The Interview

If you are like me and write for a living, chances are you are doing more than just creative fiction or poetry. Many writers supplement their income with other writing gigs like editing jobs, newspaper stringer, copywriter, or magazine feature writer. Invariably somewhere along the line you will need to interview “someone” as a subject for a story, business profile or even a web post.


I’ve had the personal pleasure of interviewing many different personalities including business professionals, award winners, politicians, teachers, other authors, and random retail customers. I once had the extreme honor of interviewing Helen Hayes MacArthur and she even complimented my “style” saying that she appreciated me treating her like a “regular person”.


Generally when people are being interviewed they automatically feel defensive, they worry that reporters are all out to dig up some kind of dirt, or they just feel very shy and private about themselves. Sometimes you need to go through a PR person who feels ultra-protective about the subject. If you want to have a successful interview you need to put your subject at ease, let him know you are not there to attack or harm him and likewise you also need to appear at ease and not guarded.


The reason you are there is to interview him/her and learn his/her perspective on the subject you are writing about. You should arrive at your interview, whether in person or by phone, prepared and having researched the subject already (read articles, surfed the internet, read a prepared press release, etc). Sometimes your subject, or the PR person arranging the interview, will ask for a list of questions in advance – I don’t provide that since I don’t want the answers to be corporate statements that sound too distant. Instead I will supply, when requested, a brief list of topics I would like to discuss.


I try to sound like I am just there to have a conversation, hopefully a relaxing one. I don’t script my questions, but I often make a short list of bullet points to discuss. Avoid asking “YES” or “NO” type questions, let your subject answer in story form. Instead of asking “Were you ever scared as a child?” you might word it “Tell me about the things that scared you as a child”. Listen actively, sometimes the answer gives you another pertinent question. If you are not sure you understood something, repeat it back like “so you’re saying one and two equal three?”


Since I tend to conduct my interviews as if we were just having coffee and conversation, I try to be personable and real. Invariably my subject will ask ME a question, if it isn’t too personal I will answer it – but don’t let the interview turn into YOUR interview, keep it short and sweet and then get back to the subject. Keep the interview on track as best you can, keep in mind the questions your readers might have, but don’t ignore the random things your subject might want to talk about, it might prove very interesting.


Although there are cases where a recording, in addition to your handwritten notes, might be handy, I try not to record interviews. First of all, you are not allowed to record someone without his knowledge and if you ask and he refuses, it puts a damper on the time you have together. Also when someone knows he is being recorded, he is too conscious of everything he has to say and comes off stilted and too guarded. As soon as possible after your interview, review your notes while it is still fresh in your mind in case you abbreviated something or scribbled and it might not make sense later on.


Finally, or actually to begin with, be gracious and professional. Start AND end with thanking her for her time. Also make sure that you have taken the time to write down (in longhand) the correct spelling of her name and title. If you are conducting the interview in person, dress appropriately and be well-groomed. If you are working over the phone, make sure to hang a sign on your office door specifying NO INTERRUPTIONS.



Writing exercise: Make a list of ten to fifteen questions you would ask yourself in an interview for your LOCAL newspaper. Write another five questions that would be used if you were being interviewed on a NATIONAL TV show. Choose two aspects of your life (ie: being a parent, being a writer) and write five more questions each to ask about that specific topic.



Writing prompt: Make a list of the top five topics that interest you and you would like to read about. Why?