How to Interview: Tips for Writers
Easy Guidelines for Interviewing, Whether for Q&As or Profiles
Interview stories should look easy. But a great question-and-answer piece or feature profile requires careful thought and planning, as these interviewing guidelines show.
“Death will be a great relief. No more interviews.”
—Katherine Hepburn
Interview-based profile stories are among the nonfiction article assignments that are most popular and easy to sell for a freelance writer. Whether you're interviewing celebrities, interviewing experts in a particular field, or just conducting man-on-the-street human interest interviews, interviewing is one of the most useful skills a freelance writer can have.
Many an interview, however, goes awry because the interviewer hasn't put enough thought or effort into preparing for the interview. Often, such a lack of preparedness makes both the interviewer and the interviewee ill at ease, resulting in a botched interview.
To make your own interviews more successful, keep the following few guidelines in mind:
- Get the facts straight. If your interview subject has a press kit, biographical notes, copies of past articles on him or her, or other background materials, get them in advance and review them thoroughly. These come more easily for a celebrity interview. At the very least, do some Internet-based research, typing the name of your interviewee, along with a word or two related to the person's field to narrow down the results, into Google or some other search engine. In either case, begin the actual interview by pinning down or confirming specific factual details you will need in your story.
- Prepare specific questions or a story outline. Try in advance to imagine the shape your article might take or what specific ground it might cover, bearing in mind its target length. Have that size and shape clearly in your head or on paper to determine the format of your interview. If it helps, have specific questions written down, following the outline.
- Ask questions that go somewhere. In short, avoid questions that can easily be answered with a “yes” or “no.” Elicit the subject’s thoughts or feelings with questions that begin with words like, “What did you feel when…?” or “What do you think about…?” or even a follow-up like, “What happened next?”
- Elicit more revealing answers with occasional silence. One of the most effective follow-up questions you can sometimes ask, especially after just a cautious hint of revelation from your subject, is a single word: "Oh?" And, sometimes, silence, however awkward, following a less-than-forthcoming answer will eventually force the subject to continue talking—and sometimes say the most revealing statement of the interview.
- Pay attention. Try hard to listen to your subject. Smile, nod, say “hmm,” or whatever you would ordinarily do to encourage someone to keep talking. Reveal a little of yourself if you feel it helps your subject open up (but don’t rattle on and on!). The more you make your subject feel interesting, the more interesting your subject is likely to be.
- Keep the interview under control… Try to keep you subject on track. Outline at the interview’s start what ground you plan to cover and how long it might take. If your subject starts veering into territory that doesn’t pertain to your article, gently, politely redirect the conversation.
- …but be prepared to go with the flow. Your subject might just reveal unexpected information that makes for an entirely different but more interesting article than the one you had planned.
- Tape record if you can. Some subjects are wary of tape recorders, but most will allow them. Make sure yours works well and has fresh batteries. Bring along extra tapes. If time allows, transcribe the tapes yourself.
- Judiciously edit quotes. After you have the transcript, tidy up what your subject says, within the boundaries of good reason, ethics, and fairness. Edit quotes to make them say more succinctly and vividly what your subject intended to say. Don't let your subject sound like an idiot, unless doing so is the goal of your article!
Make all the above points second nature and you'll pull off great interviews and produce freelance articles that gain attention and get you more work.
Want to learn more about freelance writing skills? Check out How to Write a How-to Article and How to Write Reviews.
