Interviewing someone can be a difficult task if you aren’t prepared. Not everything can go how you want and improvising questions on the spot is often needed. Last week, Angelo and I were tasked with interviewing Eileen Smith, a prominent Deep Cove resident, to add to the Deep Cove Heritage Society archives. We only had 7 questions planned and if we wanted more answers, we would have to create follow-up questions. 

Around the 5-6 minute mark, we finished all of the questions and now needed to improvise. Trying to listen to her answers while thinking of a question can prove to be challenging and surprisingly, I continued the interview for another 5 minutes resulting in much more information. Although I asked a few more questions, I was hindered by not having any more planned and not wanting to have awkward silence, we ended the interview. I feel like could still improve quick thinking and making engaging conversations which would prove useful for the future.

Looking at how to improve at faster thinking during an interview or conversation, there are a few things that help drastically. Before any interview, preparation of research and questions is everything. Anticipating responses from the interviewee and practicing interviews can make the difference between a decent and great interview. 

Thinking of things to say in a conversation can often be a struggle for people and lots of times sentences trail off without a true conclusion. Don’t try to filter yourself too much when trying to think of something to say and make a conscious effort to elaborate on the things you have to say. Pay attention to the current conversation and have some topics or statements prepared ahead of time.

Conversations occur tens to hundreds of times every day and practice is what defines your skills in the field. All these methods can make a better interview or conversation in future and make you more confident.