Conducting an interview used to mean you had to reach a source on the phone or track them down in person, break out your tape recorder and then double back after the fact to transcribe the interview before piecing it together into an article. Thanks to email, we now have a fast and simple platform for conducting interviews that span across time zones and international borders.
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Though email interviews are certainly convenient, they\u2019re not without their own set of disadvantages. Here, we\u2019ll talk about the pros and cons of email interviews and share some tips for pulling engaging soundbites from this often-impersonal interview medium. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
An email interview is pretty straightforward. You, the journalist, emails the source a list of questions and the source sends back their answers. Ideally, you\u2019ll have had a conversation beforehand about the nature of the story and what you\u2019re hoping they can contribute as a source. You\u2019ll also agree on a deadline for them to submit their answers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The biggest upside to email interviews is that they\u2019re convenient. There\u2019s no back and forth to find a time that works for both of you, which is great when dealing with busy sources. Plus, you also save the time that would be spent on the interview itself, which could anywhere from 15 or 20 minutes to an hour or more.
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Email interviews allow you to capture all of your source\u2019s answers in writing. This is nice because there\u2019s no risk of any dispute down the road about what was said–it\u2019s all right there on paper.
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Email interviews ensure that you get to ask the precise questions you want to ask and that the source has plenty of time to think through their answers. Sometimes, this can result in more thorough, well-thought-out answers than those given on the spur of the moment in real time.
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Finally, a nice perk of email interviews is that you don\u2019t have to race to take notes as a source rattles off answers or spend time going back and transcribing a recorded interview. The quotes you need are already neatly typed up and ready for you to copy and paste. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The main downside of email interviews is that you lose the spontaneity of a realtime interview–those in-the-moment responses and off-the-cuff comments that can reveal so much about a story. With email, it\u2019s easy for sources to overthink their answers, which can result in them sounding unnatural.
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You also miss out on the chit chat that typically happens at the start and end of a phone or in-person interview, which is often where the best tidbits and pieces of color come from (and also a great place to get ideas for future story angles).
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When sources are drafting email responses, you risk getting \u201cPR approved\u201d answers that have gone through a publicist or boss first, or worse, been directly written by them. While these answers are sure to be politically correct, they\u2019re often sanitized and can lack the kind of substance you\u2019re looking for to get to the heart of a story.
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On that same note, with email interviews you lose the opportunity to ask follow-up questions, which are critical when you\u2019re trying to hold a source accountable and get real answers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sometimes, you\u2019ll need to use email for an interview out of necessity. Perhaps the source\u2019s schedule does not allow for a phone interview or you\u2019re having trouble finding a time slot that works for both of you. Other times, email is the most convenient method for interviewing people on the other side of the world or in situations where there\u2019s a language barrier.
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Email interviews are particularly useful when you\u2019re on a tight deadline and need to contact multiple sources; it\u2019s much easier to cast a wide net through email than if you were trying to reach everyone by phone. Email is also an efficient way to get quick answers from a handful of similar sources, like if you\u2019re trying to get a feel for an industry trend (\u201chave you noticed a difference in the number of homes on the market lately?\u201d) or get feedback on a piece of breaking news (\u201cwhat do you think of the president\u2019s comments on X?\u201d).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since email doesn\u2019t allow for an informal chat before the interview begins, you want to be sure to give them some context before listing off your questions. Share relevant background, tell them the angle you\u2019re planning on taking and offer any expectations about what you\u2019re hoping they can add to the piece with their responses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
One challenge with email interviews that we haven\u2019t touched on yet is getting your answers back in a timely manner. If you don\u2019t set a deadline, it\u2019s all too easy for a source to \u201cmark unread\u201d with the best intentions to come back to your email later, but never get around to it.
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To avoid this, set a hard deadline for when you need their responses. Don\u2019t cut it too close to when your piece is due. Ideally, give yourself a cushion of at least a day or two so you can circle back with follow up questions or get more clarity if needed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is a best practice for any type of interview, not just those done by email. You\u2019ll get much more insightful responses if you avoid yes-or-no questions and instead leave your queries open ended, like \u201ctell me a bit about X\u201d or \u201cwhat do you think of X?\u201d
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Conversely, try not to be too<\/em> direct in your questions. If you make specific suggestions within a question — like \u201cshare a little bit about your background: your degrees, work history, etc.\u201d — the source will tend to talk only<\/em> about their degrees and work history. That\u2019s fine if that\u2019s what you\u2019re looking for, but not ideal if you were hoping to get a feel for their personality. So don\u2019t box them in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To weed out jargon-filled answers, try asking a question like \u201chow would you explain this topic to your grandmother?\u201d or \u201cwhat does this mean for the average American?\u201d The goal is to cut through technical speak and get them to talk in relatable language about the subject. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s always a great idea to give the source an opportunity to feed you more information than what you asked for. We like to close with the question, \u201cis there anything I haven\u2019t asked about, but should?\u201d You can also ask for their recommendations on other experts you should speak with for this or follow up pieces <\/p>\n\n\n\n Solid interviews are for more than just fact-finding. They fill your work with relatable characters and help you build a story that readers can connect with. Be sure to include lots of pieces with rich interviews in your writing portfolio. To build a high quality journalist portfolio online, register for a free account with Clippings.me<\/a>. Clippings.me makes it easy to build and circulate a polished-looking portfolio that will help you get noticed and win jobs. You can add your bio, choose a layout, upload writing samples and share your portfolio in less time than it takes to grab a cup of coffee. And the best part–there\u2019s no coding required. 4. Prompt them to speak in layman\u2019s terms<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
5. Ask for additional information<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Interview Articles Look Great on Your Portfolio<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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