By Tom Hill, Course Director and Founder, Up To Speed Journalism Training.

In this series of articles I’m looking at some of the key skills every reporter needs to develop. In any stationery department you will see reporter’s notebooks on sale and despite all the technological innovations we’ve witnessed over the years, those ringbound pads are still among the most important tools of the job.

Tip #19 Make Notes

Hot gossip, hearsay and rumour may all be intriguing, but if you want to write stories that people will believe, you need to make accurate notes of the conversations you have with your sources.

As soon as you put pen to paper, or type words onto a screen, your story becomes more potent, powerful and potentially dangerous than any whispered snippet of information picked up on the grapevine.

The written word can be dangerous for the subject of the story and also for the writer. Publish and you may be damned, but also sued.

A carefully written, contemporaneous note allows you to demonstrate that you have an accurate version of what has been said and it might be produced as evidence for your defence in a court of law.

As a reporter, your job is to find out what is going on by talking to people. You write down what they have to say, not for your own benefit, but so that you can report their words to other people, your readers.

A reporter's best friends.

It may not feel easy or natural at first, but as you become more experienced, producing a notebook and pen, part way through a conversation, will become second nature. So too, will the ability to engage people in a meaningful discussion while making a note of what they are saying.

Sometimes you’ll feel it necessary, or appropriate, to ask your interviewee’s permission to reach for your pen and pad. At some point in the conversation you’ll say, “Really? That’s fascinating. Do you mind if I make a note of what you’re saying?”

It is often a good idea to explain why you are making notes and to reassure the interviewee that you want to make sure you get it right.

When you are new to reporting, it is also a good idea to buy for time when you are making those notes. Don’t be afraid to go back over what you have written, again impressing your source with your determination to write an accurate story.

Seeing your notebook, and your notes in shorthand, will often inspire confidence in an interviewee, who may well appreciate that as a reporter you have the power to sway opinion and get things done.

So, if you want to start behaving like a professional reporter, start carrying a notebook wherever you go.

NB(nota bene…that’s Latin for note well)

In the old days of Fleet Street, photographers sometimes dismissed reporters as “blunts”, short for blunt nibs.

And that’s a clue for another piece of advice. Never go anywhere without a pen, and one that works.

By Tom Hill, Course Director and Founder, Up To Speed Journalism Training.

Tip #14 Mind Your Manners

Before I move onto the technical skills required by the different branches of journalism, I’m concentrating on some of the ‘soft’ people skills you need to master to become an effective reporter.

As a journalist you can find yourself mixing with all sorts of people and you have to learn to judge people and places quickly and to adapt your demeanour and approach to suit the situation.

If you are sent into a pub to interview a group of notorious football hooligans, you will speak to them in a different way than you would if you were interviewing a granny about her golden wedding.

In most instances, you have very little time to make an impression on people, to earn their trust and to win their co-operation. That is why it is important to develop and maintain good manners whenever you are mixing with people in a professional capacity.

In medical schools doctors are trained to develop ‘a good bed-side manner’ and those who do not may well opt for a career in anaesthetics or even pathology.

In journalism, reporters must learn to develop a professional persona, which enables them to negotiate a range of social situations.

Stanley's First Meeting With Dr Livingstone

The cap-doffing formality that characterised Stanley’s discovery of Livingstone is portrayed in a contemporary artist’s impression of their encounter.

And while our society may now have become more informal, in many situations courtesy and good manners will still open doors.

So here are some simple rules of etiquette for Twenty First Century journalists.

Meeting

It’s worth noting that Stanley’s famous question was, “Dr Livingstone, I presume?” and not, “Is that you, Dave mate?” As Victorians who had not been formally introduced, decorum dictated that Livingstone’s title should be included in the greeting.

If you are arriving for an interview, make sure you always check the name of the person when you first meet them and make a point of calling them Mrs, Miss, Mr or Dr in the first instance.  It only takes a split second, but that display of courtesy, respect and deference will make a lasting impression.

Accompany that first question with the offer of a firm handshake, a pleasant smile, if it is appropriate to the situation, and confident eye contact, and you will be laying the foundations for a good interview before you have even reached for your notebook.

Greeting

Introduce yourself clearly. Give your name, say who you work for and in what capacity. Don’t be too familiar, for instance using the interviewee’s first name, until you are sure it is appropriate.

Please

Ask politely for her help, advice or opinion, explaining how helpful she can be to you. People often like to help others if they can, particularly if you remember to make them feel important.

You Don’t Need To Say Sorry

Unless you are in an extreme situation, you do not need to apologise for being there.

Convey A Sense Of Your Professionalism

Ask your interviewee to spell her name and double-check facts and details, adding that you want to make sure that you get it right. Your appearance and dress can also be vital in this regard. If you dress like a student who has just come from a party, then you may well be treated like one and although that may work on a rock band’s tour bus, it is unlikely to help if you are interviewing a local grandee.

Thank you

When he has helped you, remember to express your gratitude and don’t be afraid to repeat how important he is and to use this final opportunity to make sure you have made an accurate note of his name, title and contact details.

Goodbye

When you take your leave, remember to repeat your thanks, using his name and title, and promise to keep in touch, possibly by sending him a copy of the paper or letting her know when the item will be broadcast. Exchange contact details. Remember to keep your promises to her. You never know when she will be useful to you again.

And finally….if your interview is not taking place in ‘polite society’ but in a potentially dangerous situation, I have three tips for dealing with awkward customers.

1. Make sure someone knows where you have gone.

2. Be open and honest. If you try to appear to be “one of the lads” in the pub described above, only to be rumbled as a journalist, you are likely to receive a much rougher ride than you would if you let people know you are a reporter when you first walk through the door.

3. If you have parked nearby, make sure you have reversed into the parking space. Backing out of a tight spot, or executing a three-point turn while surrounded by an angry mob, is so much more taxing than slipping into first gear and driving away at speed.