what Ricky Lo taught me

“Woe to the writer who cannot start, let alone keep a conversation going.” AA Patawaran, Write Here Write Now

Interviewing a subject is part of writing. One cannot write without materials hence, make the most out of the interview, ask questions—as many queries as you can—and do not assume. Ask.

In most cases, a subject has apprehensions and reservations. It is the task of the interviewer to dig deep and let the subject feel at ease and let her hair and/or his guard down.

However, this seemingly simple task of asking questions about a subject is not as easy as it seems. Apparently, even the most experienced journalist, writer, host, or columnist may fall into the trap of an awkward and scrambled interview session.

Recently, local writer/columnist Ricky Lo made a headline for his controversial interview with Les Miz star Anne Hathaway. The interview was gauche and trying hard, you can sense it and you can see it in the eyes of Anne and Ricky. Some blame it on the “cultural differences” that made the four-minute interview session a slapdash.

#SelfNotes:

• 1.    Smile. Who wouldn’t sport his/her megawatt smile when Anne Hathaway is around? Ricky Lo hardly smiles.

• 2.    Project a lively image. Lo was way too serious, maybe he was nervous?

• 3.    Keep calm and not stutter. Lo dropped his phone during the interview and he was struggling to voice out his questions.

• 4.    Drop the links—if the subject said something about something ask about it. E.g.

 “Q: What do you do during free time?”

“A: I do a lot during free time. I basically allot it for ‘me-time.’”

A good conversationalist would ask to elaborate the vague answer while a mediocre             interviewer would rather move on to the question he formulated at the back of his mind. This leads us to the last lesson.

• 5.    While it is good to note down interview questions, AA Patawaran said in his book, “Write Here Write Now,” that it is better to throw away all the questions formulated and just listen to the conversation. Questions will come out naturally. Ricky Lo was busy reading his questions while Anne was still explaining something.