciliation Processes01:06
  25. The Rise of the Video Interview Online01:03
  26. How the Interview Became Its Own Genre01:05

Listening technique (26)

  1. The Basics of Active Listening01:17
  2. Listening for What Is Left Unsaid01:17
  3. Taking Notes Without Losing the Thread01:18
  4. The Pause Before Responding01:14
  5. Listening for Repeated Words01:17
  6. Body Language as a Form of Listening01:00
  7. Listening Without Planning the Next Question01:02
  8. Telling Hesitation From Evasion01:02
  9. Listening for a Change in Tone01:03
  10. The Mirroring Technique01:05
  11. Listening Across a Translator01:01
  12. Listening in a Noisy Room01:08
  13. Listening for Contradictions Across an Hour01:04
  14. Empathetic Listening Without Agreeing01:08
  15. Listening for Humour01:01
  16. The Sentence Someone Does Not Finish01:01
  17. Listening on the Phone Versus in Person01:00
  18. Listening for Claims Worth Checking Later01:04
  19. Listening When a Colleague Also Questions01:08
  20. Listening for a Shift in Emotion01:01
  21. The Risk of Going Quiet Too Long01:02
  22. Listening for the Story Behind the Fact01:01
  23. A Second Recorder as a Second Ear01:06
  24. Listening for Cultural Cues01:04
  25. Listening to Silence Itself01:03
  26. Telling Rehearsed From Spontaneous Speech01:04

Preparing well (27)

  1. Researching a Subject Before the Sit Down01:16
  2. Drafting More Questions Than You Need01:16
  3. The Value of a Pre Interview Call01:14
  4. Setting the Physical Space01:14
  5. Choosing the Right Recording Equipment01:12
  6. Testing Equipment Before the Subject Arrives01:08
  7. Planning the Opening Minute01:06
  8. Anticipating the Difficult Topic01:06
  9. Preparing a Subject for a Hard Question01:06
  10. Agreeing on Ground Rules Beforehand01:05
  11. Preparing Follow Up Branches01:10
  12. Research Versus Over Preparation01:11
  13. Preparing for a Nervous Subject01:04
  14. Scheduling and Time Management01:08
  15. Preparing a Translator01:04
  16. Briefing a Second Chair01:07
  17. Note Cards Versus a Full Script01:02
  18. Preparing for Silence01:02
  19. Planning an Exit From the Interview01:07
  20. Dress and Demeanour as Preparation01:08
  21. Preparing for a Remote Interview01:03
  22. Checking Consent Beforehand01:07
  23. Preparing a Running Order for Multiple Subjects01:07
  24. The Mental Warm Up Before Sitting Down01:08
  25. Preparing for Technical Failure01:01
  26. Preparing Questions for a Written Response01:14
  27. Preparing the Room for Comfort01:03

Reading answers (26)

  1. Reading Between the Lines01:15
  2. Spotting the Rehearsed Answer01:04
  3. Evasion Versus Genuine Uncertainty01:05
  4. Reading Tone Against the Words Used01:03
  5. Reading the Pause Before an Answer01:06
  6. Reading a Sudden Change of Subject01:11
  7. Over Explanation as a Signal01:05
  8. Humour as Deflection01:04
  9. Reading Consistency Across a Long Answer01:08
  10. Reading Body Language in the Room01:04
  11. Reading Enthusiasm01:04
  12. Reading Reluctance01:03
  13. Reading the Non Answer01:07
  14. Repetition as Emphasis01:10
  15. The Answer That Answers a Different Question01:09
  16. Confidence Versus Bravado01:04
  17. Reading Vague Quantifiers01:02
  18. Reading the Qualifier Honestly01:03
  19. Reading the Shape of an Answer01:03
  20. Reading the Silence After an Answer01:04
  21. Reading What an Answer Protects01:05
  22. Reading Corrections and Self Interruptions01:06
  23. Reading Answers Given Under Time Pressure01:05
  24. Reading Written Answers Differently From Spoken Ones01:03
  25. Reading an Answer Within Its Context01:04
  26. Reading the Answer That Arrives Too Polished01:04

The craft of questions (27)

