Interview: passage through a minefield (part 3)

Psychological comfort is very important to the success of the interview. Although comfort – a relative term. For one person, it means one thing for another – quite different. Nevertheless, there is a general idea. For example, you should never take an interview in the presence of a third party: there is no trust. The interviewer can make a mistake, make a reservation, it is sometimes necessary to correct. When established contacts, it goes unnoticed, it does not affect the continuation of the talks. When at the same time there is a third person, the interviewee cannot help experiencing stress all the time keeps himself under control, so that the tongue will not break the wrong word, it is not a correct expression. This is especially true when the “third wheel” turns out to be the assistant of the interlocutor: in the eyes of the slave always want to look like a winner. So try to participate (even tacit) in a conversation, someone was not allowed yet. This is somewhat similar to the doctor. When a patient with him one-on-one, he quietly undressed, gives himself to explore, to touch the belly, can inform the doctor about any intimate details of his body. But the presence of a stranger in the room, even the nurses would embarrass him. Now journalists usually use tape recorders and other recording devices. They make it possible while working on the material repeatedly listen to the interview, it protects against errors. And, last but not least, the voice recorder captures and draws attention to any kind of pause, interjections, sighs, voice timbre, its rise and fall depending on what the source said at the time. Emotional speech stain shall not be less traffic load than its content.

However, while the recorder is in the hands of a journalist became as familiar as the notebook; however, I believe that it is necessary to ask for permission to record the conversation on tape. Some of this is confusing. Therefore, it is necessary to resort to a little trick. Writing the first few phrases, to apologize to the interlocutor, turn off the recorder and rewound the film, turn on the listening mode. Hearing your own recorded words interlocutor, oddly enough, calm down, making sure seems that there is no catch. I always use this technique, and it works perfectly.

Yet sometimes, no matter how to convince his interlocutor that the recording device – this is the same journalist’s notebook, and not someone else’s ears, he does not want the presence of “odd man out”. Well, you have to agree with him. In any case, not secretly record the conversation! It is better to stipulate its right to call back to check some numbers, language, names, and so on, so as not to strain the person during the actual conversation updates.

Do not unnecessarily puzzling. It is unexpected in the conversation – important. Nevertheless, here we must find the precise point when a sudden question, often helps to reveal the other party, put it in a deadlock or even silenced. I have a boyfriend, a photojournalist who cannot do anything with myself, not try to be clever the case without it. In the past, we have worked with them in tandem: while I interview, the photographer shoots. Everything was fine, if partner has not egged each time stuck in a conversation without any connection with the topic of conversation, with one only to emphasize it is reasonable that he understands something. During the filming of “Black Eyes” (I was able to play a small role in the film), I somehow during the break gently “pulled” to Marcello Mastroianni and started like an optional talk about life. A rare circumstance, which neither provide nor arrange impossible. It was in Kostroma, a city for the Italians quite exotic. They were especially captivated by one detail: in the street where the shooting occurred, has a bakery, where, in addition to bread, baked huge delicious bagels. Order them to film group Italians failed because of this delicious product they did not know before, and by the time filming squeeze in the number of regular customers have not been able to! But, as we have made, if you can not, but really want, you can. Each lunchtime bakery workers climbed over the fence of the enterprise to take a look as the film was being shot, even with such a celebrity. In addition, climbed empty-handed, and with plastic bags of hot, fresh from the oven bagels, and we, the whole crew, was eating a generous offering hot coffee, which we gave to drink under the terms of the contract movie company. The Italians could not understand anything, it is: money cannot buy, and free – can you? So here, we are with Mastroianni, drink coffee and delicious bagels write (through an interpreter) would like nothing – about his student years of studying at the Faculty of Architecture, participation in Student Theater. Do I need to explain what it means for a journalist like the optional conversation? However, suddenly I wedged my friend – your opinion on the approval of Michelangelo, that architecture is frozen music? The interpreter translated the question, and Mastroianni once said that he was tired and wanted to rest before shooting the next episode. Only a few days later there was an opportunity to continue the interrupted conversation. What he thought he heard a “smart” question? Maybe he thought that it wants to expose ignorance utterances of his great compatriot.

Another time we went to Academician Aganbegyan. With Abel Gezevichem I was familiar with, so that the conversation on a very serious subject was fairly easy. However, it got my partner, but with such a tricky issue, I do not understand anything, and my companion paused – evident ignorance of his puzzled. It took a lot of effort to get out of an absurd situation. My friend was happy with: asked, they say, a question that could not immediately answer the academician. In fact, he almost tore me an interview. Nevertheless, another colleague draw assistance is not required to drive the interlocutor into a dead end: he is ready to revive learning. So, believe me, modesty, in contrast to the attempt to be clever, more productive.