I recently wrote about how to get someone to agree to an interview and the best ways to schedule the interview.
Be Prepared
Thoroughly research the person you’ll be interviewing so that you can formulate the best questions possible. Don’t waste the subject’s time by asking basic factual questions about her career when you can easily find the information on her website or in the autobiography she wrote.
11 Tips for the Actual Interview
1. Have your list of questions prepared and rehearsed well in advance.
2. Arrange the questions in a logical order and star the most important ones.
3. Be willing to branch out from your prepared questions as the interview develops.
4. Let your subject talk at length as long as it’s on topic and will give you good information for your piece.
5. Be conversational, but remember that it’s not about you: it’s about her. Your subject should do at least 90% of the talking.
6. Dress appropriately. Better to be a bit overdressed than even slightly underdressed.
7. Ask questions that will spur your subject to talk at length. Don’t ask questions that can be answered with a simple “yes” or “no.” Build on journalism’s who-what-where-when-why-how system to create the best questions.
8. Only ask factual questions that you can’t find through research and that you know are relevant to your story.
9. Bring a recorder and pens and notepad. Record the interview so you can get accurate quotes and information. Write down important info as you go along and note the approximate time on the recorder so you can refer to the recording later.
10. If you do the interview over the phone, make sure to take good and accurate notes. If you’ll be doing many interviews in your career, learn shorthand.
11. Consider doing the interview via e-mail. You submit the questions and the subject writes answers and sends them back. Depending on what you need from the interview, this can be a very good way to go.
After the Interview
After the interview you still have more to do (besides actually write your piece, that is):
- As soon as the interview is complete, make sure that you actually have a good recording of the conversation. If the recorder missed some parts, fill in from memory.
- Contact the subject with any other questions you have.
- Ensure that any facts given to you by the subject are in fact accurate.
Questions and Suggestions
1. Have you been interviewed before? What can you apply from those experiences to being an interviewer?
2. Read interviews similar to the ones you do to get ideas about the best way to do it.
(This post is based on Chapter 36, “Efficient Interviews,” from John’s e-book Intelligent Productivity For Freelance Writers: Manage Your Time, Make More Money, and Get More Enjoyment From Life.)
Any tips to add to the list? Any personal stories about what went well or what went wrong with your interviews?
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Good suggestions, John. I would add that it might be useful to ask a fact question such as “What was your grade point average in college?” to get their response. Then verify it with the university. You can learn a lot about a person based upon their answer. For example, if their GPA is 3.45, and they say it’s 3.5, then they are guilty of only a minor inflation–they rounded up, which is no big deal. If they say it’s 3.4, that shows they downplay their accomplishments, and that is good. If they say it’s 3.45, that is also good, as it shows they strive for accuracy. If they say it’s 3.6 or above, then you know they are either a liar, a BSer, or a dummy. They shouldn’t be hired. If they say they don’t remember, that means they are probably honest, but are not prepared, which is not ideal.
One more thing: Never ask ridiculous questions such as “Where do you see yourself in 10 years?” No one really knows. Also, don’t ask “What is your greatest weakness?” Often, people don’t know, and they are tempted to say something trite such as “I have this tendency to work a bit too hard, and I’m awfully loyal to a company.” Right.
Eric, these are important points for interviewing someone for a job.
I think your question about GPA and what the answer means is very useful. Freelance writers can ask a similar type of question and see how the interviewee responds based on your criteria.