Citizen journalists wishing to sharpen their interviewing skills would do well to read Dan Gillmor’s interview tips in a series of comments on his Bayosphere blog. I’ll be posting some of the tricks I’ve learned over the years, but Dan’s advice is solid, relevant, and blog-friendly. Good interviewing is an art and, as Gillmor points out, there is no single technique. Still, no matter whether you’re planning to interview your grandfather, the mayor, or the graffiti artist down the block, it pays to learn from the best. The one trick I’ll add here is: Silence can be an interviewer’s best friend. Some of the most telling comments from interviewees have come in the wake of a slightly awkward pause in the conversation.