Our INTERVIEW Approach

Being interviewed is fun, it will be a positive experience and should feel like a conversation with a friend. The interview style is a casual conversation; questions will centre on a primary event and be focused on the guests’ emotions. The host will not pass comments or provide an opinion about the story.   

The stories can be from anyone who has served in a conflict zone, in any capacity, from any branch of the military, civilian medical teams, and even the not-for-profit. The stories can be about a particular event or a wider conflict experience; they can be of any aspect of conflicts, from fear, adversity, morality to humour.

We focus on one story, something that is memorable, a time, or an event that sticks within your mind. It may seem mundane to you in the wider context of global conflict, but these are the authentic stories that we are seeking. Here are some ideas:

• The first time you got attacked in conflict, how did you feel?

• The first time you witnessed a tragic event in conflict.

• The challenges and loneliness of leadership in conflict.

• The event that made you laugh the most in conflict.

• Did you ever feel scared, what was it like?

• Overcoming adversity in conflict.

• What frustrated you the most in conflict.

• What lessons could you pass to others?

Not all details can be disclosed due to national security, so we would ask you to ensure your story can be publicly told.

Tips

To help you feel more relaxed, here are some tips to ensure it’s a positive experience for everyone involved:

• Provide Conflict Chronicles with as much detail as you can about yourself and your experience in advance.

• Know that the Conflict Chronicles team will research the event to ensure the interview is engaging.

• Conflict Chronicles will write an introduction for you. This ensures it helps to 'set the scene’ for the interview.

• Get yourself set up for the interview, relaxed with a glass of water available.

• Remember this is a podcast with an audience that is not military-minded. When talking about an event, verbally paint a picture, the smells, the sounds, the colours, similarity to common events everyone would know.

• Have a stable internet connection available.

• Please be in a quiet room for our call where you’re not likely to be interrupted. Ideally, this is NOT a conference room or other large space with a lot of hard, flat surfaces.

• If you have one, please be prepared to use a podcasting microphone for this interview. If you don’t have one you can pick up this USB headset which plugs directly into your computer and provides great sound. If you cannot do this, please use a set of earbuds like the ones that come with your smartphone.

• Please turn off your cell phone and notifications on your computer for our call.

• The interview will be audio-only to save on bandwidth.

• The interview will be over Zoom or a digital platform, so you will need a computer.

• Our call with last approximately 90 minutes with time for a bit of prep ahead of the interview and to wrap things up at the end.

• Once the interview is complete, Conflict Chronicles may conduct postproduction editing. This may include, sound grabs from your interview for promotion and the introduction. Adding sound effects (explosions, gunfire, etc) to engage the listeners may also occur.