What makes a good interviewee, thinking specifically about scientists?
AF: A good interviewee is sparky, uses colourful language, and explains things in a simple fashion. If you work in a complicated area of science it is really splendid if you can use analogies from the outside world. These are the sort of things that will always make it into a quote. They really bring things to life and make everything feel much more accessible. If you get in touch with somebody for an interview, you can’t wait a week. I sometimes get people calling me back saying to me ‘About that article you called me about two weeks ago…’ and by this point we are two issues on with the paper and it’s far too late. I’ve already called Mr Smith who comments in every article I write because he always gets back to me quickly. That’s really, really important.
