6 Interviewing Tips (for Writers)
December 12th, 2007, by Sharon Hurley HallAs a freelance writer sooner or later you’re going to have to conduct an interview. Maybe it’s because you’re hoping to score a lucrative commission from a top-notch editor. Perhaps it’s because one of your clients has asked you to interview people as part of a writing or ghost-writing project.
Whatever your reason for doing an interview you want to do it right. That means having the right preparation, the right tools and the right questions.
#1 - Prepare!
To prepare for an interview you need to know what you know and what you don’t know about the interview subject. That means doing background research about the person, product, company or service. There are a number of useful research tools, both on line and off-line. These include:
- Newspaper and magazine archives (many of them accessible through sites such as Lexis Nexis)
- Libraries
- Company records such as annual reports
- Directories such as Who’s Who
- Press releases
Using these resources will help you to assemble a list of the known facts about your interview subject. You will also be able to identify the gaps which will help you to formulate questions.
#2 - Ask the Right Questions
Your writing often begins with the who, what, where, why, when and how. Your interview questions should help you to establish these things.
It’s always handy to have a prepared list of questions before starting an interview, even if you don’t stick rigidly to that list.
Most interviews consist of two types of questions. Fact-checking questions are closed questions that require a yes or no answer. The rest of the questions should be open-ended questions that encourage the interview subject to talk.
#3 - Have the Right Equipment
Another key part of interview preparation is having the right equipment. This can be as simple as a notebook and pencil. However, I prefer to use a recording device so that I can be sure that I quote my sources accurately.
Always make sure that you have a back-up power supply for your recording device. I learned the hard way to take notes and tape just to be sure that I had some record of the interview afterwards.
#4 - Watch Your Time
How you conduct an interview depends on your subject’s comfort level and the time you have available. If there’s no rush you can take the time to relax your subject by asking the fact-checking questions first.
However, if time is limited, you may need to go directly to the most important questions. Don’t be afraid to follow a tangent and ask questions that weren’t on your original list. The list is a guide to remind you of the essential information you need to collect.
#5 - Know When to Stop Talking
One tip for a successful interview is to know when to keep quiet. A good interviewer spends more time listening that talking.
Once your subjects relax they may go off topic, but go with the flow. You’ll get a more interesting interview that way.
When you’re ready to go, check that you’ve asked the most important questions and ask if your subject has anything to add. People often say the most interesting things when they think the interview is over.
#6 - Begin Writing, Pronto
I often find it useful to start writing up an interview as soon as it’s over. That’s because the information is still fresh in my mind. Doing a rough draft at this stage could help you to craft an excellent article, blog entry or page of your white paper.
About the author: Sharon Hurley Hall is a born again blogger who has been writing for more than 20 years. She is a freelance writer and ghostwriter who specializes in ebooks, SEO articles and blog posts. Sharon runs the freelance mentoring blog, Get Paid To Write Online.
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December 13th, 2007 at 7:39 am
Thanks for this helpful article on interviewing. I have interviewed many people for both articles and my own e-news. I have one observation and 2 helpful tips. Observation: people tend to get nervous when they see me turn on the tape recorder even though I have cleared it with them that they don’t mind using it. This wears off after a while, but I still think it distracts them. Does anyone have any suggestions for this?
Tip #1: I find it helpful to follow up on e-mail with regard to quotes and any factual information. Often, people may not have important statistics or specifics of that nature at their fingertips, and they like to follow up on e-mail so they have time to check themselves. Also, particularly with quotes, e-mail is useful as well. It allows the subject to formulate their quotes so they are more succinct.
Tip #2: Be assertive! I remember once doing a phone interview and the subject would not answer my questions directly, but would talk in circles about everything else including the kitchen sink! My notes were a disastrous mess, and I was on deadline. I had to speak up and ask that they stick to brief, one or two sentence answers and to be as clear as possible. If they went off on a tangent again, I had to interrupt them and say, “I’m sorry, but you are really confusing me!” In another instance, someone insisted that they speak on their cell phone due to their busy schedule, but I could barely hear them. I had to insist that we reconnect on a better phone. It’s very important to speak up as early on as possible if things aren’t proceeding well. Your byline is being printed with the article, as well as their name.
December 13th, 2007 at 7:43 am
Those are great tips, Carrie. I have also experienced interviewees getting nervous at the sight of a tape recorder. A bit of general chat, followed by a few easy questions often makes them forget that it’s there.
December 13th, 2007 at 7:49 am
Thanks for the positive feedback Sharon. I just reviewed your web site and it looks very interesting. I signed up for your e-news as well and am looking forward to all the tips. I see you have done some ghost blogging and I am interested in trying this out as I was recently approached by a potential client. Any tips on ghost blogging?
December 13th, 2007 at 8:03 am
Off the top of my head, not much advice to offer, Carrie, but I’ll think about it and perhaps do a post on the topic. Ghost blogging gigs usually come to me in the guise of article writing gigs - but for a blog - and having a couple of blogs to show them pre sells my services.
December 13th, 2007 at 10:45 am
I interview a lot of filmmakers pretty regularly. I try to think from a reader’s perspective - what’s one personal thing I’d want to know about this person? And, to come up with at least one question that I hope will be a surprise to them - maybe something they haven’t been asked before.
Since many of them have been interviewed before by other people, in doing my research, I try to come up with a couple of questions that I had about the subject, but wasn’t addressed in any of the interviews.
December 13th, 2007 at 2:31 pm
Also a great tip, Angela. It gives your final piece something to distinguish it from the others.
December 13th, 2007 at 6:13 pm
Thanks for the great discussion everyone!
December 13th, 2007 at 11:05 pm
nice post.
Wanted to add my 2 cents to the article.
Putting up a front thats not u is the biggest folly I have experienced personally..
I have always felt my credibility going up in the eyes of the interviewer when I ask questions when asked to and I ask bold questions. It projects to the interviewer that I really value my skills ..
please feel free to critic.
vineet nair
vineetnair.com
December 14th, 2007 at 3:56 am
Actually, Vineet, that raises a good point. When I was starting out, I often had to interview people on topics that I knew little about (such as metal manufacture). Although I did my research, that topic wasn’t real to me, so I said to the interviewee: ‘Pretend I know nothing and explain your business to me.’ I got a great interview and was better informed. Sometimes it helps to come clean if you don’t know all the answers.
January 3rd, 2008 at 4:47 am
Thanks for some great tips on how to get prepared. I am looking to do some interviews and feel I can get started soon hopefully.
February 27th, 2008 at 4:24 am
Hope they went well, John. Preparation really is essential.