Get It Right Before You Write: 6 Tips For Productive Interviewing
Posted on Mar 4, 2014March 3, 2014
The best human interest stories start with strategic interviewing by the writer. And strategic interviews start long before you ask the first question. Preparation, well-crafted interview questions and intuition during the interview create the foundation for content people want to read. I want to show you six tactics that make the difference between writing an engaging article with depth versus one that lacks interest and insight.
- Take care of the nitty gritties ahead of time. Everyone is busy so whatever research you can complete ahead of time reserves precious minutes for more important questions. Don’t waste your interviewee’s time asking , “What is your title?” or “How long have you been with the company?” You can usually find these answers online or from an administrative assistant. If the interviewee works for a public entity, check the web for meeting minutes and other public documents which may provide basic information about the person’s job, activities and viewpoints. Linked In is also a helpful source of information.
- Spy the surroundings. If your interview is in person, look around the reception area or office for important clues. Does your interviewee have a collection of arrowheads or a stack of vintage comic books on display? Does the collection of auto enthusiast magazines say something contradictory about the chef or fashion enthusiast you are about to interview? The physical surroundings may tell you much about your interviewee and provide colorful material for the piece you’re writing.
- Have an idea of your angle ahead of time but be flexible. You may go into the interview with an idea about the angle or the hook of your piece, but be flexible and listen for other interesting options. For example, I interviewed a couple focusing on their travels around the world. During the interview, they mentioned learning that their daughter had anorexia while on one of their trips. I switched the focus of my story to how parents handle a child’s eating disorders which made for a more interesting piece.
- Let them have “talk”. Knowing when to control the flow of questions is a practiced art. Sometimes it’s best to keep a rambling interviewee on target by bringing them back to the original question or changing to a new one. But be flexible. If the flow of conversation reveals interesting information even though it’s beyond the scope of your question, you may want to follow him or her on that rabbit trail. However, don’t be afraid to keep the interview on track by steering the conversation in the direction you want it to go.
- Keep your ends open. You’ve heard it before but it’s an important point to repeat: Ask open ended questions. And ask questions that go beyond the facts. Ask questions that will help you to “show” and not just tell when you write the story: “How did you feel when________.” And, “Do you remember what you were wearing?” Or, “What was the weather like when you ________?” These questions will help you to write in a way that draws the reader into the scene or event.
- Empathize but don’t rule. Some interviewers would say never speak of yourself or your experiences during an interview because the purpose is to get to know the interviewee. But some people are shy or reluctant to share information. In this case, sharing snippets of your life relative to the interview topic or identifying with the interviewee can be helpful in drawing them out. This approach should be used judiciously because the interview is about them, not you.
What other strategies would you suggest for productive interviewing?
(Originally appeared on Alicea Jones Writing Services blog)
I like the narratives of this article. It will help me to prepare the venue and those appropriate things that make the interviewee feel more comfortable before the actual interview.
Thank you for your comments, Emmanuel. I’m glad the interviewing tips were helpful.
This article will help set up the venue and those things that will make the interviewee comfortable before the actual interview takes place.
These are great points, Alecia. I would, however, say that it’s important to confirm information about name, title and duties because you simply never know when the information you’ve previously obtained from other sources is incorrect. I think it’s also important to warm people up with some basic genial conversation for a few minutes before launching into the questions you’re seeking information about to create your story. Thanks for this topic — it IS the basis of great storytelling.
Yes, you’re right Shelly. Confirming information and warming up the interviewee are important steps for a successful interview. Thanks for mentioning these points.