Ways of making you talk: How to be a better interviewer

You wouldn’t think someone who’s introverted nearly to the point of misanthropy would be a badass interviewer, but I’m full of surprises.

I think it’s because I love hearing stories, and that’s what interviews really are. (“Tell me a story!” “I guess I can. How about the one where my lab discovers a biomarker that can help doctors identify neurodegenerative diseases at an earlier stage?” “Yaaay!”) My job as an interviewer is to provide prompts that keep the story going as long as possible. (“What impact did grant funding have on your research?” “Isn’t it past your bedtime?”) And over my fifteen-plus years in the business, I’ve had plenty of time to get really good at keeping it going.

Whether it’s for a feature article, web copy, video, or anything else that might call for input straight from the subject’s mouth — even if that subject is deeply uncomfortable being interviewed, or the topic under discussion is deeply boring — I get the good stuff. And now you can, too.

(Be interviewed? Thanks, but I’ll take whatever’s behind that blackened, glowing door with smoke and the wails of the damned seeping out from underneath.)

Be genuinely curious.

Just that easy, right?

No, of course, curiosity isn’t something that’s easy to just turn on and off at will. But whether you’re interviewing someone for a video or article of some kind or just trying to wring information out of them for web or print copy, there’s a reason you’re talking to them. They’ve done something. They know someone. They know someone who’s done something. Do your research beforehand, and chances are, you’ll find something that makes you want to know more. 

Even if you don’t find anything directly interview-related, you’re bound to discover something about your victim that’s enough for you to want to make a connection. “Before we start talking about your work at the janitorial supply warehouse, I wanted to ask you about the blindfolded longbow elk-hunting trip you took.” By the time you’ve gotten to the bottom of that certified deathtrip, you’ll both be all warmed up to keep the interview moving.

Go into the interview already knowing what you’re looking for.

Preparation is key — rather like a good prosecutor, you want to come prepared with questions you’re pretty sure you already know the answer to. Of course, those aren’t the only questions you ask, and that’s not the only information you’ll be including in your finished piece (‘cause what’s the fun in that?). But those questions will be the jumping-off point for follow-up questions that will get you the good stuff. They’ll also help direct your interview to produce material pertinent to the project at hand and not just wander off into the weeds.

This is where the aforementioned research comes in — definitely get any background you can from the client (which has the added benefit of helping you better understand what they’re looking to get out of the finished product), and then do as much additional research as you can to find out things the client didn’t know or think to include. This will help you come up with better questions, and it’ll tell your interview subject that you respect them enough to do your homework before talking to them.

Put your interview subject at ease.

Obviously, this is an important step when you’re doing an on-camera interview and want your subject to act natural. But it’s still important in an interview for print or web, because they’ll give better answers if they aren’t nervous.

Joke with them a little to let them know the situation isn’t serious. Assure them that the interview is for marketing purposes, so you have an interest in making them look as good as possible — they’ll be less worried about coming across as smart or sophisticated. A little bit of gentle self-deprecation can go a long way. Frequently, interview subjects see you as a kind of authority figure — you’re sitting them down and interrogating them, after all — and bringing yourself down to their level does a lot to make them more comfortable.

(It’s a balance, though — if you’re talking to a Fortune 500 CEO, they probably don’t see you as an authority figure, and you don’t want to make yourself come across as a complete yabbo. A non-native English speaker or a person with cognitive difficulties might not understand some of the jokes you make. As with so many other things, it’s a matter of reading the room.)

Also: Never ask them if they’re nervous. If they weren’t, they will be now. I was giving a guy tips for interviewing students who were about to audition for a big music scholarship, and I told him that under no circumstances was he to ask if they they were nervous — if they muffed their audition and didn’t get the scholarship, it would be his fault.

Ask around the question you actually want to ask.

When you ask a person a question in conversation, they answer it. When you ask a person a question in an interview, they think about it, and whee! Now you have an answer that’s less natural and authentic than it might otherwise be.

The trick, and it isn’t always an easy one, is to ask a question that will elicit the information you’re looking for without getting them to think about it. If you’re trying to get an employee to say good things about a particular manager, don’t use the manager’s name — ask how the employee has grown as a result of the work they do, and who has inspired them on the job, and then if you need to drop the manager’s name, the employee will already be on a roll, and their response will be a lot more sincere and natural. If you want to know about their work with a given charity, start by asking why they think it’s important to serve their community, and then ease into the more specific questions from there.

A clue that you’re on the wrong track is if your subject starts a sentence with “thus.” No one naturally starts sentences with “thus.” If you get a “thus,” it’s a signal to back up a little and come at your question from a subtler angle.

Try to avoid “why.”

Why? It can come across as kind of combative. Why did you make your logo pink? WHY? TELL ME. You’ll usually have better luck with Tell me about your decision to [make your logo pink, etc.], or similar.

Give them time to answer.

You aren’t in a hurry. (If you are in a hurry, you should have scheduled better.) If your subject needs a little time to compose their answer — or compose themselves emotionally — give it to them. Don’t interrupt or offer any prompts or suggestions unless they really appear to be floundering. And give them a couple of seconds at the end of their answer before you ask the next one — they might feel inspired to keep going and give you some good stuff.

Listen to them.

It sounds obvious — I mean, that’s the point of interviewing them, right? — but while they’re answering, listen to them and give them your full attention rather than just thinking about your next question. They deserve your attention, first of all, but people also just tend to talk more and more openly when they think someone is interested in what they’re saying. They could give you an answer that leaves room for follow-up questions, which are frequently more interesting than whatever you have on your list.

Ask if they have anything else.

Always end your interview by asking your subject if there’s anything they want to mention that didn’t make it into your questions. If your subject is your actual client, this can give you insight into what they’re really looking for in the project — if you didn’t already have it on your list of questions, it could be that you’ve missed some aspect of their story that you need to work into your copy. Otherwise, it can still be an opportunity to get more information, and for them to talk about something that’s important to them. Often, the answer I get is, “Not really. I think you covered everything. Just that…” followed by some of the best information they’ve given the whole time and five more minutes of interview.

My proudest moment

One of the toughest bunch of interviews I’ve had to do was for a video for a group foster home. We needed to convey the challenges facing these kids who are compassionately cared for by the sincerely wonderful people at the home. That involved talking to some of the kids, but if you’ve ever wondered, “Hey, should I ask a child with a history of abuse and worse about their traumatic childhood, thus further traumatizing them and making them break down on camera?” the answer is no, you should not.

Instead, I asked them about their foster brothers and sisters — what those kids were going through when they came to the home, and how the kids I was talking to supported the new kids as they came in and started to adjust. The interview subjects knew what the new children were going through, because they’ve experienced it personally, but talking about it in terms of someone else made it a little more removed and a little less painful. Talking about how they were able to help gave them a way to talk about what kids are going through and what they need, but it put them in a position of strength and agency that made them feel less vulnerable.

We still got everything we needed to make a really touching, emotionally compelling video. Their stories were no less moving for them not crying or painfully baring their souls. It’s because I started with them in mind — not the questions, not the client, not the project, but the people I was going to be talking to.

What about you? Do you have any tips, challenges, horror stories, or success stories about interviews? I’m so interested in what you have to say — by all means, tell me more.