Pro Files feedback

Hey all, I started an interview series with ESFI called Pro Files. Essentially I have ten questions that I want to ask of as many players as possible. They all focus on gaming/competition, and are general enough that I could use them for other games as well. I wanted to keep them short and focused on the players themselves rather than current events or strategy.

Vibe, Insur, Daisuki
Ostojiy
Nerchio

+ Show Spoiler [The Questions] +

I've never really done interviews before so I'm looking for constructive feedback on everything from my interview style to technical issues. Here are some of the issues that I have identified myself and am working on:

1) General cadence. Especially in the intro and outro I can sound pretty stilted and weird. When I'm in the interview I feel fine and natural, but when I become aware that I am "recording a show" I tend to falter. Also, better transitions between questions.

2) Enunciation/vocal tics. I spent like 5 years in speech therapy so I don't think this will ever be perfect. First priority is to get out the 'um's and other filler syllables though.

3) I know the audio quality isn't great, but that's the best it will be for now probably. The mic in port on my desktop is shorted or something so I'm just using a crappy Logitech usb mic. Also video interviews are pretty much off the table for the moment.

4) I still find myself resisting the urge to talk or have a conversation with the player. I edited out some of my more inane comments for brevity's sake.

Any other suggestions/recommendations for improvement are appreciated, especially when it comes to the questions themselves and what people usually want out of interviews.

Last edit: 2012-10-17 06:52:56

@pullarius1

johnnywup United States. August 01 2012 07:37. Posts 2743

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i listened to insurs and i think its pretty good but I think questions need more closure to have better transitions between questions

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Soap Brazil. August 01 2012 11:10. Posts 1140

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Consider not many people know or remember those players. Would be nice to go more traditional and do an intro over their career and their experience in the tournament. Besides:

- try to ask questions as if in a conversation rather than reading (even as you do), kinda like JP does: http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=339705
- would be great to have webcams on, does so much for immersion.

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Torte de Lini Canada. August 01 2012 13:16. Posts 27007

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I think if you ask generic basic questions, you're going to get that kind of answer.

What is the first video game you can remember playing?
When was the first time you can remember your competitive spirit being awakened in gaming?
What is the most frustrating unit/strategy/level/player you had to overcome?
What is your favorite unit/character from any game?
What is the most fulfilling moment you've had in gaming?
When you are playing at your best, what is going right?
When you are playing at your worst, what is going wrong?
What is your highest aspiration in gaming?
In seven words or fewer, what is the most important key to victory?
What is your favorite cheese?

These are boring because they are limited in the kind of answers you can give. Someone told me at NASL (I forget who sorry ): ) that your job as an interviewer is to ask a question that gives an answer people remember. If people can remember something that was said in your interview, even if it is just one word, then you've succeeded in what the interview was aimed to do.

With questions, it all depends not on the audience, because its consistently always the same people, but more about the context and the player. There's a reason why the same people get interviewed, but at different events: they give interesting and varied answers to the different scenarios and scenes to where they are. The problem with some interviewers is that they don't take advantage of the new situation and so lose out on an opportunity.

Do some research, create a story, a stake or interest about the person based on their history, previous answers, etc. and you'll soon find yourself asking something new, different and relative. People quote the things people say in interviews, that's the ultimate goal and questions you should lining your bowling ball at. Just remember that your interview does not need to ask all the questions that need answers, just ask the questions that can give good answers; new opportunities and chances to follow-up will come and that, too, will make another great interview. Sweet and short is better than long and overly-elaborate!

and dude; pullarius1, you're a great person and a fantastic/smart guy since I worked on those articles with you back with ESFI! I did my first (and last) interview back at NASL S3 in Toronto and I was beyond terrible, but I learned a lot. You're miles ahead of me (though that's not much of a feat to be frank : P) and with good practice and taking note of interviewers that stick out for you, you'll be great. Maybe the next Derek Stately (hope I spelled your name right!).

Good luck man, you're doing great! Chin up!

Last edit: 2012-08-01 13:19:00

https://twitter.com/#!/TorteDeLini (@TorteDeLini)

Torte de Lini Canada. August 01 2012 15:19. Posts 27007

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edit:

wanted to keep them short and focused on the players themselves rather than current events or strategy.

Oh and I get this, but I think you achieve less with a list of 10 generic questions and less personalization. Also, having conversations with players adds fluidity to your interview and makes it seem less standardizes and boring. Play a little and try and transition like in a conversation.

https://twitter.com/#!/TorteDeLini (@TorteDeLini)

pullarius1 United States. August 03 2012 04:38. Posts 494

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Thanks for the feedback.
JohnnyWup: noted.

Soap: I feel like a lot of background can just be looked up on Liquipedia. I want to keep these relatively "fact light" so I can ask more stuff that I can only hear from them. Good point about the conversational tone, though. I think one of the fundamental problems I'm having is that interviews are very fundamentally not conversations, and I feel like any time I spend talking is essentially useless to the listener. As a result I try to keep the time that I'm talking as short as possible, which is probably why it comes out so clipped-sounding.

Torte: Interesting advice. To be honest, I think I am in some ways actually going for "standardized and boring" lol

@pullarius1

pullarius1 United States. August 23 2012 10:21. Posts 494

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Here is the second installment, which is just Ostojiy: http://esfiworld.com/feature/pro-files-ostojiy-targets-wcs-na-finals-top-3 I couldn't get a hold of Scarlett, Ddoro, or any of the Root guys, so fell far short of my goal of the Top3 from all the WCS tournaments. Hopefully I can get a bunch of the Top 7 from this weekend, though. Also, I used a diffferent recording setup this time because my old mic broke. Let me know if you can tell the difference.

Last edit: 2012-08-23 10:46:13

@pullarius1

pullarius1 United States. October 17 2012 06:55. Posts 494

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Added Nerchio: http://esfiworld.com/feature/pro-files-nerchio-manages-wcs-finals-seed

It has been a while since I recorded this, so I don't remember too many of my thoughts about it. I started off pretty bad, though, because I wasn't expecting to record at that moment. You can probably tell by how distracted I sound for the first 5' or so. I think I did a pretty good job of salvaging it though.

@pullarius1

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