I’m a journalist, and I love and hate the phone interview. It’s convenient and necessary. Real quotes from someone 500 miles away. Real quotes without leaving the newsroom.
I hate the phone interview because a voice isn’t a whole person. I have a hard enough time getting a source to reveal their personality face-to-face, and the phone makes it that much harder.
But as long as we have cell towers and deadlines, the phone interview’s here to stay. So, a few tips (perhaps some obvious) to make the most of them:
1. Be sure the source knows who is calling.
Your source needs to know who you are. Of course, journalists never should hide who they are. But only hearing a voice on the phone can confuse some people. Once, a source on the phone thought they had met me before and mentioned some personal information about my life that was incorrect. Awkward. Seeing my face would’ve no doubt helped this source. So make sure people know who you are.
2. Decide who is going to call who.
This is for scheduled phone interviews. Perhaps another no-brainer, but an important one, so you and the source both don’t wait on your respective ends of the line for the other to call.
3. Find a quiet location and realize it might not be quiet for long.
My Verizon LG cellphone has terrible sound. I once conducted a whole interview on the U.S. Supreme Court’s possible 2013 docket and barely heard a word (I recorded the interview and listened to it later, but that’s not ideal). If I don’t find a spot that is more or less completely quiet, I can’t have a conversation with the source, which is what a good interview is. I can only go through a list of questions.
Quiet spots at five minutes before the interview can be full of ruckus five minutes in, too. So know how your location might change.
4. Charge your phone beforehand.
About a year ago, I profiled a local sheriff with liver disease. Unfortunately, I was only able to interview him on the phone—not good for a profile, but that’s life. What made it worse is that my phone died in the middle of the interview, and my charger was not with me. Luckily, a nearby friend let me borrow her phone, but don’t count on that.
5. Like in-person interviews, don’t be afraid of silence.
Anyone who’s taken a basic reporting class has learned that silence in interviews is not bad. Don’t speak, and the source will often say something more to fill the silence. Today, I learned this is true on the phone, too. I had only started to say something to fill the silence, but then the source did so. Wait, and you never know what you might get.
Bonus: Want to record your phone interviews? Check this out.
Zack Anderson 
This was so timely for me! I happened to be setting up multiple phone interviews when I read this. Thank you for the helpful information, especially for a non-journalist like me who has no clue how to do these things 🙂 Easy to read, and very practical!
These are some great, practical tips! Nice work.
And that was really nice of your friend to let you borrow her phone. What a kind soul 😉
Love your tips! I’ve done a few phone interviews and have always come away with things I want to improve on. I think your tips will definitely help!
Thanks for the helpful tips! I especially liked tip #5. Sometimes a little bit of silence produces the best information.
Good tips! I’m not a huge fan of the phone interview either. I’m an awkward person in general, but I feel like I’m less awkward in person than over the phone.
#2 and #3! So true. Since I live in Printy, whenever I have to interview people on the phone I would always go to my car to call them. Plus then, if your phone begins to die, you can use a car charger!
Like you, I also have a love/hate relationship with phone interviews. They’re necessary, but it’s so much harder to read people then.