1. Be Prepared. Have a notebook with plenty of blank space and several pens. Where you are taking notes may have an impact on what you need. If you are in a place where you may be writing vertically, or where there is a lot of dust, a pencil may be a better choice over a pen.
2. Label and map your notes. Start your notes by recording all identification information. Are you at a meeting? If yes, note who is meeting, the type of meeting, and the date of the meeting. If it’s your first time there, a diagram of where people are sitting can be very helpful. Notes don’t have to be limited to just written comments.
3. Get the basics. Record the basic information about everyone you are interviewing. Print (don’t use cursive) their name, age, city where they reside, occupation and title. Have them spell out even the basic names, because you never know when Smith is really Smyth. Don’t forget to get contact information. If you know when you’ll be writing the story, find out where the source will be so you can find them if you have any questions. If you are interviewing more than one person at a time, make sure you have a system for distinguishing them. Initials and/or first names often work. Just make sure that you don’t have more than one person with the same name/initials. Clearly mark any transition in speakers in your notes.
4. More is more. The more notes you take, the better the final article will be. You will need lots and lots of notes, so keep people talking! Don’t worry about being neat but make sure you understand what you are writing. Make sure you are recording only facts. Don’t insert your personal opinion or emotion. If you have a great quote, mark it in a way that you will find it later. Put a big star on it, or circle it. Leave lots of room to add notes and questions later.
5. Include details. Do take notes about the atmosphere, the environment, and the context the story is happening. If you are interviewing someone about their athletic prowess in their home gym surrounded by lots of trophies, make a note of it.
6. Set off direct quotes. You will need to quote someone. Make sure you indicate in your notes that this is a direct quote and not a paraphrase. You do not need to include sounds like “um, and ahh.” Be aware that verbal communication is very different than written communication. People often fail to speak in full sentences. They may start a sentence, add inconsequential material, and then finish the sentence. Feel free to ask them to restate just the part you need. Make sure the comments you quote are quotable.
7. Review your notes. Before you finish the interview, take a moment to flip through your notes and look for any information you need to have clarified or expanded on. Do this while your interview candidate is still there. Make sure that you know who the person was referring to for any references to her, him, his, hers, etc. After the interview has ended and you are by yourself, you should also review your notes and add in any explanations you didn’t have time to jot down, but that you remember. Highlight key quotes, use colored pens or sticky notes to group subject matters. In other words, fill in the blanks. Do not add to direct quotes. Mark facts and information you need to verify. These are your notes. Make them as useful as you possibly can.
8. Smart use of audio recordings. Recording an interview can be great if you intend to use the audio on a web-version of the story, but it can be a source of problems if you are just writing a newspaper article under a deadline. If you use an audio recorder, be sure it has a counter and/or a way to bookmark places on the recording. Either one of these features will make it easier for you to locate exactly the quote you need later. It is very time consuming to fast forward and rewind the tape recorder in search of the perfect quote.
Even if you are recording the interview, do not rely solely on the recorder You should still take notes. A recorder can fail, and if you do not have the notes, you will not have a story. You can also incorporate the counter and/or bookmark number into your written notes for any quote you want to find later. This eliminates time consuming searches pressing fast forward and rewind in search of the perfect quote.
9. Leave a blank page. Near the front of your interview, leave a blank page to jot down notes on questions you have, documents you need to receive, etc. It’s one place for all the items you need to follow-up on, or request.
10. Develop your own short hand. No one has to read your notes except for you. Feel free to develop your own personal shorthand that will let you keep up with what the person you interview is saying.
