Follow-up Questions

When the interviewee is answering a question, you should be listening to their answer, not thinking about your next question. There are two reasons for this.

1. So you remember the information from the interview to use to show what you’ve learned later on in our unit

AND

2. You will be expected to use their answer to create a follow-up question, and then ask the interviewee the question you created

Here’s what you do: Listen to the answer the interviewee gives and then think of something that they didn’t give complete details about and ask about that. For example, if you asked the interviewee the question, “What are you doing to revitalize the Dakota language?” and the answer the interviewee gives is, “I take Dakota language classes at the University of Minnesota,” you could ask, “Do you practice the language anywhere else besides your classes?” or “How is that helping the Dakota community keep the language alive?”

This requires you to be a good listener, and to also create questions on the spot. Both of these are excellent skills to have throughout your life. You will be able to use these whenever you are having a conversation with ANYONE about ANY TOPIC, and particularly when you are interviewing for your own job some day.