Body Language

Body Language

Your body language can make a big difference during an interview. Positive body language often makes the interviewee feel relaxed and comfortable whereas closed body language makes the interviewee feel on edge and uncomfortable and as a result can make an interview awkward. An example of this would be this awkward Michael Parkinson interview with Meg Ryan.. In the interview, we see Meg constantly leaning away from Parkinson throughout, highlighting that she clearly didn't want to be there and overall made for a really awkward interview.

When conducting an interview, it is important for the interviewee to remember not to invade the interviewees personal space , otherwise it will put the interviewee off and won't make them respond well to the questions asked of them.

Interview contexts

Interview contexts is where and when the interviews happened and how it is going to be broadcasted to it's intended audience. Every interview is done for a different purpose aimed to different audiences. It's important to know what the context is so that the tone of the interview becomes clear to the intended audience, e.g is it formal or informal.  For example, an interview with Chris Martin from Coldplay would be targeted for Coldplay fans and depending on the purpose of the interview, the tone could be either formal or informal as opposed to an interview with a politician on The Andrew Marr Show will be more formal.

Interview Style

Interview Style

For any interview there is a style to it, depending on the purpose and the context. For example if you were interviewing a musician you'd use a different style compared to if you were interviewing a politician.

There are 6 styles usually used to interview a person, they are as follows:

1. Hard News is the kind of news often seen on the front page of a newspaper. It is often used in business,political and international news and is seen as news that affects the viewers.  It deals with the important new and is usually direct and straight to the point. The interview on the right is an example of this as it is an interview with a police officer discussing why it's apparently hard for Black police officers to be hired in Norfolk, Virginia.

2. Soft News is news that deals with entertainment, art and lifestyle and is often light-hearted. It usually focuses on the individual and is seen as news of human interest. An example of this would be this video that includes Jamie Oliver talking about the tax thats been put on sugary drinks in order to help tackle child obesity.

3. Entertainment Interviews are often seen on chat shows and are for the viewers entertainment. An example of this would be this interview with Tom Hardy on Alan Carr. The interview is conversational, light -hearted and funny and entertains the audience watching.

4. Investigative Interviews and news are the result of a long period of investigation and research. Investigative news usually get the information by primary sources and will be the first time the story would have been covered by the media. An example of this would be the Stacey Dooley documentary on  the rise of Crystal Meth

5. Promotional interviews take place because the person interviewed is there to promote something. They are linked to entertainment interview because celebrities are interviewed to promote films/a book/album etc. An example of this would be the interview with Matthew McConnaughey promoting his film Dallas Buyers Club.









6.  Combative interviews often include politicians or people who are heavily media trained. It is a rather aggressive way of interviewing or querying people. An example of this would be this Jeremy Paxman with Bill Gates, where Jeremy challenges him on tax.

Open/Closed Questions

Open Question

A question where you can get a longer response for an answer.  An example of this would be ''What was your favourite subject at school and why?'' Open questions are useful because they give a more detailed response and you can get varied answers. A disadvantage of an open question is that one could easy go off topic.



In the interview on the right, Alexa Chung is asked open questions about her new books, how she got her job at Fuse News etc. She gave detailed answers and as a result the audience were able to get an insight into the ''real'' Alexa Chung.


Closed Questions

A closed question is a question where you will only get a short and concise answer. An example of this would be 'What's your favourite colour?' . The advantage of closed questions is that they are very direct and straightforward. They're also measurable and can easily be put into a graph. A disadvantage of closed questions is that you can only get a short answer.

In the interview with Fabrizio Moretti (right) , The interviewer asks whether he's happy that his band is touring in Australia, to which he replies saying yes he is.

Interview Techniques Example

In this interview with Daisy Lowe expresses her opinion on who is a female role model to her, personally,  so I think that the purpose of this interview is interpretive because she explains her opinion.

In this interview, June Sarpong talks about her brothers suicide last year. The purpose of this interview is Emotional and Understanding. It is Emotional because she gets the audience to see her brother in a different light and is Understanding because she increases the audiences awareness of suicide . 

In this interview with Professor Green he talks about his depression and his fathers suicide. I think the purpose of this interview is understanding because he helps to raise the audiences awareness on suicide and depression. 

Interview Structure

Interview Structure

Interview Structure is the way an interview is conducted in order for it to be a success. It is important  that interviewers follow this structure to ensure the interview is successful. Failure in following this structure could result in not having an interview at all. This was the case for one interviewer at the Brit Awards a few years ago. The man was interviewing a band called Massive Attack, as a result of being so abrupt in his approach and a direct question with no build up, Massive Attack refused to be interviewed by him.

Follow these 7 steps to ensure your interview is a success!

1. Above is a Jonathan Ross interview with Kristin Davis. At the beginning of the interview is an Intro which lets the interviewee know what will be discussed during the interview and will help them relax. This is shown when Jonathan tells Kristin that ''it is lovely to have you here'' and congratulates her on recently turning forty nine.

2. After the intro, Developmental Questions are then asked to get the interview started and helps to set the tone of the interview. This is demonstrated in the interview when Jonathan asks her about the tv show/film she starred in, called Sex and The City. He asks whether she still keeps in contact with her former co-stars to which she replies saying yeah she does. This lets Kristin know what kind of questions she's going to be asked, that she's going to be asked questions about Sex and The City which helps make her feel relaxed.

3. Confidence Building questions are asked to enhance the interviewee's confidence and helps them overcome any nerves. This is also makes sure that when you ask the Key Questions they will respond feeling confident and will give long detailed answers. This is shown in the interview when Jonathan tells ''That is incredible,there is absolutely no way anyone would think you are forty nine!'' to which responded, saying ''Thank you.'' This helped Kristen feel relaxed and flattered by the compliment and helped set the tone of the interview because you could tell that the interview was going to be conversational and not serious or formal.

4. Key Questions are the most important of an interview and is what the whole interview is based upon. Depending on type of the interview they can be placed either at the beginning of the interview. If the interview is formal and emotional  or personal and has a serious tone to it then it is likely the Key Questions will be asked at the beginning of the interview but if it is more of a informal, conversational interview,  the Key Questions will probably asked in the middle of the interview. If  the Key Questions are asked in the middle of the interview, it allows the interviewee more  time to relax and feel comfortable. This is shown in the interview when Jonathan asks Kristen about the upcoming play based on the 1987 film 'Fatal Attraction'. He asks her what the plot of this play is and she explains what it is. This tells us that Kristen is there to promote the play that she's co-starring in.

5. Soundbites are short sections that can be cut out of an interview and can be used in a radio news or entertainment bulletin .

6.  At the end of an interview there is often a Summary. At this point the interviewer summarises all the questions he/she has asked in the interview in one sentence so that you can get a good conclusion on the interview topic.

7.  The Windup is the last thing that is said in the interview and it just winds up the interview and brings it to a close.  It would usually end on a light-hearted note and then thanks the interviewee for being interviewed. Jonathan does this at the end by saying ''Kristin, lovely to have you on the show, thank you so much for coming back on, ladies and gentleman, the fabulous Kristin Davis.''