Often when I interview people for a story and they compliment a piece of my writing they’ve read, I mention this: “The story isn’t compelling if the person being interviewed doesn’t have something interesting to say.” The interviewer pieces it together, provides a foundation and pace to the tale, but the subject matter, insightful quotes and background must do something for the readers or you lose them.
That means you must elicit good material from the interviewee. How do you do that?
The simple and quick answer is to ask them good questions. This then implies, “What’s a good question?”
And, yes, there is a simple answer to that. Ask open-ended questions. Look at your notes before you begin the interview and make sure your questions are set up so the responder cannot answer “yes” or “no.”
A great way to get people talking is to ask “why.” They explain something to you, and you follow up with, “Why did that happen? Why did you approach the situation that way?” See where the interview goes from there.
It’s fundamentally important if you are a writer/journalist/communicator that you have a curiosity about the world. You should want to know how things work. The first answer isn’t enough. You want to dig below the surface and provide a deeper explanation.
That’s where the fun stuff is. That’s when you dig up the compelling quotes and have the ability to construct a story that others read to the end.
It’s not going to happen every time, but if you ask good questions (open-ended) and retain your curiosity about the world, your writing will continue to draw a strong readership.
That means you must elicit good material from the interviewee. How do you do that?
The simple and quick answer is to ask them good questions. This then implies, “What’s a good question?”
And, yes, there is a simple answer to that. Ask open-ended questions. Look at your notes before you begin the interview and make sure your questions are set up so the responder cannot answer “yes” or “no.”
A great way to get people talking is to ask “why.” They explain something to you, and you follow up with, “Why did that happen? Why did you approach the situation that way?” See where the interview goes from there.
It’s fundamentally important if you are a writer/journalist/communicator that you have a curiosity about the world. You should want to know how things work. The first answer isn’t enough. You want to dig below the surface and provide a deeper explanation.
That’s where the fun stuff is. That’s when you dig up the compelling quotes and have the ability to construct a story that others read to the end.
It’s not going to happen every time, but if you ask good questions (open-ended) and retain your curiosity about the world, your writing will continue to draw a strong readership.