  1. Open Questions Versus Closed Questions01:19
  2. The Art of the Follow Up Question01:18
  3. Avoiding the Leading Question01:21
  4. The Power of Silence After Asking01:19
  5. Asking One Question at a Time01:00
  6. The What Happened Next Prompt01:20
  7. Questions That Invite a Story, Not a Summary01:16
  8. Curiosity Versus Interrogation01:17
  9. Asking About Feeling Rather Than Fact01:17
  10. The Hypothetical Question01:20
  11. Repairing a Stalled Answer With a Question01:19
  12. The Callback Question01:02
  13. Avoiding the Compound Question01:18
  14. Building a Question From the Last Answer01:17
  15. The Warm Up Question01:18
  16. Naming a Contradiction Gently01:17
  17. The Tell Me About a Time Prompt01:16
  18. Questions That Invite Disagreement01:19
  19. The Specificity Ladder01:17
  20. Checking Understanding Through a Question01:16
  21. Keeping Jargon Out of a Question01:18
  22. The Permission Question01:19
  23. Asking About Process, Not Just Outcome01:14
  24. The Counterfactual Question01:15
  25. Questions With a Built In Escape Hatch01:17
  26. The Closing Question That Invites More01:14
  27. Questions for a Reluctant Subject01:13

Transcription craft (26)

  1. Verbatim Versus Clean Transcription01:03
  2. Marking Pauses and Overlaps01:00
  3. Transcribing an Accent Faithfully01:06
  4. Transcribing for Accessibility01:02
  5. The Ethics of Editing a Quote01:01
  6. Transcribing Multiple Speakers at Once01:02
  7. The Discipline of Timestamping01:02
  8. Transcribing Non Verbal Sounds01:05
  9. Choosing Punctuation to Represent Speech01:05
  10. Transcribing Across Languages01:02
  11. Software Against the Human Ear01:08
  12. Checking a Transcript Against the Recording01:04
  13. Redacting Sensitive Material01:06
  14. Transcribing for Broadcast Versus Print01:02
  15. The Role of the Ellipsis01:00
  16. Marking Hesitation01:06
  17. Formatting a Long Monologue01:09
  18. Transcribing Crosstalk01:08
  19. Archiving a Transcript01:06
  20. Transcribing for the Legal Record01:06
  21. Proofreading a Transcript01:07
  22. Transcribing Dialect and Idiom01:02
  23. The Transcript as a Working Document01:06
  24. Transcribing Under Deadline01:03
  25. Transcribing for Research Coding01:04
  26. A Transcript Is Not a Script01:00
Photo credits (Creative Commons, via Openverse)
  • STEP studio pict1 by Autobahn Two (CC BY-SA 3.0), via Openverse
  • Studio Wing, Paul Schweiker House and Studio, Meacham Road, Schaumburg, IL - 54209306572 by w_lemay (CC BY-SA 2.0), via Openverse
  • Studio Wing, Paul Schweiker House and Studio, Meacham Road, Schaumburg, IL - 54209348187 by w_lemay (CC BY-SA 2.0), via Openverse
  • Studio Wing, Paul Schweiker House and Studio, Meacham Road, Schaumburg, IL - 54209379402 by w_lemay (CC BY-SA 2.0), via Openverse
  • Studio Wing, Paul Schweiker House and Studio, Meacham Road, Schaumburg, IL - 54209415302 by w_lemay (CC BY-SA 2.0), via Openverse
  • Studio Wing, Paul Schweiker House and Studio, Meacham Road, Schaumburg, IL - 54210243556 by w_lemay (CC BY-SA 2.0), via Openverse
  • Studio Wing, Paul Schweiker House and Studio, Meacham Road, Schaumburg, IL - 54210244031 by w_lemay (CC BY-SA 2.0), via Openverse
  • Studio Wing, Paul Schweiker House and Studio, Meacham Road, Schaumburg, IL - 54210250821 by w_lemay (CC BY-SA 2.0), via Openverse
  • Studio Wing, Paul Schweiker House and Studio, Meacham Road, Schaumburg, IL - 54210251491 by w_lemay (CC BY-SA 2.0), via Openverse
  • Studio Wing, Paul Schweiker House and Studio, Meacham Road, Schaumburg, IL by w_lemay (CC BY-SA 2.0), via Openverse
  • Studio, Paul Schweiker House and Studio, Meacham Road, Schaumburg, IL - 54210552264 by w_lemay (CC BY-SA 2.0), via Openverse
  • Studio, Paul Schweiker House and Studio, Meacham Road, Schaumburg, IL by w_lemay (CC BY-SA 2.0), via Openverse