Author Archives: lorrie.mcconnell

Posted on by

Qualities of a Good Journalist

Journalists are the ones who must gather facts of a news story and organize the facts to tell a story. These activities are the same regardless of the subject, value, format, or medium to deliver the news story. Journalists need to possess the following qualities:

  1. Ethical: Ethics are moral standards of right and wrong that govern our actions. For journalists acting with this integrity is critical to ensure the information shared is accurate and fair. The Society of Professional journalists lists the following in its code of ethics: See truth and report it, minimize harm, act independently, be accountable and transparent.
  2. Persistence: To be the best, journalists need to have a clear sense of their story mission and a large pool of resources. Rejection is a part of the journalist’s job. Journalists must deal with rejection by not letting it derail their progress toward the truth and the deadline. Rejection can come in the form of not getting responses for quotes on a story to a whole story being rejected by a publication. Rejection will always be a part of the job, but by learning to craft better questions based on research and propose stories that align with the publication’s mission.
  3. Enjoy interacting with people: Journalists build relationships with many people while conducting interviews. These relationships become reliable contacts. Having the ability to speak comfortably with people to get them to provide information to you is vital. Interact with the audience before you need them so that when you need to request information it is not taken as a demand.
  4. Expert listening skills: To be a good interviewer a journalist must learn to listen. Journalists are most successful when they ask dimple direct questions and repeat the same with follow-up questions. When journalists are speaking they are not acquiring information which is the goal of the interview. Speak to ask the simple question, then listen. According to Universal Class, Journalism Skills – Listening and Observing:
    Research shows that the average individual only hears and retains anywhere from 25% to 50% of the messages being vocalized, a fact that journalists must be keenly aware of, so they do not fall into the trap of only capturing half of the content of what is being said.
  5. Organized: Journalists handle multiple tasks will few resources. Successful journalists excel at managing responsibilities by staying organized. These journalists run their days efficiently and flexibly always anticipating the need to reroute their time during the day. With few resources, time is not a resource to be wasted.
  6. Accept criticism: Journalists must understand that criticism is necessary; it keeps journalists accountable. With social media it is easy to publish criticism online and the public expects publications to respond. Journalists must become accustomed to explaining mistakes and engage in conversations with readers.

While these are qualities of a good journalist, they can be easily substituted for communicators and technical writers.

Posted on by

Computer Talk: Incorporating Speech Recognition Software into Daily Tasks

Getting more done in less time. That is a typical mantra for technical writers and communicators. Perhaps you have expressed needing an extra hand; your voice could be that extra hand. Using speech recognition software allows you to control your computer with simple voice commands. Microsoft does not promote it much, but newer Windows versions contain Windows Speech Recognition preinstalled.

Enabling Speech Recognition

  1. In the Taskbar at the bottom of the screen, click the search.
  2. Type Speech Recognition.
  3. Click Windows Speech Recognition It will open a window where you can select microphone type.
  4. Click Next.
  5. You will be prompted to read a sentence for the software to recognize your voice. click Next when ready.
  6. After reading, click Next.
  7. Select other necessary options such as document review, and speech recognition enabled on startup. Click Next after each option to advance through the wizard.
  8. Once completed, the status box appears. You can use this to switch Voice Recognition on and off.

Using Speech Recognition

To start, say “start listening”.  Once enabled you can use it to open applications such as Word, notepad, or a new email. Once an email or document is open, just start talking to dictate text.

You can also tell the computer to open the command line box, restart or shutdown. When you want to stop, say “stop listening”.

Yes you can even use it to play Solitaire!

 

Here’s a Notepad file created entirely using speech recognition:

These are the words used to create it:

  • Start listening
  • Open Notepad
  • Hello notepad
  • comma
  • press enter
  • today’s reminders are
  • colon
  • press enter
  • press tab
  • business writing exercise one
  • press enter
  • press tab
  • promote blog articles
  • press enter
  • press tab
  • request degree review for graduation
  • press enter
  • press file
  • press save
  • home
  • to do list
  • backspace
  • delete
  • save
  • stop listening

This is a technology worth exploring. As communicators and technical writers we must keep our skills fresh and always evaluate new technology to add to our tool set.

