Getting over the fear of....

The First Interview!!!

Ahh. Okay, I made it out alive, and that isn't a comment about my interviewee, who was super nice! I think for all of us, the thought of interviewing someone on a topic that we have put so much time into is a little scary! What happens if they don't show up for the interview, what happens if they don't talk, what happens if it doesn't record, what happens if they don't even address the topics you want your paper to be about!?! I can happily say that my first interview extinguished all those fears and I'm excited to use part of the interview in my paper.

I interviewed a current waitress at the Beef Barn, Ashley, who also went to the same high school as me! I was especially excited to interview her for this paper, because we live in the same town, so the Beef Barn is part of her local community too. I felt more comfortable by knowing who I was meeting before hand, and the fact that we met at Dunkin' Donuts was a win-win for me! :)

I learned a lot about myself through this interview... the biggest being I hate the way my voice sounds after hearing it recorded! After getting over hearing that, and some awkward pauses that went on a little too long, I began seeing some patterns with my questions. I had a tendency to go back to topics we already discussed after a long and awkward pause. In some cases, I introduced new questions related back to what she had replied with, but others began with "ummmm..... soooo let's go back to this"! I also caught myself asking some closed questions (a little too late... but I'm glad I know to watch out for that now!) to which she answered a yes or no. This was not her fault for not expanding, because she did exactly what I had asked her to do, just answer my questions. I also recognized that it took a little time to get going with the questioning and answering, which was expected! We both are somewhat shy and more reserved, so I had a feeling the dialog would be more back and forth of us talking, than her going off on one of my topics for a couple minutes. It could also be that we are both the same age, 18, and younger adults are known to expand or talk less during interviews like these, as my professor warned.

Overall though, I could not thank Ashley enough for meeting with me! We talked a lot about her experiences with customers at her tables using their cell phones, and the type of people she normally serves at this local, family restaurant. She addressed the two biggest things my paper will be about, and her first hand knowledge will be a key asset to my final paper on the Beef Barn!