Dec
18
I'm still slogging through transcription of interviews. It is hard work, and my wrists are feeling the brunt of it. I really should be a faster typist by now.
I shouldn't complain. I actually enjoy this part of the process very much.
I remember the first interview I had to transcribe. It was during my university days, for my radio broadcasting class. Our teacher (famous for being a stubborn "my-way-or-the-highway" kind of guy) made us type out our first interview in its entirety. Our assignment was to find a senior citizen and ask them about their earliest childhood memory. I went to an old age home and was matched up with someone there. He was a really nice fellow. We talked for a couple of hours. His first memory was of a shiny red fire engine he got for Christmas ... and he went on from there. You can imagine how many pages I filled up.
Anyway, yes, my interview had to be transcribed word for word. And it stuck with me - not the interview itself, but the process. I never forgot how pleasantly mindless it all is - at least - I used to think it was mindless, but it's not. My brain is quietly humming and processing everything while I tap away. Subconsciously I am sorting out my thoughts and planning how the story is going to unfold.
Thankfully, I've gotten better at it over the years. As I listened to my interviews over again from the perspective of an eavesdropper, not the interviewer, I quickly learned where I was making mistakes.
One of the things I've learned is what I call the Shut Up Principle. I'm always thinking about it when I'm interviewing someone for a piece I'm writing. It's still a struggle, but I'm improving. I try not to interrupt, interject, or put words in my interviewee's mouth. And I try not to talk about myself. I did a lot of this early on. I never realized it until I was playing back the audio. The person would tell me something about themselves and I'd hear the recorded version of myself pipe up and say "I did that too!" or relate my own witty tale. Ugh. It made me cringe when I listened to myself.
I figured out why I was doing it. I wanted the person to like me, to trust me, to open up to me and tell me more. But I don't think it ever worked. On playback it just sounded ridiculous. After all, this is not about me, it's about them.
Now when I do an interview, I let them talk. I even let awkward silences remain awkward and silent. More often than not the interviewee will fill the gap. I certainly don't need to step in with any tidbit of my own. This is not a normal conversation. It's an interview.
