Have you thought how you will identify yourself? Never misrepresent who you are. (Do not say "I'm a student.") There are several problems in such misrepresentation.

Finally, consider the physical and time constraints involved. Set your own deadline for conducting interviews and stick to it. Unless you do that, you can quickly get enmeshed in an endless round of interviews that provide decreasing amounts of useful data. An interviewer should probably limit the number of interview calls per day for several reasons.

• For one, it's important to pace yourself. It takes time to complete an interview, review the notes, and prepare for the next call.

• By limiting the number of outgoing calls, you can more easily set aside a specific callback time, if needed.

• Finally, if you limit the outgoing calls, you will minimize the likelihood that you will miss a returned call. In fact, if you have a call waiting signal, you might consider disabling (or at least ignoring) it so you do not interrupt an interview in process.

Having determined what you want to get from an interview (or interviews), an interviewer should next establish strategies for:

• identifying, and then dealing with, time constraints

• approaching your targets

• approaching sensitive targets

Time Constraints. In dealing with interviews, make sure that you have a clear understanding of the following:

• How much time do you have available? The answer has at least two different aspects. The first is how much time you have from the beginning of the interviews until they must be completed. Second is how much time the interviewers you select can give to the assignment.

• Given the length of time available, just how available is that time? For example, have you allowed sufficient time for preparation (and practice if needed)? How much time do you allow for the calls themselves? What will you do about returned calls? Will the interviewer be easily available when interviewees may call back? Did you allow time for follow-up calls to complete outstanding interviews? How much time is allotted for completing reports on calls and then analyzing the results of each completed interview?

Experience shows that, for every hour on the telephone, you will need from a half-hour to an hour to identify and make contact with a potential interviewee, and up to an hour to write up the results of that interview.

Planning on Approaches. When planning for your interviews, first plan on how you will approach them. First, what is your opening? (Why are you calling? What are you looking for?) In general, keep your opening short and practice it. Consider how you will talk about what you are interested in and conduct the interview. For example, are there key words or buzzwords that are used by those who are to be interviewed? If so, you should identify them and understand what they mean. This does not, however, mean that you should use them in the interview process.

There are several situations when it is not appropriate to use technical terms:

• You are not fully conversant with them, so you might make a mistake in using them or in translating them in your notes.

• Using such terms gives your interviewee the belief that he or she is dealing with an expert. That could limit the background or context that is given, which may be exactly what you are seeking.

However, you may want to use such terms when you deal with a gatekeeper. That is the case if you do not know who your interview target is, but do know in what area he or she works. Then, having a command of these terms makes it easier for a gatekeeper, such as the switchboard, to connect you to the right person.

Sensitive Targets. There will be situations when you have to approach an interviewee who is sensitive. By sensitive, we mean someone who:

• has a limited amount of time to talk with you

• is difficult to reach

• has a great deal of expertise so is likely to refuse to talk for very long

• may be uncomfortable talking with you (or anyone in your firm)

In these cases, you should do as much work as possible before starting the interview to maximize the value of the limited time you may have. For example, if you are dealing with a high-profile expert, exhaust all public sources first. Make sure you know what the person has already said or written so you can seek something new or different.

Also, be prepared for a hand-off, that is, a desire to have you talk to someone else, or at least to get rid of you. In that case, get a name and telephone number, if possible, as soon as you see this happening. Try then to ask your interviewee if there is anything he or she can add to what that source will probably say. In other words, exploit what you have while you have it.

Keep the Interview Moving. There are a wide variety of techniques available to keep an interview moving. All are based on an understanding of the interviewee, a mastery of the subject in question, and patience. What follows are several of those that have most often been overlooked.

Set the Stage. When you start, do not say you are "seeking information" or "doing a survey." This can put off your interviewee and quickly result in him or her seeking to transfer you to someone else or terminating the call. Rather, you should approach the situation more personally, pulling the interviewee into the discussion. Consider opening approaches such as "I'd like to get your opinion on this," or "Do you have any thoughts (experiences) on this that you can share?"

Prepare yourself, perhaps by a rehearsal, to anticipate problems (or objections) and have ready answers for them. For example, be prepared to deal with the following common objections:

• I'm too busy now.

• I really don't know much about that.

• I can't talk about this.

• Why are you calling?

• You'll have to talk to [name] about that (but he's not in).

• What are you going to do with this information?

• We do not give out information (like that).

Approach the Interview in an Orderly Manner. Before you start, remember the memory trick for writing newspaper stories: "Who, What, Why, Where, When, and How." For you, this means that your interview notes should cover all these aspects.

When talking with an interviewee, it is usually better to start with the easy subjects first and move to hard ones or to move from the general to the specific. This way, you and the interviewee move naturally through what should be a discussion.

If there are subjects the interviewee may find sensitive or even objectionable, keep them for the end of the interview. That way you will have extracted as much as you can for the interview before your subject decides to terminate the discussion.

Adopt the Right Attitude. When you approach the interviewee, convey the attitude that you are seeking a "chance" to get some information. Do not try to get it all at once from only one subject. Often that will result in getting nothing at all.

When covering the points you wish to deal with, speak less rather than more. Silence literally is golden. Experience demonstrates that if an answer you receive is not enough, a careful pause can often result in the subject continuing to elaborate.

When conducting the interview, make sure to listen for what your interviewee knows (and what he or she does not know). Specifically, you should do the following:

• Modify your questions to fit the evidenced level of knowledge of your interviewee.

• Broaden your questions by using his or her answers as a springboard.

• Try using challenging statements instead of questions, for example, "There are reports that profits are down over 15 percent." Such a statement may elicit a quick rebuttal.

• Work at inducing clarification and cooperation. One technique is to repeat what you just heard instead of asking a new question. Another is to avoid making yourself the source of a potentially controversial question. That means you might preface a sensitive topic with, "Some in the industry feel that . . .", so your interviewee knows that this is not your opinion.