Posted on by

How Old is That Resume?

No one really knows when or where resumes originated. As far as recorded history is concerned, Leonardo Da Vinci is credited with being the first to use a resume. In 1482 Leonardo wrote a letter to the Duke of Milan requesting a patronage. The letter contained a list of his skills and accomplishments. After that there is a gap in the historical record for resumes. Somewhere from 1930 to 1950 resumes migrated from writings on scraps of paper to being typewritten. At this point the resume, derived from the French word for summary, became the standard for differentiating an applicant’s skills and for getting a job.

Resumes are our advertisement of who we are and what is unique to us. Do I have my dates correct? Did I learn a new skill? Am I going to Stand out? These are all questions resume writers ask themselves at one time or another. Lets take a look at some different styles that can be used for layout.

Resume Styles

  • Reverse Chronological – This style of resume lists job experience in chronological order. The most recent experience is listed first and then moves chronologically back through time. This style does highlight gaps in employment.
  • Functional – Using this style work experience and skills are categorized by skill area or job function. These skills are followed by a timeline of those experiences including employers and specific dates. Functional resumes work well for candidates who have changed careers.
  • Hybrid – This combined style leads with a list of job skills then a list of employers. This style can result in repetition and is not frequently used.

While there may be instances where an infographic or video resume may be necessary or requested, electronic resumes are the norm. Increasingly more employers are requiring online resumes. When submitting your resume be sure to submit the required format, Word document, HTML, PDF, or ASCII. Electronically submitted resumes can be parsed using natural language processors and imported to the hiring company’s resume system. Some parsers are better than others at correctly identifying titles, dates, and task specific text. Resumes containing columns may not be parsed as accurately as one containing tab spacing.

It is always best to stay up-to-date with technology. Including the technology used by those who need to find you in order to hire you.

Posted on by

A New Year and a Unique Process for Defining a Content Strategy

Ah, the start of a new year. It brings so many possibilities because it is the best time for a fresh start. With a fresh start you want to have a different perspective and a  different set of goals for the year. I am someone who likes to make lists and live by the list. I am a planner. Planning gives me a clear sense of where I am going and allows me to break my supporting activities into smaller reachable goals.

For this blog post, I want to discuss planning for content. Content could mean a marketing plan, a twitter campaign, documentation for a product release, or in my case, planning effective content for the readership of this blog. I will define the process in a manner that it could be applied to any campaign you may be working on related to communication or technical writing.

While researching the components of a successful content campaign, I found a link to a list of 2018-2019 monthly messaging themes for the University of Washington Marketing and Communications department. These themes are defined at the university level and are used by all marketing and communications at the university.

“As part of our efforts to maximize the effectiveness of our marketing and communications projects across the University of Washington, we will be utilizing monthly message themes again during the 2018-19 academic year.”

The page contains a grid of month, theme, and strategic communications. Each month, July through June is a row in the grid. Each month a different them is selected. The theme is accompanied with an accompanying hashtag for use on social media channels.

The lesson I learned from this link is that when designing a campaign, be sure to determine whether your business or organization has a defined strategy. If there is a strategy, following it for your campaign will ensure you are in line with organization goals and will save you the time of defining the whole plan yourself. You will only have to alight your specific campaign plan to the organization plan.

I cannot find a predefined messaging theme for Chatham University. At publication, I am waiting for a response from the Office of University Communications. Below is the grid I started for this blog. I have only added the months for this spring semester.

Month Theme
January Unique and Wonderful
February Think Innovation
March Keep Reaching
April Looking to the Future

 

Each week, I post a new article. The articles I post for January will all have a title and information related to some unique and wonderful aspect of communication and/or technical writing. Breaking this down into a monthly message is helping me find direction in what information I would like to include.

Another Internet search lead me to Follow These 3 Steps for Content Framework to Save Your Marketing Plan. This article describes growing a content tree. The roots are your messages, the branches are themes and the leaves are individual topics.

Resource: Yvonne Lyons

Using the graphic, I am able to drill-down and further define the content for the blog. The messages for this blog are defined by the departments it supports; Communications and Technical Writing. All messages contain some element of best practices, disciplines of communication and technical writing, and promotion of these programs at Chatham University.

