Whenever I ask a question during an interview, I always hope for more than just an answer. I’m asking interviewees to share a part of themselves. There are books, websites, and professional interview gurus who all say there are rules when it comes to the interview process and to a degree, I agree.
Things to know before the interview
As a journalist, I understand that the art of interviewing has rules that give the interviewer a better chance for success, but the interviewing process is a fluid event that is subject to change. There are rules that make asking question and collecting data easier process, but the first rule to interviewing is there isn’t a set of rules that is going to fit for every interview. Know that no matter how much prep work is done for an interview that there is something that is going to surprise you during the interview.
Pick the right place to interview
This is one of the most under valued areas when it comes to the interview process. If possible, try to pick a place that is quiet and comfortable so that you can hear and be heard. Since interviewing is about communication, the less distractions during the process the better. Don’t pick a site that is going to become a part of the interview.
I tried interviewing a parachute jumpmaster in a training wind tunnel once. once. I thought I would get the wind tunnel experience and have fun asking questions in the moment of being in the air. All I really got was a headache and sore throat. A very valuable lesson was learned. Interviewing inside a wind tunnel is bad.
How to ask questions
I could write a book on interviewing questions. Open-ended questions are good. Yes or no questions are a bad, unless used to gain clarity. Asking open-ended questions gives your subject the ability to open up and expound. Don’t be afraid to ask interviewees to explain themselves or probe to learn more. If you have concerns that tough questions may end your interview, then save them for last.
Some interviewers come with prewritten questions while others don’t. It’s really about preference. Prewritten questions give the interviewer direction, but also may make the interviewer miss out on important information. Asking questions is about asking the question and listening to the response. Don’t be so rigidly set to prewritten questions that you forget to follow up on the information you get.
When I was first beginning to do interviews, I was very rigid in what I wanted to know from an interviewee. I had questions that I researched and I knew were the greatest questions ever (in my mind at least). What I found was sometimes I ended up missing out on things the interviewee was telling me. What helped me was I started to taking a voice recorder with me. Having the it gave me the ability to hear what questions worked well, how well I asked them, how well did I follow up and how well I listened.
Do prep your work
This is exactly like it sounds. Know your subject, topic or whatever it is you’re interviewing about. There are few things worse than going into an interview and asking questions that are already common knowledge or things you can look up yourself. You are doing the interview to find out things that you or the public doesn’t know. Do the research before the interview. Interviewing is a process and there might not be a right to do it, but there is a wrong way. The goal is to gain usable information.
Being nervous is good thing
I have no cure for being nervous. I’ve been interviewing people for years and get nervous from time to time, but that’s a good thing. Being nervous is just being excited about the opportunity to listen someone telling his or her story. Tap into that feeling. Use it to make sure you are prepared. An interview is nothing more than a conversation between two people. Don’t be afraid of silence. Just like there are moments of silence between two friends talking, the same could happen in an interview. It’s ok to let silence hang in the air while the interviewee thinks or searches for the way they would like to answer a question. Interviewing, like anything else takes practice. No one is perfect from the start except Stuart Scott or Hannah Storm.
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