The Interview

Course Overview

Title:
The Interview
Type:
Self-Directed Course
Time Estimate:
The total time to complete this self-directed module is about one to two hours. **You can access the course on your own schedule, starting and stopping at your convenience. And you can come back anytime once you enroll.**

About Self-Directed Courses

In a self-directed course, you can start and stop whenever you like, progressing entirely at your own pace and going back as many times as you want to review the material.

This module will teach you what you need to know about being a better interviewer and allow you to put those lessons into practice as you learn. With the aid of a virtual coach and a typical encounter with a, not entirely forthcoming source, you'll have the chance to see firsthand how the kinds of questions you pose can stop or start an effective interview. During this interview, you'll witness the power of listening and how to deal with a source who spills the beans and then says it's all "off the record."

What Will I Learn:

After taking this course, you will be able to:

  • Prepare quickly for an effective interview.
  • Recognize the difference between green light and red light questions that can keep an interview moving along or stall it in its tracks.
  • Learn the power of listening and avoid the pitfalls of "off the record."
Course Instructor:

Chip Scanlan

Chip Scanlan, visiting associate professor at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and former faculty at The Poynter Institute, spent two decades as a reporter, feature writer and national correspondent, and won 16 awards for writing, congressional reporting and public service, including a Robert F. Kennedy award for his exposé of hazardous exports to developing countries.

Technical Requirements:

For this course you will need to have at least version 7.0 of the Flash plugin installed. For the best experience, we suggest that:

  • PC users use Internet Explorer or Netscape/Mozilla/Firefox
  • Mac users use Netscape/Mozilla/Firefox or Safari
  • you set your monitor resolution to 1024 x 768 or higher
  • you use a high speed connection