Now that I have the plan complete I believe:

  1. I can come up with topics more easily.
  2. The topics I choose will be more interesting for readers.

This blog post fits right in with the January theme.

Unique and Wonderful – A New Year and a New Process for Defining a Content Strategy

Posted on by

Relaxation: Always a Best Practice

2018. Here we are at the end. The end of the year can be a frantic race to meet work deadlines, finish classes, and prepare for year end festivities. It is also an important time to focus on yourself. You need to look back on the year and be proud of the work you have completed, take time to plan for the year ahead, and then relax. For writers and communicators, finding time to relax may be difficult.

There may be days during each year that you feel that the work you do does not matter. Your reflection time will help you to realize the good in your work. No mater the type of work or schooling you participate in, the work you do impacts the lives of others. Maybe you are achieving your dream; maybe you are opening the door for someone else and their dream. You have the ability to change the direction of your company and positively impact its success. One person, in the right position, at the right time has the power to do that. Remember, you are your own brand. You are the face and voice of the brand. You owe it to yourself to be at your best.

Here are some methods of relaxation along with their benefits that you can try to incorporate into you end of year routine:

  • Deep breathing: reduces cortisol, the stress hormone. This calms your nervous system which results in reduced anxiety and stress.
  • Meditation: this can reduce stress and anxiety. In addition, some forms of mediation can result in improved self-image and a more positive outlook on life.
  • Soak in a hot tub: lowers blood pressure and aids in sleep
  • Exercise: boosts levels of serotonin and strengthens muscles and bones
  • Take a break: re-energizes your brain
  • Laugh: releases endorphins and relaxes the whole body. After a good laugh your muscles can remain relaxed for up to 45 minutes. Laughter also boosts the immune system.

Planning for the upcoming year can and should be exciting. The possibilities are truly endless. What vision do you have for your life? That is a question you should answer and write down if you have not already. With your vision in mind, set some goals. Goals should be attainable in both scope and number. I tend to favor goals in threes; three goals for the year. I follow this daily as well in my 3 things to accomplish today list. If your work or school does not conduct performance reviews or some kind of check in, be sure to set a calendar reminder to check in yourself a few times per year. That way you can be sure you are on track or adjust your track for changes that are happening around you.

Relax now and energize yourself for all that 2019 has for you. As a gymnast I had a common phrase with my team mates, “Never leave the mat on a bad one”. If you leave the mat on a bad one, you feel bad and the feeling can carry over to the next time you face the mat. My wish for you in these closing weeks of 2018 are to dig deep, finish 2018 strong, leave the mat, and come back stronger.

Posted on by

Job Profile: Technical Writer Skill set

When evaluating job postings for technical writer you want to be sure your skill set matches what the company or recruiter is looking for. Some job postings are clearer than others in what they are looking for in a writer. As a basic description, technical writers are responsible for designing and write documentation for a company’s products. This includes writing initial documentation, revising as the company revises the products, publishing the documentation, and for maintaining an online repository of those documents. This is the technical writer’s output, what they produce. Technical writers must also work with multiple Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) in various departments to accomplish their work. This puts them in a unique position to actually be integrated into multiple departments outside of the writers or education department.

Technical Writers produce documentation, true but what do they really do…what does that mean. A review of current job postings reveals a myriad of responsibilities and required skills. I have included a list below along with what each requirement really means using software as the company example.

