Interview Skills a Must

My most recent story is about the effect of Valentine's Day on local businesses in a down economy. Ideally I wanted to do the story before the holiday and had even begun taping and setting up interviews, but not thinking it all the way through, realized not many managers would be able to talk to me during their busiest time of the year. So I postponed the story and readjusted it to make it timely and newsworthy for my audience.
I had a couple interviews, and most of the time they are very easygoing. I always arrive early so I can have time to set my camera up, do my research before going, and appear very friendly and professional so that my subjects know I am dedicated to telling their story. For this last interview I could tell from the moment that I arrived that it would be short and to the point without much interaction past answering some questions and getting the bare minimum of information. This made me anxious because I always look forward to the interview the most when I am about to do a story. So I made small mistakes: I stumbled over words, I placed the subject not too far from a window on a sunny afternoon, my lighting was off on the camera, etc. As I silently kicked myself as soon as she quickly left the vicinity, my immediate next thought was how I could make it better for next time. The main point is that preparation is essential in every situation and that as a reporter you should be able to take control as much as possible.
Although her body language and tone were clear indications that she would rather be somewhere else, it is my responsibility to of course remember a subject's time is precious and should not be wasted, but also set a tone myself. I can hear Greely already, telling me her framing is off and the lighting is bad, but I learned so much more than that on that day. You have the responsibility to set a tone for your own story. Yes their time is precious, but so is yours. Yes you are a student journalist, but you're still a journalist. I can't wait to do my next one!