Interview planning Guide
Before
- Book sufficient time – at least an hour per interview.
- Ideally interview in person but other options are possible.
- Review all notes before the interview.
- Confirm what you know and what you don’t. What are your critical information requirements?
- Prepare and know the questions you will ask.
- Confirm meeting details 24-hours in advance.
- Schedule short breaks or catch-up time between interviews if conducting more than one each day.
During
- Begin the interview with an open mind.
- Start by confirming basic information to break the ice.
- Tackle core questions as early as possible to leave time for topics raised by the interviewee.
- Use open questions that can’t be answered with a simple yes or no. Also avoid leading questions. For example, asking ‘are you worried about terrorism?’ is going to trigger a range of emotions and give that threat a higher priority than it might warrant. Instead, you could start with ‘what kinds of security threats are you concerned about?’.
- Keep thorough, clear notes.
- Use evidence if making a point / challenging an assertion.
- Listen, listen, listen.
- Stay engaged.
After
- Review notes.
- Send a ‘thank you’ note and schedule a follow up if necessary.
- Follow up on any data points you missed.
- Write up findings.