Journalists will find themselves interviewing people in a range of different mindsets and emotional states. Someone at the scene of a breaking news event is in a very different mood to the football manager whose team has just conceded a 90th minute match-winning goal.

Knowing how to recognise, and adapt to, different emotions is the mark of a truly skilled interviewer. Paul Connolly, lead trainer for the The Broadcast Institute, has learned these lessons the hard way in a career spanning match day reporting, undercover investigations in hostile environments, radio phone in shows and human-interest stories.

There are some best practices that all journalists should consider:

But if you really want to take your interviewing to the next level, these are Connolly's top tips for emotionally intelligent reporting.

Almost every interviewee enters with some level of hesitancy and suspicion. They may be wary of how their words will be relayed and how their story will be constructed, especially in the digital age.

Expert tip: Name the elephant in the room. Ask directly if there is anything they are feeling hesitant about and address it head-on to........

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