The Art Of Conducting Vox Pops

From those in the early stages of their career to seasoned journalists, everyone in the industry can agree: going up to strangers and asking about their opinions can be daunting. But why is this practice done, and can the process be made less intimidating — for yourself and the people you’re speaking with?

Journalists pride themselves on their ability to hear many different points of view on any given topic, and one of the main methods used to find opinions is going out in the world to collect viewpoints through vox pops.

Stories of journalists waiting around for hours outside in the cold for new faces to come by, or even putting themselves at risk in the search for a quote, is one of the more unglamorous parts of the job, but is still seen as a necessary part of the profession. Yet for those who don’t feel particularly extroverted or comfortable speaking to strangers, it can often look like a terrifying experience.

What Are Vox Pops And Why Are They Collected?

Vox pops come from the Latin phrase ‘Vox populi’, meaning ‘The voice of the people’. Nowadays, social media means vox pops are associated with interviewers on TikTok or Instagram Reels holding small lav mics (wearable microphones) up to members of the community to speak about their thoughts on a given topic.

At their best, vox pops can reflect the public’s general point of view. By going out on location and speaking with people who are more affected by everyday stories, they can offer a wide range of varied, interesting, and unexpected views from people of different backgrounds.

“It’s well and good to speak with academics and experts who know what they’re talking about, but you always need that everyday person’s perspective,” says Mimi Ibrahim, 2024 Scott Trust Journalist at The Guardian. “Depending on the context, they can be useful and add colour to a piece.”

On the flip side, there is the criticism that they are formulaic and not representative of the general public, especially if the data collection looks to be a skewed perspective. Some believe it cannot be a true reflection of what everyone in an area thinks and is typically edited to fit a specific narrative.

Tai Kolade (L) is a reporter for MyLondon and Mimi Ibrahim is a 2024 Scott Trust Bursary journalist for The Guardian.

As for adding to your skillset, collecting vox pops can help you develop as a journalist. Reporter Tai Kolade from MyLondon finds that the training and practice can help get you think on your feet and ask difficult questions. “It can be uncomfortable to approach people on the street, but once you do it, it starts to feel easier asking questions in general. It definitely brings validation and confidence in what you’re doing,” he says.

Where To Start And How Best To Prepare For Vox Pops

While the answers you get from vox pops will likely be less thorough than answers you would get from interviewing a specific person, the research that goes into your preparation is equally as important. Jonelle Awomoyi, presenter and producer for the BBC News podcast Reliable Sauce, finds that it’s hard to plan everything out completely because the conversations you have are less predictable, but knowing the ins and outs of the story is key to getting good vox pops.

“I do think that your confidence will be hindered by your lack of research,” Jonelle says. “You’ll be thrown into situations fairly quickly, so try to strip your questions back and keep them clear.” When preparing, choose up to five standardised questions, otherwise, you will be asking different questions to different people, which would defeat the purpose of your data collection.

When deciding where you should conduct the vox pops, it would ideally be somewhere relevant to your story. Moya Lothian-McLean, former contributing editor at Novara Media and now staff writer and editor at Mill Media’s The Glasgow Bell, recommends reading up about the area you are conducting the vox pops in.

“Having some knowledge of the details of what’s around you makes people more comfortable speaking with you,” she notes. “When you’re in the same conversational register and can understand references they make, it’s much easier to have a conversational flow compared to having somebody explain what they’re talking about for the first time. So do your research.”

Alongside all this, it’s important to be open and to keep a positive outlook on what’s to come. Emaan Warraich, impact journalist at BBC World Service, remembers the nerve-wracking feeling going into her first vox pops, but says shifting her mindset made the process easier. “In general, most people tend to go into [it] with a negative mindset but come out of it glad that they’ve done it. Thinking about going through this process in your role as a journalist helps you to just get on with it.”

Best Practices Out On The Field

When approaching people, be upfront about who you are and what you are doing. Jonelle notes that prefacing what you’re looking for helps to put interviewees at more ease.