  • Work with individuals in departments including from management, quality assurance, customer support, and clients.
    • What this means: Long before a software is changed, or a new software is provided to a writer many individuals have been involved in the changes. These persons include business analysts who work with clients to design changes, developers who make the changes, and quality assurance who test the changes. These people are your best tools to determine ‘what really changed’ and ‘why did we make this change’. Depending on the company, writers may have direct access with customers and can use customer feedback to change documentation to improve its accuracy and usability. Without access to customers, your customer support department may be where documentation request come from.
  • Write, edit, and format release notes.
    • What this means: Let’s start with what release notes are. Release Notes are a document that accompanies a software release that list both the new features, changes to existing features, and known issues (bug fixes). This is sometimes called ‘What’s New’. Release notes are important to end users because this is how they determine which pieces of the software they use have been changed and must be re
  • Write, edit, and format online help project to coincide with application updates.
    • What this means: Documentation that is available within an application or on the Internet for end users is online help or the help file. This information looks different and has a different content structure than documentation in a Word or FrameMaker user guide. The help file is more than user guides put online, it is easy to use layouts and navigation, dynamic content, and searchable. Technical Writers can take advantage of HTML and XLM features of help authoring tools such as MadCap Flare and Adobe RoboHelp. These tools allow information to be single-sourced and available to be used in many different outputs. One of the greatest usability features these help authoring tools provide is to add context-sensitivity to the online help. When a user is on a specific screen/page of an application and open help, the content related to the page they are on automatically opens.
  • Update documentation to keep it current with recent release changes.
    • What this means: With each release all materials related to the application must be updated and available to users upon release. This includes release notes, user guides, online help, quick guides, and other relevant material. It is crucial to customer satisfaction and retention for customers to have access to these materials. It is important for technical writers to complete these materials when the release is wrapped up so that they can move on to the next release.
  • Create and format documentation templates.
    • What this means: All of the documentation pieces have a certain look whether they be created in Word, FrameMaker, PowerPoint, or a help authoring tool. This is the design or style element for these pieces and the template is created as a blank starting point for each document. Technical writers create these templates to be used by themselves and other team members. These templates ensure consistency when a new piece of documentation is started. For instance, if a topic template is created in the help authoring tool, when a writer starts a new topic it will be created with that template shell.
  • Ensure consistency in instructional content and naming conventions.
    • What this means: Consistency in content can be aided with the templates the technical writer designed and with the language used itself. It is important with a team of writers, that the documentation reads as though it is written by a single person. Documentation written this way is easier for end-users to understand. Naming conventions refers to the names of documentation files. These could be user guide Word or PDF files or any files in the online help. Consistency in naming these files makes them easier to find within the company SharePoint site or OneDrive locations. For example, these could be file names of items in the help file related to a demographics program.
      • DE_Add_Information.htm – All topics for demographics begin with DE_
      • DE_IMG_Add_Info.png – All images for demographics begin with DE_IMG_
      • DE_SN_SSN.FLSNP – All snippets for demographics begin with DE_SN_

Note: Snippets are reusable pieces of information. In this example SSN (Social Security Number) as a field may be used in numerous places in the online help. Create one snippet then insert it where needed. If the function of the field changes you only need to update the snippet and the places where it is inserted will automatically update.

  • Research application features, enhancements and resolved issues to write customer-facing content.
    • What this means: All of the documentation written involves writing for new features and improving existing documentation for existing features. Research is how you determine the changes to documentation. Each company has its own systems for tracking work lists or items to be changed. These work lists will define system changes, their scope, and specification documents or Specs. Specs are written by analysts and used by developers to code changes to the application and by quality assurance to test the software. These specs are a technical writer’s best source to determine what has changed. When this information is combined with a walk through of the last release and the upcoming release a more complete picture of changes can be revealed. If sprint review meetings are held to demonstrate changes, these can provide any late changes that were discovered during programming, but did not get added to a spec.
  • Experience with development methods; waterfall, agile , or others.
    • What this means: A software development process is how work is divided into phases leading up to release. This can also be called development life cycle. There are a few methodologies used by companies. Technical writers will have to be familiar with which process is being used at their company and how they work within the method. Below are some descriptions of development methodologies:
      • Agile: Requirements and solutions are worked on in a collaborative effort of self-organized cross function teams with their end users. Releases contain less changes an are released more frequently.
      • Waterfall: This process is less iterative and flexible. Process flows in one direction; downward through the phases from conception to deployment and maintenance.
      • Prototyping: Involves creating incomplete versions of the software program. A great benefit of this process is the designer can get feedback from end users early in a project and make changes with less financial impact.
      • Rapid Application Development: This process puts less emphasis on planning and more emphasis on an adaptive process. With less planning, the process is more flexible to take advantage of knowledge gained during the project to improve the end program.

