The Interview, step by step
A shape that works under pressure.
- Research firstKnow the answerable facts already. Spend the time on what only they know.
- Open wideStart with easy, open questions to establish how they speak normally.
- NarrowMove to specifics: dates, numbers, who decided what and when.
- Put the difficult questionOnce, plainly, without hedging. Then wait through the silence.
- Close the gapsAsk what you should have asked, and who else you should speak to.
Silence after a partial answer is the most productive tool available and the hardest to use. Do not fill it.
Questions about the The Interview poster
- What’s on the The Interview poster?
- 5 numbered steps. A shape that works under pressure. Research first — Know the answerable facts already. Spend the time on what only they…; Open wide — Start with easy, open questions to establish how they speak normally.; Narrow — Move to specifics: dates, numbers, who decided what and when.; Put the difficult question — Once, plainly, without hedging. Then wait through the si…; Close the gaps — Ask what you should have asked, and who else you should speak to.. Silence after a partial answer is the most productive tool available and the hardest to use. Do not fill it.
- Who is the The Interview poster for?
- The Interview belongs to the Communications & Media section rather than to a school year, because humanities is not something one grade owns. Anyone learning journalism can pin it up — a beginner, a student mid-course, or someone revising years later.
- When should you use the The Interview poster?
- Preparing any interview where the subject would rather not answer. A wall chart earns its place by being glanceable from where the work is happening, so The Interview belongs on the wall where that humanities work actually happens, within glancing distance, rather than filed away.
- What other posters go with The Interview?
- Beat Reporting, Corrections and Data Journalism sit alongside The Interview in the Communications & Media section. Printed together they make a wall rather than a single sheet, which is how a reference set actually gets used.Beat ReportingCorrectionsData Journalism
- Is the The Interview poster free to download and print?
- Yes. The Interview downloads as a free PDF with no account, no email and no watermark, like everything else in the Communications & Media section. Print as many copies as you like for a home, a classroom, a library or a tutoring group; reselling the file is the only thing the licence rules out.Read the licence
- What size does the The Interview poster print at?
- The Interview is a vector PDF laid out for US Letter, and prints on A4 with Fit to page — the same file, no separate download. Because every mark on it is drawn rather than photographed, it stays sharp enlarged to A3, A2 or A1 at a copy shop. Colour carries emphasis only, so a greyscale print of The Interview loses nothing.Printing guide
Related posters
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