What do you guess the purpose
of a radio interview might be?
→ Inform
→ Persuade
→ Entertain
→ Argue
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What is the PAFT of your text?
Purpose Audience
Why are you being Who is listening to the
interviewed and radio show?
who by? Who is interviewing
you?
Format Tone
Interview How formal or
Often radio interview informal should
your character
be?
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Interview’s purpose
The interview’s purpose will depend on the text,
but it is often to inform and sometimes to
entertain.
Some examples might be:
● A radio interview with a grandfather about
going on a trip with his granddaughter
● A TV interview with a jungle guide about her
unusual job
● A radio interview with a local mayor about
local issues
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Interview’s audience
Read the question carefully – it always
changes!
If it is a radio show about history, the audience
is probably older, more serious, intelligent and
academic. This will give you a more formal
tone.
If it is a TV interview about an unusual job, the
audience may be looking to be entertained
more, and so the tone could be more fun and
less serious.
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Interview’s format
You should write in script format, which we will
look at in closer detail later on.
Sarah: This is a script (laughs).
Jeremy: It sure is.
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In a radio interview, you
should use internet slang like
omg, lol, ☺ and u.
→ True
→ False
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Interview’s tone
… it depends!
Which character have you been asked to write
as? What type of personality do they have?
Who is the audience of their interview?
Most often the tone is formal or semi-formal
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•What is the tone? Give some examples.
•What do you notice about my language choices?
•What do you notice about my punctuation?
Example interview •What features make the interview sound more spoken?
Presenter: Welcome to TalkRadio and I’m joined by Louis Ng, the
founder of Football for Society. Can you tell our listeners a little more
about what inspired you to become an entrepreneur?
Louis: Sure, good to be here, Ted. I guess I’ve always been into the idea
that sport can help in more ways than just improving our individual
health but can also bring together communities and better society as a
whole. I mean, well, as a boy I might have gone down some dangerous
paths had I not joined my local football teen (laughs). Thankfully I had a
wonderful coach that pushed me to be the best I could, physically and
mentally.
Presenter: He sounds like a great guy!
Louis: He really was… he was like a father to me. Not just to me but to
everyone on our team.
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“Thank you for your question,
Ted!” This sentence uses what
technique?
→ Personal pronoun
→ Collective pronoun
→ Formal address
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“Well… I guess you’re right!”
This sentence uses what
technique?
→ Ellipses
→ Fillers
→ Slang
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Only use the three
bullets
Cambridge will give you the three questions your interviewer
should ask. You shouldn’t ‘ask’ more questions or you will
lose focus.
Your interviewee should do most of the talking.
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Use spoken language
You can use filler words and thinking words such as:
○ Well,
○ I guess…
○ Huh, I hadn’t thought about that before…
Don’t do this too much or it will sound weird!
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What do you call this
punctuation mark: …
→ Dot dot dot
→ Triple period
→ Ellipses
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Punctuation
Use a variety of punctuation to make your writing sound
more spoken:
Use ellipses … for a pause
Use a dash – to show the speaker has changed the
direction of their sentence
Use an exclamation mark ! to place emphasis or show
excitement
Again, don’t do this too much or it’ll sound weird.
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Use personal pronouns
Make it sound like a real conversation by using ‘you’.
Have your interviewee speak to the interviewer directly:
o You really can’t imagine
o Don’t look so surprised!
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Use script format
Layout your interview like a script.
Andy: So, Kayla, tell me why do you love English so
much?
Kayla: Well, because of Ms O’Rourke, of course!
You can use stage directions in brackets too (laughs) (nods)
(claps)
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Give the presenter a
name
Make up a name for the person interviewing you and use it
a couple of times in your interview.
Interviewer: Tell me about your experiences on that day.
Rachel: Sure, Jim. So the day started out like any
other… a disaster (laughs).
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Which of the following
techniques should you not do
when writing interviews?
→ Give stage directions
→ Add extra questions
→ Use filler words
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