Last night I ventured out in the streets of Boston to do a "man on the street" article for a women's magazine (so, in this case, it was more "woman on the street"). Even if you don't recognize this term, I know you've seen this type of article before. Basically, they publish photos and quotes from random people on the street on a given topic. It could be their opinion on politics, sports, fashion, anything really.
I've seen so many of these in newspapers and magazines over the years that when the opportunity presented itself, I thought, "how hard could it be?"
Answer: harder than it looks.
Maybe I'm at a disadvantage being in Boston, since the stereotypical New Englander can be a little cold and stand-offish (blame it on those harsh winters and our Puritan roots). But it was tough finding people in the magazine's target demographic who were willing to chat for a few minutes, have me take their photo, AND share their email, age, and phone number for fact-checking purposes.
Honestly, I can't blame them. I knew someone in college who actually posed as a reporter for Seventeen magazine to get college boys to dish about dating (which they were more than happy to do in... in graphic detail). Maybe I shouldn't have said that, because now you won't want to help some poor writer who just needs to make her quota of quotes so she can go home. I might be skeptical, too, if the sandal were on the other foot. Here's what I learned...
Location, location, location. It helps to choose a location that gets a lot of foot traffic to up your odds. I should have scoped out my location in advance, because though it does get a lot of people passing through, part of it was partioned off. But I'd already gotten this location approved by my editor and my editor's editor, so I didn't want to admit defeat too easily. The background setting (for photos) was another key considerations when we chose the location.
All in the timing. My first attempt was on Saturday morning. I really wanted to get this article done and wow my editor with my efficiency, but there just weren't many people out and about. And the ones who were out weren't into talking to strangers. Yesterday was a nice day, so there were more people walking around and the vibe was more friendly. But I should have started earlier, because by the time I'd snapped my last photo, the light was already a little lacking.
Wear comfortable shoes. One nice thing about this type of interview is being outside and walking around. I defintely got in a workout doing laps around the perimeter and scouting out sources. I wanted to look cute (after all, I'm representing the magazine), but blisters do not make a stylish fashion statement. Trust me on this.
Choose your words carefully. I found that people did not react well when I invited them to take a "survey for X magazine." I thought the word survey would convey that it wouldn't take up much of their time, but instead they felt like they were just giving me meaningless data or that I was someone soliciting for a political party. Then I switched strategies and told people I'd like to "interview you for X magazine." When I tried this, the person's face lit up as if I'd chosen her specially for this article (which I had). Some were still uncomfortable having a stranger snap a photo, but others loved the idea of being in a magazine.
Bottom line: make the person feel special, don't get discouraged, and allow yourself plenty of time to get the job done. Oh, and if you ever run into a vivacious redhead who asks to take your photo, be nice to her.