Commentary and conversations about life in Richmond, Indiana

Interview Prep

This page contains some notes and details to help you prepare for our upcoming conversation. If you have any questions just let me know! -Chris

Scheduling

If you haven’t already picked a time, I’ll be in touch via email about scheduling. I try to allow a full hour for the conversation, but it usually takes less time.

How We’ll Talk

We can use one of two methods to do the interview itself:

Zoom

Zoom is a widely used audio and video conferencing tool. You can download the Zoom software and/or mobile app in advance.

I will email you a Zoom meeting link/ID that you can join via audio at our scheduled time.

See the notes below about ensuring good sound quality.

Telephone Call

If Zoom on your computer or mobile device is not an option, you can also call in via regular telephone. I’ll send you the call in number and meeting ID to use, which you’ll have to enter on your phone’s dial pad at the time we schedule.

Sound Quality

In order to make sure our interview is clear and enjoyable for listeners, it’s worth paying attention to some sound quality tips:

  • Use a high-quality microphone where possible. A USB headset designed for video/audio conferencing is best (here’s a $30 option that I’ve had good experience with). Apple headphones or similar that may have come with your mobile device can also work.
  • Avoid using the microphone built in to your laptop or mobile device, as this can create a “speakerphone” effect that lowers the overall audio quality.
  • Find a quiet place for our conversation, with as little background noise or “appliance hum” as possible. Try to make sure you won’t be interrupted.
  • Turn off other devices that might make beeps or rings or other sounds during our conversation.
  • At the beginning of our call I’ll do a bit of adjusting to make sure our audio sounds good. Unless I let you know otherwise, you can just talk at a normal volume.

Photo

Having a photo or image to associate with the podcast conversation when it’s published will help listeners be a little more connected to you. It could be a professional headshot, a more casual photo of you doing one of your favorite hobbies, or just an image related to your work in the community. If you’re not comfortable using a photo of you, it could even be a logo or other publicity imagery from an organization you work with.

Something in the landscape/wide format is best, and the higher resolution the better. You can email the image to Chris as an attachment.

Other Questions

Will this interview be public for the whole world to hear?
Yes! It will be on my public website RichmondMatters.com and anyone will be able to listen, share or download the audio file.

Will this involve any video recording?
Nope! Audio only.

What if I mess up and want to say something in a different way?
That’s fine! Just stop talking, leave a brief pause, and then start over with your answer. I’ll edit out the first attempt later on.

Can I change my mind about this after the interview is done?
It takes time to prepare for and conduct these conversations, so I ask that you think hard about this before you agree to be interviewed. Once we record our conversation, I will plan to publish it unless there are severe audio problems or something is said that would endanger yourself or others. I may lightly edit the conversation to

  • remove noise, pauses and transition words
  • re-order some questions/answers, or remove them if they end up not being relevant to the overall conversation
  • remove redundant statements

as long as the meaning is left unchanged.