ASKING ALL THE RIGHT QUESTIONS
ASKING ALL THE RIGHT QUESTIONS Sometimes you strike up a conversation with a
Sometimes you need to ‘drill down’. People may
stranger and feel like you’ve known them for years,
give you only a brief answer to your question, not
other times the conversation runs dry after a few
realising that their story is interesting to you. Use
minutes of small talk. You’ll find out more interesting
‘how’ and ‘why’ questions to encourage them to
things about a person if you’ve thought of some
describe an experience in more detail.
good questions to ask them. Remember, if you plan to write their story, it's handy A lot of people aren’t great at talking about
to have a notebook so you can make sure you're
themselves, even though they might have a
not just relying on your memory. Write down any
fascinating story to tell. With practice, you’ll get the
memorable quotes.
skills to tease these stories out. The first thing to think about is the context. Where are you? Are you in a crowded street or a quiet park? It’s worth thinking about what the person you're approaching is doing. Are you interrupting them, or do they look like they'd be open to having a chat? How can you engage them in a conversation and gain their trust in just a few moments? Next is permission. You need to get their permission to take their photo and to publish it, with information from your interview with them, in the ABC Open Camera Club. See insert for a good
Pick two or three questions from the list below: Where are you going? Where have you been? Can you think of any advice that you’ve been given that has really stuck with you? What did you think you were going to be when you grew up? Tell me about how you got into your line of work?
choice of words.
What are your family rituals?
Once they've agreed, start with a small simple
Is there anything your parents told you when you
question, something that’s easy to answer but gives you a few clues about the person that you can then follow up. A good principle to follow is to ask open-ended questions – questions that can’t be answered with a simple yes/no. On the other hand, don’t ask
were young that's stuck with you? Tell me about your closest friend? What are they like? How did you meet? If you had an extra hour in the day, what would you use it for?
questions that are too broad. If you were asked ‘what is the happiest moment of your life?’ out of the blue, what would you say?
1
ASKING ALL THE RIGHT QUESTIONS Questions to help 'drill down' or dig a little deeper: Can you tell me a little more about that? How old were you? What did you learn from that experience? Why is that important to you? Could you describe that experience? What was that like? How did it feel?
Important Rules about interviewing people and taking their photo: GETTING PERMISSION It's important that you let the person you're interviewing know how you intend to use their information at the beginning of the conversation. You need to get their permission to publish this information on the internet. You also need their permission to take and publish their photo. You could say “Do you agree to let me interview you and photograph you for an ABC Open project and publish a short summary, with your photo, on the internet?” PHOTOGRAPHING CHILDREN It’s ABC policy to get parental permission for any child under the age of 18 to be involved in any way as a subject or content creator. It’s best to get written permission from the child’s parent or guardian before engaging or approaching any child to participate in an ABC Open project. For school children to participate in content-making during school hours, permission from the school is required. You can read all about the ABC’s editorial policies here www.abc.net.au/corp/pubs/edpols.htm GETTING IT RIGHT When you ask people their name and where they're from, make sure you write this information down and check the spelling. People don't have to give you their full name, age, or tell you where they're from, but you want to get it right when they do.
What's Your Story? 2
Sometimes you need to ‘drill down’. People may
stranger and feel like you’ve known them for years,
give you only a brief answer to your question, not
other times the conversation runs dry after a few
realising that their story is interesting to you. Use
minutes of small talk. You’ll find out more interesting
‘how’ and ‘why’ questions to encourage them to
things about a person if you’ve thought of some
describe an experience in more detail.
good questions to ask them. Remember, if you plan to write their story, it's handy A lot of people aren’t great at talking about
to have a notebook so you can make sure you're
themselves, even though they might have a
not just relying on your memory. Write down any
fascinating story to tell. With practice, you’ll get the
memorable quotes.
skills to tease these stories out. The first thing to think about is the context. Where are you? Are you in a crowded street or a quiet park? It’s worth thinking about what the person you're approaching is doing. Are you interrupting them, or do they look like they'd be open to having a chat? How can you engage them in a conversation and gain their trust in just a few moments? Next is permission. You need to get their permission to take their photo and to publish it, with information from your interview with them, in the ABC Open Camera Club. See insert for a good
Pick two or three questions from the list below: Where are you going? Where have you been? Can you think of any advice that you’ve been given that has really stuck with you? What did you think you were going to be when you grew up? Tell me about how you got into your line of work?
choice of words.
What are your family rituals?
Once they've agreed, start with a small simple
Is there anything your parents told you when you
question, something that’s easy to answer but gives you a few clues about the person that you can then follow up. A good principle to follow is to ask open-ended questions – questions that can’t be answered with a simple yes/no. On the other hand, don’t ask
were young that's stuck with you? Tell me about your closest friend? What are they like? How did you meet? If you had an extra hour in the day, what would you use it for?
questions that are too broad. If you were asked ‘what is the happiest moment of your life?’ out of the blue, what would you say?
1
ASKING ALL THE RIGHT QUESTIONS Questions to help 'drill down' or dig a little deeper: Can you tell me a little more about that? How old were you? What did you learn from that experience? Why is that important to you? Could you describe that experience? What was that like? How did it feel?
Important Rules about interviewing people and taking their photo: GETTING PERMISSION It's important that you let the person you're interviewing know how you intend to use their information at the beginning of the conversation. You need to get their permission to publish this information on the internet. You also need their permission to take and publish their photo. You could say “Do you agree to let me interview you and photograph you for an ABC Open project and publish a short summary, with your photo, on the internet?” PHOTOGRAPHING CHILDREN It’s ABC policy to get parental permission for any child under the age of 18 to be involved in any way as a subject or content creator. It’s best to get written permission from the child’s parent or guardian before engaging or approaching any child to participate in an ABC Open project. For school children to participate in content-making during school hours, permission from the school is required. You can read all about the ABC’s editorial policies here www.abc.net.au/corp/pubs/edpols.htm GETTING IT RIGHT When you ask people their name and where they're from, make sure you write this information down and check the spelling. People don't have to give you their full name, age, or tell you where they're from, but you want to get it right when they do.
What's Your Story? 2
