The Audio interview – Ten Things to do After You’re Done

You did everything right. You prepped hard, and did your research, and everything in the interview went smoothly. You can give yourself a pat on the back. But you can’t relax yet! You still have a lot to do, to make this an optimal interview.

1. Communicate with your interviewee
Say thank you. Even if you didn’t like what they had to say; even if they didn’t give you what you wanted; even if you didn’t like them very much, thank them. They gave up their time for you. Be gracious.
Tell them what to expect. Let them know where the interview will air, and how they can hear it. Tell them you’ll let them know when it comes available. And confirm that you can contact them again with any follow up questions.

2. Back up your tape
Get that tape off your recorder and duplicate it as quickly as you can. All sorts of things can go wrong in the digital universe: make sure you have insurance. Use the cloud, or a mix software program or even a thumb drive.

3. Make notes while the interview is fresh
You might not have been able to make notes, juggling your equipment as you likely were, so sit down as soon as you can, and make notes while the interview is still fresh in your mind. What stood out? What were the highlights? If you did make notes, go back through your scribbles and fill in the blanks. Fix that chicken scratch handwriting and jot down stuff you remember but didn’t get on paper. Wait too long and you’ll be staring at your notes like they’re written in hieroglyphics.

4. Get that recording transcribed ASAP
The sooner you get that transcript, the better chance you have of understanding – and recalling – what your interviewee(s) said. Use a transcriber, by all means, but then go through the tape, firstly to consolidate the interview in your mind, but secondly to identify cuts and clips of tape that you’ll use in your story.

5. Double-check the facts they threw at you
Your subject might be the nicest person in the world, but that doesn’t mean they got their numbers right. Look up those statistics and dates they rattled off – people mix things up all the time.

6. Chase down what they promised to send
Did they say they’d email you a document, or put you in touch with someone? Give them a friendly nudge within a day or two, because people forget fast. And regardless…

7. Follow up by email
You said thank you in person; now do it again in print. This gives you the opportunity to do several things. 1. Reiterate when the piece is airing, and how they can hear it. 2. Ask any questions that you might have. 3. Confirm anything controversial that they might have said. 4. Keep them sweet for interviews that you might want to do in future.

8. Figure out who else you need to talk to
One person’s story is just that – one side. Think about whose voices are missing and who might have a different take on things.

9. Chase down any new leads
you already did a bunch of prep, but your interview will almost certainly have thrown up some new information. Dig into it, and verify.

10. Map out what comes next
Make yourself a little game plan for who else you need to call, what you need to research, and when you’re going to actually sit down and write this thing. You probably already have a deadline for production of your final piece, now sketch out some interim deadlines for yourself, to help you with your production process