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How to Conduct an Effective Interview

Writers Can Learn to Interview Subjects With Flair and Finesse

© Pamela Mooman

May 5, 2009
The key to an authoritative, readable journalistic article or book is the ability to conduct an effective interview, an art that can be mastered with specific techniques.

The Basics of Interviewing

  • Plan the story ahead of time, and write down questions that actually address the points that are open. Think of the interview as a chance that most people would want to ask questions of an authority, and then ask those questions.
  • Number questions on a separate page from the notepad, and when taking notes, write or type the number of the question being answered. Then it is easy and fast to match up responses, especially when multiple people are being interviewed, with the questions.
  • If taking photographs as well as interviewing, conduct the interview first so as to warm up the subjects and get to know them a bit. Then, better, less posed photographs will be possible.
  • Take charge of the interview, no matter if the subject is the U.S. President, a favourite writer, or a serial killer. The interviewer is in charge and sets the tone of the entire interview.
  • Many people are busy these days, and interviews can be conducted solely through email, if all parties are comfortable. Send a list of numbered questions, and issue a deadline when answers are needed.

The Finer Points of Interviewing

  • Have fun, to any degree. Truly look at and listen to those being interviewed. It is a great way to learn about human nature.
  • Be open to developing an ongoing source and even a personal friendship. True, journalism or factual-based writing must be objective, but people are not so easily categorized. A source might turn out to be valuable for a number of stories or depth of subject and might even turn out to have likeable qualities and strike a personal chord of affability.

Interview Finesse

  • End a professional interview with a wide-open, possibly even fun question. Ask the subject:
  • “Tell me something surprising about this. Tell me something no one else knows.” This single question might open up a completely new avenue and lead to another entire interview or story or book. At the least, it will yield a good quote, because the subject will be slightly surprised and will answer honestly and unpredictably.
  • Think how the story will be marketed. Is it for a newspaper, or a monthly magazine? Is it for a public relations brochure, or an organizational publication? Each type of publication has a specific audience, and knowing the audience and gearing the questions to a story for that audience will make the interview flow naturally and easily.
  • Be at ease. If the interviewer is comfortable, the subject will relax.

The copyright of the article How to Conduct an Effective Interview in Literary Culture is owned by Pamela Mooman. Permission to republish How to Conduct an Effective Interview in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.


Good Note-Taking is Important During an Interview., Photo by Click (courtesy of Morguefile)
        


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Comments
May 7, 2009 4:55 AM
Guest :
Great article! It's informative and filled with great ideas about how to conduct a successful interview.
Jul 8, 2009 9:28 AM
Guest :
An excellent summary of the essentials for conducting a good interview. I have purchased and reviewed a learn-to-interview course at OpenBoxReviews.com, "Interviewing Unwrapped" that may also be helpful.
2 Comments
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