Becoming a good interviewer is an acquired skill that takes training and practice. For the less experienced, here are a few helpful pointers.
- “Edit in the Camera.” Encourage short answers and come back to topics again. Better to focus on good, tight answers than trying to cobble together six takes to make your point.
- Avoid enumeration or the phrase “Like I said before.” It is highly likely that you will use only part of the answer (such as step three, without steps one and two).
- Ask leading, open-ended questions… being sure to ask a single question only.
- Don’t be afraid to stop and start over. Do not let an answer ramble on. Smiles and nods encourage subjects that they are ‘on-target’ and can stop trying to talk themselves out of a corner.