“Let them know exactly where it’s going, and help them understand the gravity of that interview,” she says. “If it’s going to go online, let them know how many followers might see, so they’re not taken aback. It’s not normal for a lot of people to be on camera or to be on record saying things, so you have to be very respectful of people and their time.”

Typically, the first few sound bites you get are often a warm-up, both for yourself and what sort of answers you could get. “You might not use that particular quote, but in terms of your confidence, it’s one of the starting points you can build up to,” Mimi finds. It can get you in the mood for what the answers are likely to be when you ask questions, so you can try to workshop it for the next people you approach.

Similar to interviews, active listening and allowing room for fluidity can go a long way in helping interviewees open up. Moya finds that many interesting things people say can be expanded on with the simple question: Why? “There’s usually a silence when they’re thinking. Be comfortable with that, and even if they’re not saying anything exciting, it gets them to open up to you further in.”

For broadcast and social media, having cameras and equipment around tends to be a double-edged sword; some curious individuals may come up to you but it can also be difficult to get people to talk. Both Emaan and Tai find that displaying the signage of the organisations you’re speaking on behalf of, whether through a lanyard or microphone branding, helps with legitimising what you’re doing to interviewees. “So that they don’t think you’re a random off the street,” Tai adds.

There will be times when you find noteworthy quotes and opinions from people who would like to remain anonymous. In that case, it is key to be transparent with your audience on how you obtained that information for the story. “You just have to be honest about what’s happening and say, ‘I approached some people who didn’t want to be on camera and this is what they said,’” Moya says.

Mimi suggests having a set number of people to speak with. “I always have [in] my head, if I speak to five people in this hour, I’ll be happy, even if I only use about three.” Tai says to keep an eye out for different demographics of people you haven’t spoken to yet, and to switch up locations to find them if needed.

And for the people that don’t want to talk? “Don’t take their rejection too personally,” Jonelle says. “If people don’t want to talk, you don’t need to persuade them too much, because they might not be open and have good answers anyway.”

Awareness And Authenticity

For more difficult and sensitive stories such as politics and religion, it’s a delicate balance to keep your objectivity in check so your opinions don’t hinder your reporting.

“It’s one of the more difficult things to do; to take your unconscious bias out,” Tai says.

Moya finds that “you have to try and not let any of your preconceptions or opinions out when people are talking to you”.

For journalists of colour, there’s always an additional awareness of how you may present yourself to both the audience and the interviewees. “Start with being clear and honest about the expectations you had going in — it can help the story,” Moya says. Even if you can’t tell if they’re being honest about how they feel, by having the fluidity of adjusting yourself when speaking about sensitive topics, it can still lead to genuine answers. “We’re always code-switching when we speak to different people, and this is one instance where it comes in handy.”

At the end of the day, being yourself will get you far. Jonelle feels if you have opportunities to shadow somebody else conducting vox pops, try and see what you enjoy from that experience and develop from there. “It’s good to have role models whose style you admire, however, it’s really good to develop your [own] style,” she says. “When you’re not being yourself out there, other people can feel that energy from you, then they might not feel comfortable, and they will want to rush off.”

Has Social Media Changed The Way We Conduct Vox-Pops?

In a way, social media has made it easier and harder simultaneously to conduct vox pops. “People know about it [vox pops] now, especially younger people, since they’re more familiar with seeing a lot of them online,” says Mimi. But the overexposure can be a con. Moya finds that “a lot of young people didn’t want to speak with us”, likely due to fear of being found by their peers or going viral.

But what distinguishes journalists is the need to have a diverse pool of thoughts and opinions to get a full picture of the story, rather than just what they think might be good content online. Tai says: “I feel like people react to us differently. Age demographics for social media are different, with a lot of younger people being their target audience. We journalists have to keep in mind that we want to hear from complete stretches of the spectrum.”

So, the next time you go outside with your microphone, keep an open mind. While you might face lots of rejection, it will be worth it not only for the unique insights you glean from the people you speak with but also to gain and maintain your skills as a journalist. So long as you keep persevering with respect and courtesy, vox pops can become a bit less scary with each interview.

Header image courtesy of Kate Bezzubets via Unsplash.