The material sources provide during interviews can vastly change depending on the person, the story and your overall level of preparation. Sometimes, sources give you exactly what you need, but other times, you have to pull the most important material from the conversation. How do you know what information to use from sources? There are a few things to keep in mind:
- If you have an understanding of the themes of your story (or at least your angle, if you do not have much background information), then you can ask your source guided questions that elicit the most relevant responses.
- Pay attention to what your source says. If they don’t sound informed about the topic or if they contradict anything, you may need to reach out to a different source.
- Think of what people need to know. If your source says something that’s good, but not quite what you’re looking for, don’t try to squeeze it in.
- Be careful not to rely too heavily on your questions during interviews. Sources can speak more specifically about certain aspects of your questions, which the writer can pursue further by adding new questions to the discussion.
- Always ask your sources at the end of the conversation if there is anything else they would like to add. This is often where the magic happens, where the source summarizes what they think is the most important point. It also helps you cover any content you didn’t mention that may be important.
The next section of the AP Style Resources is Concluding Stories.