The interview is one of the most interesting journalistic genres that every professional correspondent or radio/TV presenter should be fluent in. Despite the regulated form of “question and answer”, it opens up a wide field of imagination, allows you to get the most necessary information in a sufficiently spacious and concise form, reveals the character of the musician, and creates a portrait of the phenomenon and subtly demonstrate your creative individuality.
The beauty and the difficulty of the genre are that when you meet a famous musician, you never know what material or program you will end up with and how the accents in the conversation will be set. For example, during a conversation, you can also find out that some famous musicians play online casinos to relax.
The casino at https://fairspin.io/, in general, is a place that completely different people can get into, and it is impossible to say what types or social groups of people play gambling.
The factor of luck and chance, the character's character, of course, plays their part, but the result depends to a greater extent on the interviewer's skill, which is honed with experience. The laws of the genre are such that the interview can turn in any direction – no one is insured against unforeseen situations, curiosities, and embarrassments. But there are a few essential points, knowing which in advance, you can avoid many mistakes in the interview.
Preparing for an interview – 80% of success
Usually, a meeting with a famous musician is connected with some kind of newsworthy occasion, be it the anniversary of the artist, a big concert, or an album release if we meet a musician. Knowing the enlightening experience thoroughly is necessary to be in the subject, but it is not enough. Before a meeting, it is essential to study a famous musician's biography, understand what else he can be interesting for a listener, viewer, or reader except for a current news break, and read other interviews he has given to mass media. All this will make the conversation as enjoyable as possible. Feel free to communicate and not get into an awkward situation.
It's the topics, not the questions, that matter
Knowing the facts, outline several topics, on each of which you can ask a series of different questions. If you're still at the beginning of your journey and get lost when you meet a famous musician, write down the wording of the questions to be internally calm, but most importantly, outline all the critical areas of the conversation, so you don't miss anything. Put it in writing and keep a conversation plan in your head. However, don't forget that the interview is a very fluid genre; new ideas and questions may arise in the course of the dialogue, which should also not be missed.
Excitement is a journalist's worst enemy
It has nothing to do with responsibility, is psychologically transmitted to the interlocutor, and can spoil the meeting. It is essential to be self-confident: just think that in front of you is not a magical, mythical creature that came down to earth from the sky but is just the same person as all of us. He is just a professional in his business, and you – in his, so relax and calmly steer the conversation in the right direction.
Be fully engaged in the process
Concentration is critical: Many aspiring journalists are so afraid of forgetting the next question that they may become distracted from what the musician is saying for a while, going into their thoughts. This can cause you to miss many important things. Listen carefully; any detail in the musician's speech can turn into an exciting topic for discussion, which you have not thought of before, and sometimes (if it is a print interview) can become a bright headline for your future material.
Get an answer to your question
Don't forget that you have specific objectives, you need to get detailed information, and you need to delicately steer the conversation in the right direction. If the musician gets distracted, changes the subject, or simply answers in a single sentence, quietly repeat the question or ask it in a different formulation a few minutes later. Only then will the interview be attractive to the audience.
Don't be afraid to ask “uncomfortable” questions
This does not concern a character's personal life or news from the tabloids. Still, there are situations when you have to 'make the character talk' about a topic he is trying to avoid for various reasons, even though it is essential. In this case, getting the person to talk with additional questions is worth trying. If you are still afraid to ask something personally, you can always request a question “from the listener” or “from the reader”.
Don't be afraid to state your position
The central figure of the interview is your interlocutor. Still, when discussing hot topics and issues of public importance, you can make your point by provoking a discussion. Remember that the interview is not just a question-and-answer session, but a dialogue. In this format, it will be much more attractive to the audience, and it will be more in-depth.
Edit interviews carefully
This tip is essential for journalists working in print or electronic media. Unlike transcribing, this is not a technical work but a creative one, during which you can create the desired form, making a complete work from the raw text, accentuating and emphasizing the critical points of the conversation with a famous musician. Remember that a transcript of an interview is draft material; never send it to your hero for approval in this form. Sometimes you have to reformulate questions and answers to make the interview stylistically correct, to change places of different parts of the conversation so that the internal logic is more vivid.