Asking Questions that Begin Conversations

Lizabeth A. Walsh, MJE

Standard QuestionsOur BASIC question set:

WhoWhatWhenWhereWhyHow

Has more than one question per starter. Brainstorm multiple questions for each one.

Who?Who? Who planned it?

Who attended?

Who participated?

Who watched?

Who didn’t attend?

Who else can I talk to?

What?What? What was the event?

What did people do to plan it?

What was the result?

What happened while it went on?

What is the history of this event?

When?When? When was the event?

When did people plan it?

When did people hear about it?

When did things start rolling?

When did it end?

Where?Where? Where was the event?

Where did people plan it?

Where else did things happen?

Why?Why? Why did people hold the event?

Why did people like it?

Why did people not like it?

Why was it important to tell this story?

How?How? How do I spell your full name?

How did the event get planned?

How did people get involved?

How did people feel about it?

How did everything come together?

How was the turnout?

How much money did it cost/was made?

Beyond the StandardToo often, we focus on “expected” questions.

Who What When Where Why How

and while we gather this information, we forget all about finding the STORY

these answers won’t tell us

SO WHAT? WHO CARES? WHAT’S THIS FOR?

Inspiration: Inspiration: Interviewing stuffInterviewing stuff

Pull out any random personal item.

Set it on the desk.

Create a conversation with it- ask it questions about you. Have it answer you.

Write down its answers.

Share your Q&A with your small group.

EXPANSI

ON

OPPORTUNITY

…

Pick more items to get a more balanced picture. Create a spread, story, quick read, info box about

you from the viewpoint of your personal item. Brainstorm how to put together all the materials

from your group’s interviews in a single spread- What gets the dominant? What gets into the story? What makes it into a sidebar? Think about 3

different kinds of alt copy treatments. What might get cut because it’s less interesting

to readers?

We want We want Facts, Figures, Facts, Figures,

FeelingsFeelings

Facts- the details answered by the 5 Ws and H

Figures- statistics, percentages, numbers (also come from 5 Ws and H)

Feelings- come from people telling stories and sharing their perspectives

Facts & FiguresFacts & Figures Come from research and from initial

questions that allow subject to warm up to you and start opening up

Come from a variety of sources to make sure they are accurate

Are reserved for transitions and sentences the reporter will write or for alternative coverage modules

FeelingsFeelings Come from letting people tell you their

stories.

You get these by using a gentle command: TELL ME about… SHARE WITH ME what it was like when…

Instead of sticking to the prepared script, listen for cues that can lead you into a great story, and follow them.

Note taking & Note taking & recordingrecording

Accuracy, Accuracy, Accuracy

Ask if it’s okay to record to be as accurate as possible- but don’t rely on it

Consider bringing a secondary writer, so you can converse instead of take notes

Verify all quoted material before you leave

Ask for a follow up check

Now that we’ve got all this stuff, what do we do with it?•Color coordinate info.

•Facts are yellow•Figures are blue•Feelings are pink

•Start sorting what you want to use where.•Headline ideas•Subheadline summaries•Story transitions•Feelings for depth and personality•Sidebar material

Revisit the stuff Revisit the stuff interviewsinterviews

Triangles for facts

Squares for figures

Circles for feelings Now determine what might be placed

where on a spread… it’s all about thinking carefully when crafting the interview- if you’d thought about FFF, what would you have done differently?

Practice…•Take a few of the stories from last year.•Write a list of questions the reporter asked.•Now write what he/she didn’t ask, but should have asked.•K-W-L sheets are a good way to build better question sets and evaluate the effectiveness of young reporters.

•Now, I’m serious… practice.•Interview someone in here for a story on camp.

http://flinthillswriter.blogspot.com/2011/08/bad-robot-interview.html

http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-18563_162-6885521.html

Videos we watchedVideos we watched

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