Shine Series with Sutherland

Emily
Apr 1, 2017
2 min read

Former NME editor, Steve Sutherland shares his tips for successful interviews.

Photo credit Chipping Campden School

On the 2nd of February 2017, Steve Sutherland visited Chipping Campden School to speak about interview techniques with students from Years 11, 12 and 13 (14-18 year olds).

Contributing a professional understanding into the technique of celebrity interview, Sutherland is proof that what you ask is definitely as important as who you’re interviewing. Having interviewed many outstanding people such as David Bowie, Carrie Fisher and Prince his advice was extremely useful, offering the best way to interview even if nerves get the better of you.

Using his own experience of working for publications such as NME and Melody Maker, Sutherland shared some top tips for being able to succeed in difficult interviews while getting questions answered, including learning to listen, taking interviewees seriously artistically and developing a gimmick to keep the attention of a demanding audience. A gimmick is important to set yourself apart from others and may create a lasting impression on both the person you are interviewing and your audience. Sutherland reminded everyone that there are multiple ways in which an interview can be rewarding, whether questions get directly answered or not, as long as the audience is engaged and entertained. A quick tip for news interviews was to use the 5w technique (who, when, what, where and why) to get the information needed before moving onto other things.

The introduction of a wider range of media such as blogs, YouTube videos and online forums have drastically changed the interview game as competition has become broader in order to win the attention of audiences and readers. Interviews can take a broad variety of structures such as the typical Q & A format or a more focused approach such as desert island disks. Unusual questions seem to be a welcome respite to celebrities who answer the same set of questions multiple times with very little variation in answer. Inclusion of these slightly out of the ordinary queries may spark a new level of interest from those who are often asked to reel out the same responses for multiple interviewers.

It was a great experience to have Sutherland spend time with us sharing his expertise. Luckily, we can pass them on to you!

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