Nearly all  technical writer job postings require a bachelor’s degree in Technical Writing or related communications or technology field. Often these indicate that an equivalent master’s degree is preferred. In the past month I have found the first job posting I have seen which requires a Master of Technical Writing degree.  I believe that a master’s degree in a professional writing or technical writing will become a standard requirement for Technical Writer job postings. With this in mind I am forever grateful for the Master of Professional Writing program at Chatham University.

Posted on by

The Power of Personal Branding

5,000 brand messages per day, that is the how many the average person is exposed to daily. With all that noise, there are some bands that are recognized the most; Google, IBM, Walmart, Visa, Ebay, FedEx, 3M, and Coca-Cola to name a few. The logos for these companies are ubiquitous – they are everywhere. But what else do they have in common? They are some combination of simple, consistent, and unmistakable. This is what makes them work. Branding is more than just a logo, it is also the message and everywhere it is delivered.

Companies use branding to identify and distinguish themselves and their products from other companies and products. Once the brand message is established, all departments (leadership, sales, and support) and corporate culture can live the message attributed to the brand. Understanding company branding is easy, but have you ever personally branded yourself? If branding works for companies it can work for a person too.

People can use branding to uniquely identify themselves from other applicants, employees, or students. Personal branding allows us to quantify our value, live our value, and then show our value so that others can see it. Once you personally brand yourself you can focus your activities on furthering your brand.

Reasons for personal branding:

  1. Improving your recognition – The more interesting people find you, the more willing they are to connect with you at social events or on social networking sites such as LinkedIn. Your brand is a part of that recognition.
  2. Adding meaning – The process of developing your personal brand helps to develop who you are. Your personal brand is what makes you unique. When you live that meaning, you are more confident and those you meet will react positively.
  3. Accelerating your career – Personal branding is all about connections and relationships. These are the same things that will put you in the right place at the right time for potential jobs, recognition awards, and contracts. Be sure to focus your personal brand to a target audience. Maybe you have set your sights on working for a specific company. Be sure your brand aligns with the company and then live your brand.

Like any other content marketing strategy, content is king, and you are in charge of the content. You are creating a digital footprint that tells all the right things when another person or company is evaluating whether they want to work with you. This is a strategy, not a one-time thing. Building a personal band takes time. The benefits of the new relationships you will build or a new job you are offered as a result can benefit your career exponentially.

Check out these examples of personal branding:

10 Amazing Individual Websites & Useful Personal Branding Examples

8 AMAZING PERSONAL BRANDING EXAMPLES YOU CAN LEARN FROM TODAY

Kylie Garner Blog – Personal Branding Examples

Posted on by

Making the Most of Networking

Networking Image

How likely are you to drive to a foreign location, full of strangers, and start a conversation with a dozen or more of the strangers? It is an odd set of circumstances, but this is what we put ourselves through at networking events. Networking events can be stressful for introverted and extroverted alike. There are some ways you can prepare ahead of the event to have a more successful networking function.

Be sure to see the list below of networking events related to communication and technical writing.

Know your event

“Thorough preparation makes its own luck.” Joe Poyer

When reviewing a networking event to attend, be sure the subject aligns with your work and career goals. Are you interested in technology, teaching, programming, plumbing, camping? If the event is focused on the same thing, it may be a match for you. Once you have decided on an event, the other things to be familiar with are directions to the location, event and parking fees, and length of the event.

Set a goal for the event

“People with goals succeed because they know where they’re going.” Earl Nightingale

Identify one or a few goals that you want to accomplish at the event. Perhaps there is one new person you would love to meet and establish a connection with. Maybe this could be someone you already know and want to strengthen your relationship with.  A simple goal by be to collect a set number of business cards or to make a specific number of connections. Set the goal and stay focused on the goal. It is very important to remember when meeting new people, this is your only chance for the ‘first impression’.

Do not be timid

“It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.” Theodore Roosevelt

It can be difficult to start a conversation with a stranger. At a networking event you are all in the same boat. It is awkward for everyone. Start with the basics, say hello, introduce yourself, and as a basic question. For example, ‘How long have you been a part of this organization?’. The type of question could vary by the type of event. This author attended a networking function that was by invitation only and was set up by one person. Everyone at the event knew the organizer. The question that was asked the most was, ‘How do you know the organizer? Be sure to ask questions that will help you make a connection, after all that is what you are here for. Small talk is an art and will take time to master.

