英语语法:13 Interviewing Tips
时间:2019-01-30 作者:英语课 分类:英语语法 Grammar Girl
Grammar Girl here. Today's topic is interviewing.
Some of the best advice I got when starting out as a writer was avoid the temptation to show the person you're interviewing how smart you are. For example, I used to write magazine articles about science, so I was interviewing researchers who I really respected and thought were doing fascinating work. I have a Master's degree in science, so it was hard to resist the temptation to show this amazing scientist that I knew my stuff, and it was also hard to avoid lapsing 2 into jargon when we were talking about a field I knew well.
But if you fall into either of those traps, you're not going to get the quotes you need for your article. You need the person you are interviewing to explain what they know, in their own words; if you start showing off, you're going to put words in their mouth. Even worse, they'll realize you know stuff, and they won't tell you the important parts, leaving you to write about it without quotes.
A related quick and dirty tip is to avoid asking questions that will put the person on the defensive 4. "Did you mutilate the cute snail 5 after using it for your own purposes?" is not going to get you the same answer as "What happens to the snails 6 after the experiments are finished?"
Avoid Leading Questions
Similarly, you don't want to ask leading questions. A leading question leads the person to the answer you want. For example, "Isn't that police inspector 7 the nicest, cutest woman you've ever met?" is a leading question. After a question like that, your interviewee isn't likely to say, "No, the police inspector is a horrid 8 wench," which would actually be a fun quote to get.
Sound Dumb
What this ends up meaning, is that through most of the interview, you often end up sounding like a dull, rather dense 9, but perhaps inquisitive 10 lump of coal, interjecting statements such as "Can you tell me more about the police inspector?" or "What are the implications of your snail research?"
Be Smart
Of course, this does not mean you shouldn't do background research or have interview questions prepared. You need to know where your story is going so you can probe in the right direction. You need to know the person's background and as much as you can about the topic of the interview. Although your job is to mainly get your interviewees talking and then listen, you need to know when they say something of questionable 11 accuracy, or just misspeak, or if they are getting off track. There might be something interesting that they have forgotten to mention, such as an opposing theory. For example, "OK, Dr. Jones, but what about the people who think that your data is merely the result of tainted 12 water?" It's also helpful to understand the process behind their industry. For example, you might need to ask, "Well, Dr. Lopez, how can you get your drug to market by fall of 2008 when the typical trial takes four years?"
Follow Up
And finally, I'm going to share with you my secret weapons for interviewing and getting story ideas. My last interview question is always, "Is there anything I haven't asked you that you think is important or worth talking about?" I always asked that question no matter how much preparation I did for an interview, and about a third of the time it got me something I hadn't anticipated.
If you end up chatting with the interviewee a bit after the interview, another great way to follow up, especially if you're a freelance writer and have to come up with story ideas, is to ask the person what else is going on in their field that they think would make a good article and who other good people would be to interview . This can often lead you to other interesting stories you didn't know about.
Preventive Journalism 13 Prize
And now that you're all ready to be great interviewers, you can write great stories and contend for a new journalism award I just heard about. It's huge! A non-profit called Understanding Government is offering a $50,000 prize for what they call preventive journalism. The goal is to encourage writers and editors to inform the public about serious problems before they become crises – so they would give the award for reporting on something like the problems with the New Orleans levies 14 before the city flooded. You can find more information about the award at understandinggov.org. The link is in the middle column of their page right now – understandinggov.org.
Featurewell
I heard about this prize from a site I've used to sell second rights to articles that some of you also might find useful. When you sell a freelance article to a magazine, you often sell first rights, which means that you are able to resell the article after some set amount of time during which you give the first magazine exclusivity. When you resell the article to a second magazine, it's called selling the second rights. I found that I could increase my freelance income about 10% reselling my articles. But marketing 15 second rights can be a pain, so I used a site called Featurewell.com, which specializes in marketing second rights. They don't take all comers; you have to submit your article and then they decide if it is good enough to warrant inclusion in their system. Again, that's Featurewell.com.
Book Winners
Everyone who subscribes 17 to our free e-mail newsletter is entered into the book giveaway, and this week Charlene, Anne, and Ronald win a copy of my audiobook, Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips to Clean Up Your Writing, which is available everywhere fine books are sold.
New Web Features
We have two great new features at QuickAndDirtyTips.com this week. We added RSS feeds for both the transcripts 19 and the comments. This means if you go to the link that says “subscribe 16” at the top of any transcript 18, you'll get instruction on how to receive new transcripts in your RSS reader for any of our shows. There is one feed for each show, so for example, there is a Grammar Girl feed and a Money Girl feed.
You subscribe to comments by using the “subscribe to comments” link on any page. If you do that, you'll get the new comments for just that one transcript. It's a convenient way to keep up with comments, so if you've posted a comment you can see when people respond, or if you just find a comment thread interesting, you can follow along.
All those great features are at quickanddirtytips.com, where you can also find a transcript of this podcast, my contact information, photos from the Grammar Girl Flickr group, and all the other great Quick and Dirty Tips podcasts. This week Legal Lad is jumping into the Apple iPhone fray 20 and talking about whether it is legal for a merchant to decline to take cash payment.
That's all. Thanks for listening.
- They will not hear critics with their horrible jargon.他们不愿意听到评论家们那些可怕的行话。
- It is important not to be overawed by the mathematical jargon.要紧的是不要被数学的术语所吓倒.
- He tried to say, but his voice kept lapsing. 他是想说这句话,可已经抖得语不成声了。 来自辞典例句
- I saw the pavement lapsing beneath my feet. 我看到道路在我脚下滑过。 来自辞典例句
- a school biased towards music and art 一所偏重音乐和艺术的学校
- The Methods: They employed were heavily biased in the gentry's favour. 他们采用的方法严重偏袒中上阶级。
- Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题,使她警觉起来。
- The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。
- Snail is a small plant-eating creature with a soft body.蜗牛是一种软体草食动物。
- Time moved at a snail's pace before the holidays.放假前的时间过得很慢。
- I think I'll try the snails for lunch—I'm feeling adventurous today. 我想我午餐要尝一下蜗牛——我今天很想冒险。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Most snails have shells on their backs. 大多数蜗牛背上有壳。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
- The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。
- I'm not going to the horrid dinner party.我不打算去参加这次讨厌的宴会。
- The medicine is horrid and she couldn't get it down.这种药很难吃,她咽不下去。
- The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
- The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。
- Children are usually inquisitive.小孩通常很好问。
- A pat answer is not going to satisfy an inquisitive audience.陈腔烂调的答案不能满足好奇的听众。
- There are still a few questionable points in the case.这个案件还有几个疑点。
- Your argument is based on a set of questionable assumptions.你的论证建立在一套有问题的假设上。
- The administration was tainted with scandal. 丑闻使得政府声名狼藉。
- He was considered tainted by association with the corrupt regime. 他因与腐败政府有牵连而名誉受损。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师,可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
- He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。
- At that time, taxes and levies were as many as the hairs on an ox. 那时,苛捐杂税多如牛毛。
- Variable levies can insulate farmers and consumers from world markets. 差价进口税可以把农民和消费者与世界市场隔离开来。
- They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
- He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。
- I heartily subscribe to that sentiment.我十分赞同那个观点。
- The magazine is trying to get more readers to subscribe.该杂志正大力发展新订户。
- The library subscribes to 40 magazines. 这个图书馆订购四十种杂志。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
- He subscribes to a number of journals concerning his subject. 他订阅了许多与他的学科有关的杂志。 来自辞典例句
- A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
- They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。
- Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样,都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
- You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书,你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句