98 9.8 Methods: Face-to-Face

Conducting an interview in person is certainly the preferred method for communicators, whether they are interviewing for a news story or conducting focus groups.

Advantages of face-to-face interviews 

• Picking up clues about the person, beyond what they say (tone of voice, body language)

• Holding the interview in the interviewee’s “space” allows you to observe their environment, giving clues about the person and providing “color” for the story

• Interviewee can be recorded

• Longer, more complex question strategy can be used

• Interviewee can respond to visual images or objects

• Non-verbal responses to questions or displayed objects can be part of the information gathered

• Interviews can be edited but still maintain the feel of a live interview

Disadvantages

• Labor and transportation costs for the interviewers’ training and travel to and from the respondents’ locations can be high

• Interviewees can be reluctant to allow strangers into their homes or offices

• Interviewer’s appearance, age, race, sex, dress, or nonverbal behavior may affect respondents’ answers to survey questions.