Networking Opportunities

Here is a list of a few  Pittsburgh based conferences and meetups on communicating and technical writing:

Association of Teachers of Technical Writing – Accountability in Technical Communication, Pittsburgh, PA March 12-13, 2019

Grants Professionals of Western PA – Grant Writers, Next Meetup – Wednesday November 28, 2018

Pittsburgh Business Times – Holds multiple meetings per month with networking opportunities.

Pittsburgh Technology Council – Holds multiple meetings per month with networking opportunities.

Shadyside Young Professionals, Next Meetup – Monday November 12, 2018

Shut Up & Write! Pittsburgh, PA, Next Meetup – Friday November 9, 2018

Tech Happy Hour – Pittsburgh, Nets Meetup – Wednesday December 5, 2018, Mario’s East Side Saloon, Walnut Street

If would like to suggest another networking event, add it to the comments.

Posted on by

Content Automation: Impact on Communicators and Writers

Content Automation

Content Automation Defined

Automation is a term we here most being applied to manufacturing; technology and machinery that controls the production and delivery of goods. Performing tasks previously performed by humans. Automation can be incorporated into various industries including communication and technical writing as Content Automation. Communicators/writers create a large volume of content for specific people, at specific times, on specific devices. Traditional methods of creation, management, and delivery can be cumbersome, time consuming, and do not prevent duplication of content.

Content automation the process gives communicators/writers a whole new process to create and manage reusable chunks of content. The chunks can then be assembled, tracked, managed and updated. When Artificial Intelligence (AI) is applied to content these chunks can be self-assembling.

Content and User Experience (UX)

Improving user experience is a top responsibility for communicators/writers. Accuracy of information and timeliness of delivery are keys to increasing UX. There is some debate on whether content strategy is a part of UX strategy. Some say no because the content does not live within an application. It is this writer’s opinion that content must be considered a part of UX simply because the users use it. Communications and written aids do impact success levels.

Clients or end users need to have the most accurate and up-to-date standard operating procedures (SOPs) related to the job they are trying to perform. For instance, emergency procedures for evacuating nursing homes during a natural disaster. These procedures could be different today than for the last disaster even if that was in the last few weeks. User experience with content comes down to correct content, at the correct time, and the correct place.

Start with a Content Audit

When trying to adopt content automation, the first step is to know your content. Perform a content audit to determine the current state of the materials. This involves how it is created, by which teams, the roles of the communicators/writers, current tools used, method of deliver, and the frequency it needs to be updated. The results of the content audit will guide your next steps. Once the content is evaluated, you can set goals for the next iteration of the content.

Power of Content Automation

When traditional static documents (Word or PDF) are created. This is time consuming, has a higher error rate, and the information is locked in the document and cannot be reused. When content automation is applied, communicators/writers create intelligent content or reusable components of text, charts, images, and video. Once a component is created it can be added to multiple documents; it is reused over and over. When the component is changed each use of it is updated automatically. These components become the single source of truth.

Let’s say your company is hosting a trade show.  You have created online, and print versions of the vendor showcase floor layout, session guide, and networking events.  As session presenters are accepted you add them to a location and time for presentation. John Presenter has an emergency and cannot make it to his session nor will he be displaying in the vendor showcase. He offers to send Jane in his place. If you are single sourcing/chunking information, you can change John’s name to Jane on  in the main location or chunk where this information appears, rather than to change the name on each online or print piece. Once changed, the information will automatically update in the online and print versions.

Figure 1: John Presenter

Figure 2: Jane Presenter

Impact for Communicators/Writers

The goal of content automation for communicators/writers is to allow them to focus on their strengths. Content automation allows these workers to focus less on managing information and reviewing materials. They can spend more time on creating original content.

Neil Perlin has identified 4 characteristics of content in Information 4.0 which includes content automation. These characteristics embody not only the words that are written, but the format, chunking, release, timeliness, accessibility, and responsiveness to context of that information.

