Best way to interview without a recorder

I don't agree that you should let the subject know you're taping -- unless your state or the subject's state requires it (you can find a list of those states online). The last thing I want someone to think about when they're talking to me is that I'm recording it. They will start choosing their words more carefully. I don't want to introduce anything that diminishes the chance of the person on the other line talking freely. Again, only if it's legal to not say so.

 

My general policy is to use the recorder for features or stuff that I won't be writing that day, or if it's a major news story where I know it's important to get everything EXACTLY right.

For just daily gamer and notebook stuff, usually I can get by with just notes.

As for the phone, I can actually take better notes typing than writing.

 

In some states, it's law that you inform someone you're recording them. Other states it's not. I'm not sure what applies on interstate conversations (but you don't want to wind up breaking federal law over it).
I rarely use a recorder; takes too long to transcribe. Only if it's a very sensitive story that might get me sued or something. Shorthand helps, so does typing (not writing) if it's a phoner. Really, I just try to write down the good stuff anyway, that and the details like numbers. Long blocks of quotes kill the flow of a story. I can usually paraphrase it better than they can say it.

 

Beyond just typing faster, the thing I've learned in this go-round is to try to concentrate on particular phrases the interview subject gives you and make sure you get THOSE phrases exactly right. Try to concentrate on phrases that will go beyond your canned responses.

I'll use an example of a profile piece I wrote on the news side at my shop last year. I talked to the chief judge of the orphan's court and she said, "We're going to boldly go where law hasn't gone before." I made sure to latch on to that phrase and write it down. Good thing too, because my tape recorder ran out of tape.

I'd also agree with the whole shorthand thing. One shorthand I learned from working as a call center representative was to write without using vowels in most words. That's one way you might be able to save time.

 

I've never been able to type my notes. One, I can't finish typing a sentence knowing there's a typo and two, I feel vulnerable not having my written notes in front of me. You can't accidentally delete or change the meaning of your written notes as easily as you can typed notes.

 

Shorthand has always worked for me and they actually recommend this in journalism courses. Find shorter ways to type words or use codes to represent words.

 

Another plus for shorthand, be it written or typed: if someone ever subpoenas your notes and wins, they've still got to decipher them. Good luck with that.

 

Only if you don't dispose of your notes within a few days ... which you should ..

 

I just fly through it, hardly ever stopping to correct a typo. It ends up looking like giberish, but it's still more decipherable than my hand-written notes.

Incidentally, I do the same thing when transcribing notes off a tape recorder, which makes it go much quicker. A lot of the problem with transcribing is that people stop and go back to get every single word perfect. I know I can do that if necessary, but on most routine quotes, it's not.

(Before I get flamed by everyone telling me that I'm an idiot for suggesting that accurate quotes are not important, I'm talking about the difference between "I was trying to scramble and get to the end zone because my receiver wasn't there." and "I was trying to scramble to the end zone because the receivers weren't there." The quotes are different, but you have to read them a couple of times to tell what's different, so it doesn't matter.)

 

It's like I'm looking in a mirror.

Another thing I do on phone interviews is to use the speakerphone option when recording. This lets you type and record at the same time, the person on the other line often thinks you're a whiz at typing because they can hear the keys flying. They don't need to know they're not always the right keys. Obviously you need to be at home or in an office so the other person can hear you, but it works well.

Also, when I'm out and about using a tape recorder, I'll tell the person I use one because I can't write as fast as people talk. Then I'll hold it under my notebook if we're standing or put it on a table or chair or something if we're sitting. The interviewee (I hope that's how it's spelled) often forgets about it after a minute or two.