What separates an expert interview from an adequate interview?
A while back I wrote a checklist for conducting recorded audio interviews. I wish I could have had a list like that when I started working as a producer, but the mistakes you make are probably the best lessons, right?
I also wanted to capture what I have learned from observing expert interviewers about asking fair questions, building trust with interviewees and getting to the heart of the matter. I’ve been jotting down these ideas for years. For me, they work equally well in many different settings. Whether you’re working on a reported story about a policy matter, writing/producing a profile about a person who has experienced a profoundly personal issue or even conducting interviews to hire a new colleague, these techniques cut through the surface-level chit-chat to get to deeper reflection and observation:
Do your research. Then do even more! I think it’s fine to bring research with you if you can’t memorize dates or quantities or exact titles if you want to reference them in an interview. Focus on source material but don’t miss the tangential: if a subject has said their hero is Percy Julian, for example, have a good understanding of his life and accomplishments. When you’re looking at the LinkedIn profile of a potential job candidate, have they worked at other organizations that they didn’t include on their resumé? What other policy makers worked with this interviewee on drafting this legislation and what ideas did each bring to the table?
I’m not suggesting that you hunt for “gotcha!” questions, but often the most interesting questions will emerge from the tangential research. Deeper research gives you a fuller picture of a subject’s interests and special areas of knowledge or skill.
Figure out what you want to know about this story. This may sound obvious, but your curiosity is your audience’s curiosity. What doesn’t make sense here or needs explaining? An interview is NOT your opportunity to impress an interviewee with your knowledge or to name-drop all the famous people you’ve spoken with or even to try to squeeze industry gossip out of a source (sound unbelievable? I’ve seen it happen way too many times). Focus on what you and your audience want to know.
Confirm what thought you already knew. In most cases, you’ll discover that somewhere in your preparation you had made an assumption, probably a perfectly logical one, that is inaccurate. The interview is your first pass at fact-checking. Your interviewee and your audience are counting on you to report verified information.
Prepare to be surprised. This goes hand-in-hand with the previous point. There is growing awareness of the role assumptions and implicit bias play in journalism and in any interview situation. You can’t suspend the implicit bias you have, but you can question your own conclusions as much as your interviewee’s: Was that an assumption I made or did I verify this to be true? A lot of impactful research has been published about this topic. To learn more, I recommend starting with Nieman Reports.
Plan the order of your questions to establish trust. Don’t start with the most personal question. You need time and patience to get to that level of trust. Imagine if, on a first date, someone you just met asked what you did to cause your most recent, soul-crushing break up? No chance. Asking about a personal topic too soon can sometimes have the effect of an interviewee emotionally shutting down–the opposite of what you want to happen. Be patient. Give it time. Sometimes it takes several conversations to get to that level of trust that you can ask about those sensitive topics.
Practice transparency, sympathy and vulnerability. That’s what you’re asking of your interviewee, right? How can they divulge their private thoughts unless they see you also willing to be honest and transparent? I’m not suggesting you tell your interviewee about a painful experience in your life (That’s a bad idea. Remember that the interviewee is the focus. It can feel insulting or minimizing to a subject to suggest there is some equivalence in your experiences). But you can say, “How difficult,” if an interviewee shares a vulnerable thought. Maintain eye contact as much as possible. Be forthcoming about the story you’re working on and always tell the truth.
Ask for details and specifics, especially if the interviewee is doing a ton of interviews. This often came up for me with musicians on a press tour. They’d give you a rehearsed scripted answer to a question. Ask interviewees to put a finer point on their message. When in the music can you hear that idea? What did you mean when you said that passage sounds “crunchy?”
Never ask, “Was it this or was it that?” Or, “Did you do this for reason X or reason Y?” With either/or questions, you’re putting words in the interviewee’s mouth. Just ask why.
Silence works much harder for you, and is more impactful, than filling space with extra words.
I hope this is helpful! I’d love to hear what other expert-level interview tips you’ve learned over time. You can email them to me by clicking on the ‘Contact’ page or leave a comment on our social media pages.
