Interviewing 101: The Vox Pop

PROCESS

EXERCISE

Step 1:
Give an overview of the activity and the goals for the class: “This exercise is about growing interviewing skills. We are going to interview people on the street!” 

Step 2: 
Have the class suggest vox pop topics that could work for the general area or community where they’ll be conducting interviews. (E.g., the opening of a new university cafeteria, an upcoming sports event, a local news story.) Narrow the list down to three that everyone will choose from.

Step 3:
Have students get into pairs. 

Step 4:
Give each pair eight minutes to choose which vox pop topic they want to focus on, and prepare six to eight questions on that topic. (If your class has done Interviewing 101: The Sit-Down, they should consult the master list of dos and don’ts that they created in Step 8 of that exercise.)

Step 5:
Send the student pairs outside. Have each student conduct three interviews with three different people on the street while their partners use their phones or video cameras to film. Each student should ask at least one interviewee for feedback on their interview. (They can show the interviewee the master list of dos and don’ts from the earlier exercise, if they have done it, and ask for feedback on how they did.)

Step 6:
Have the pairs return to class and review all of their footage. Ask students to weigh their own strengths and weaknesses, and use those to set goals for themselves for their next interview. Have each pair select one segment to share with the rest of the class. (Again, if the students completed the earlier Interviewing 101 exercise, they should assess their interview footage using the master list of dos and don’ts.)

Step 7: 
Have each pair share one minute of interview footage with the rest of the class, and explain why they selected that particular segment to share.

Step 8:
Discuss and reflect: What were the biggest surprises you experienced while interviewing on the street? What was the hardest part? Does interviewing on the street have its own specific challenges or dos and don’ts?

Step 9:
Closure and takeaways: the more interviewing experience you have, the better you will get at it.

POSSIBLE EXTENSIONS

• Faculty compiles the best interviewing clips from the day to highlight each students’ strengths.
• Faculty creates a student interviewing portfolio to keep track of each student’s growth in interviewing skills throughout the semester.

FEEDBACK?

We’d love to hear about your experience using this exercise in your classroom and get your thoughts on how we could improve. Use this form to let us know what you think!