These are slides for a workshop on conducting effective interviews, especially when you can't do them in person.

1. Shut Up & Listen
Tips for Effective Interviews
Steve Buttry
the Penny Hoarder
July 14, 2016

2. Continue the conversation
• stevebuttry.wordpress.com
• slideshare.net/stevebuttry
• @stevebuttry
• stephenbuttry@gmail.com

3. Keys to an interview
• Preparation
• Setting
• Rapport
• Listening
• Taking notes/recording
• Follow-up
• Walmart sack
What’s missing?
Questions

4. Preparation
• Find the right person (online research,
ask sources, crowdsource, Profnet …)
• Research source and topic
• Each interview is prep for next
• Plan & rehearse questions
• Write before interview

6. Setting
• In-person interview is best
• Penny Hoarder usually does remote
interviews by video, phone or email
• How can you use remote tools to
minimize/offset setting disadvantage?
• What can you do to learn things that
come easy face to face?

7. Setting
• Location can affect comfort level: Seek
home, workplace, etc.
• But flex if subject wants neutral setting
• Consider rolling interview (home, dinner,
workplace, other places of interest)
• Take setting notes
• Be careful about lunch/dinner interview

9. Remote interviews
• Skype/Hangout/Face Time better than
phone if source is willing & comfortable
• Phone allows interaction, building
rapport, catching nuance, sarcasm, etc.
• Email, text, social media, other message
can work; seek opportunities to build
rapport & connect personally

10. Building rapport
• Setting is about rapport
• Research helps build rapport
• Be honest
• Listen to complaints
• Make personal connection
• Share control (don’t steer back to topic
right away)

11. Questions
• Prepare/rehearse questions, but …
• Don’t use questions as script (checklist at
end is better)
• Get name & title right up front
• General, then specific
• “Tell me about …” “Uh-huh,” nod head
• Anything else?

13. Listening
• Keep questions short
• Ask to elaborate
• Ask questions based on context (not just
list)
• Some silence is OK (works better in
person)
• “Tell me more.” “Is that all?” “Anything
else?”

14. Taking notes
• Get name spelled right
• Don’t write everything down
• Distinguish between notes & quotes
• Concentrate on strong quotes
• Slow speaker down if needed
• Echo, echo, echo
• Take sensory notes

15. Recording interviews
• Ask permission
• Take notes as though you weren’t
recording
• Quiet setting
• Remote mic, especially if using audio
• Avoid “uh-huh”

16. Video interviews
• Only works if subject is comfortable using
Hangout, Skype, Face Time etc.
• Can you get some sense of setting by
asking source to show you around?
• Be sure to record

17. Social media interviews
• Be sure to know if it’s public
• Do you want a hashtag?
• Feed tweets into site live?
• Live chat on site?
• Subject must be comfortable using social
media

18. Email interviews
• Easy and efficient
• More thoughtful answers (both good &
bad)
• Multiple messages build rapport
• Try real-time (text, gchat, etc.) for better
give & take, spontaneity
• Be careful about showing bias (it’s in
writing)

19. Follow-up
• Be sure you get contact info & say you’ll
follow up
• You’ll think of other questions & source
will think of other answers
• Write after interview & ask questions
prompted by writing
• Gather & check documentation
• Check facts

20. Find the Walmart sack
• Photos
• Budgets
• Emails
• Receipts
• Letters
• What else?

21. Continue the conversation
• stevebuttry.wordpress.com
• slideshare.net/stevebuttry
• @stevebuttry
• stephenbuttry@gmail.com