Interviewing people and writing their stories is one of the most enjoyable parts of my job as a writer. Generally, people are flattered to be interviewed and will work hard to try to get you the sound bites they know you need. Most people enjoy talking about themselves and, if you’re able to put them at ease, the interview can be very enjoyable for them as well. Here are some tips to help you get the story.
1) Do your homework. Learn as much as you can about the subject and the topic of the story in advance of the interview. If the story is about a technology that’s new or complex, for example, take the time to read up about it. You don’t need to be an expert, but the subject will appreciate the research you do.
2) Interview the person in a setting that is relevant to the story. It will help to create the appropriate tone and atmosphere for your story.
3) Bring a micro recorder just in case. Some people are so enthusiastic about being interviewed that it’s almost impossible to take accurate notes. Generally, I don’t need to use it. But it has proven very helpful in some cases. If you find that you do need to use it, ask permission.
4) Use your eyes, ears and even nose. What can you learn by looking around? What does this setting tell you about the subject?
- Is the person a collector?
- Obsessively neat?
- Did the subject prepare for your arrival?
- Is the subject squeezing you in between a lot of other things they have to do that day?
- Is their home/office a quiet, peaceful place or does chaos reign?
Try to include some reference to the setting in your story so that your readers will experience what you’re experiencing.
5) Put the subject at ease by making positive small talk at first. Identify something that you have in common at the outset. Tell the interviewee how interested you are in hearing their story.
6) Ask open-ended questions. You don’t want yes/no answers so you need to ask questions that begin with “What do you think about…”, “How did you feel when…”, “How does this work…”, “Tell me about the process involved with…” and so on.
7) If the answer to a question is vague or inconclusive come back to the question later and ask questions from a slightly different angle.
8) Keep your readers in mind. What do they want to know about this subject or topic?
9) As the subject is speaking, observe their body language. Is the subject nervous/holding back/enthusiastic about their story?
10) Ask a few “value” questions such as, Why is this important to you? What compels you to care about this topic? The answer to this kind of question is often the sound bite you’re looking for.
11) Don’t be afraid of silence. It’s the interviewer’s job to ask the questions and it’s the subject’s job to do the talking and your subject knows that. Let your subject fill in the blanks of an awkward silence.
12) At the end of the interview, ask the subject if they could wait while you check over your notes. With the subject still sitting in front of you, take the time to make sure that you haven’t skipped something. It’s possible that something that was said at the beginning of the interview now no longer makes sense. This is your opportunity to double check your notes.
13) If you’re taking a photo, try to catch some of the background in the frame especially if it helps explain who the person is. However, you want a head shot not a body shot unless showing the subject’s entire body is relevant to the story. Choose an angle that is flattering to the subject and different from the angles that you typically take. Natural light is best.
14) Ask the subject if there is some important part of this story that you didn’t talk about.
15) Ask permission to contact the subject again if you have further questions about the story.
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