Return to Peck Home Page
Go to SPD 100 Page

Tips for Preparing Your Biography Interview

 

Select Your Partner:  Your first step is to get comfortable with your partner and to develop a sense of trust between you.  The success of your interview depends upon your ability to support and to motivate one another.

 

Discuss some of your favorite American heroes.  Consider famous presidents, scientists, entertainers, statesman, inventors, and athletes.  Select to begin preliminary research on two of these Americans. 

 

Research:  Your instructor will do some investigation of your selected celebrity and you are expected to know more than she does about your American.   At minimum, you should consult Who’s Who in America (found in the reference section of the library) and NVCC's Library page on biographies.

 

Besides the fame this person has gained, how has this American used his/her fame to make a positive difference in the lives of others?  What foundations, scholarships, projects does this celebrity support that is/was beneficial to others?

 

What awards, commendations, and honors has your American received?  Why and how are these noteworthy?

 

Plan the Presentation:  An interview is a formal conversation between two people who have prepared for the questions and answers being exchanged.

 

Interviewers are the hosts of the occasion and have the task of being in charge of the process.  The interviewer greets the audience and the guest celebrity.  The interviewer ensures that there is rapport between the audience and the guest.  The interviewer orients the guest and the audience to the interview purpose and process.

 

Interviewees provide the expert answers to questions posed.  The answers are conversational and well organized.  They must be accurate and verifiable.

 

Interviewers listen carefully and summarize main ideas for the benefit of the audience.  The interviewer thanks the celebrity for coming.  The interviewer provides a brief summary of ways that the audience can learn more about the celebrity.  The interviewer then thanks the audience for listening.

 

Prepare a Power Point Slide Presentation:  Refer to tips on this subject at http://www.abacon.com/pubspeak/deliver/ppoint.html.

 

Practice and Present the Presentation:

Interviewer: As the host of the interview, it is your duty to greet the audience by saying "good morning" and by introducing yourself to us. Next you want to tell us about your thoughts concerning the guest celebrity that you've been fortunate enough to have on campus. Do NOT pretend that you have a talk show, a television show, or that your audience is anything other than your SPD 110 class.

 
Back to Nan Peck'
s Main Page