  • Dynamic: Content chunks that can be updated in real-time. When information in the system changes, the content or the user should be able to trigger its build or generation, rather than the writer.
  • Ubiquitous: Content available everywhere, independent of device. It must be online searchable and find-able.
  • Offered: Specific content made available when users encounter an issue rather than all information related to all tasks all the time. Content is online, print medium is ruled out.
  • Spontaneous: Content triggered by the context. Meaning the orientation of the device being used or perhaps a specific context for an issue. An example is that information for de-icing a plane would only be available if the outside temperature is near 32 degrees.
Posted on by

Top Skills for an Interviewer

At some point we have all been in an interview as the interviewee. Perhaps you were interviewed for a job or for an article or a newspaper. Some interviews are great, you connect with the interviewer and feel as though you have gotten our point across. Other interviews fall short. You may feel as though you and the interviewer are speaking different language and you may leave the interview wondering what you could have done better. I have been interviewed more times than I have conducted an interview. In an effort to push through my comfort zone, I would like to become an interviewer. Watching those with this skill set conduct an interview is much like watching a great painter paint.

Lets break down the interview structure; the one-one-one conversation. The whole crux of an interview is to gain information about the respondent and their point of view in a manner that they feel comfortable enough to surrender their true thoughts. This holds true while interviewing a candidate for a hiring position, conducting a journalistic interview of your favorite writer, and when moderating a focus group for market research. The interviewee has information that you need for yourself or that needs disseminated to a larger audience. Your task as the interviewer is to get the information out, the truthful, usable information.

The Interviewers To-do List:

  1. Punctuality: Once the interview appointment is scheduled the interviewer should be ready to start at the agreed upon time. Do not be fashionably late.
  2. Prepare the Interviewee: Let the person or persons know what to expect. This could be the order of operations if there is a group being interviewed vs. a single person or simply how long the interview will take. Knowing what will happen will make the person being interviewed more comfortable.
  3. Environment: Select a location that will limit distractions. If the interview is over the phone or Internet, be sure to select a quiet place. The environment can have a negative impact on the interview. Dogs barking or doors slamming can be a detraction.
  4. Prepare Notes: You want to be prepared with questions to ask and notes on the background research you have done on the person and subject matter. These notes are to help you prepare and for reference if you need them but relying on notes to heavily can make you seem unprepared. You want to ask insightful questions about their vision, ideas, and goals. These questions are to be open-ended, but no so open or vague that the interviewer does not know how to answer. For instance, “Tell me about yourself” is very vague. Here’s a great question I was asked at my graduate entrance interview, “Can you tell us why you have selected Chatham University’s Master of Professional Writing program?”. As a person I usually choke when I am asked to speak about myself, it is not my favorite topic. But when asked about a program of study I find it easy to put words together. I can put a purpose to it.
  5. Let go of Your Ego: Even though the interview is a one-on-one conversation, the interview is about the interviewee, not you. As the interviewer, when you speak encourage the other person to talk about their story or experience. The words you use should always be taking the interview further, diving deeper into questions to gain more insight or information.
  6. Be a Good Listener: Practicing active listening will help you know when to dive deeper into a question or take the questioning in a different direction. Listening will also show that you are genuinely interested. There is no need to take notes during the interview, just listen. Asking the interviewee if they mind the interview being recorded will provide a method of going back and allow you to listen instead of taking notes. While they are speaking this is their chance to get the point across. Their answer to a question may help you select which question to ask next.
  7. Not-So-Awkward Pause: No one wants the uncomfortable pause but taking a slight pause rather than interjecting with the next question too quickly can allow time for the responder to add more information. Use the silence to draw out more information. Maybe they will add more info on the question or offer information on a new idea.
  8. Close the Interview: Too short of an interview may show your disinterest as an interviewer and too long of an interviewer may result in diminishing returns in the quality of information gained. Once you have finished with your questions, be sure to ask the interviewee if there is anything they would like to add; you may be surprised that they will offer information you did not think to ask about. Finally, be sure to thank your interviewee and be sure to help them exit the interview as you

Conducting an interview involves critical reasoning skills and imaginative thinking skills. Be aware of the details without losing sight of the big picture. Much like any other form of communication or writing, the more you are an interviewer, the better you will be.