Whether you’re writing an article about someone or just ‘picking their brains’ on a particular subject, you’re going to produce a better article if you interview that person first. In the second of his series on ‘how to write an article’, former trade press editor and journalist Andy Barrett explains how to prepare for and conduct a successful interview.

Isn’t conducting an interview a bit daunting?

A lot of writers worry about interviewing someone. But, most people, by and large, love being interviewed. They see it as an affirmation of their importance and (in some cases) it gives them the chance to think about things in new ways. Interviewees often get new ideas from giving interviews.

More importantly, you, as the interviewer, will find that talking to someone directly gives a more personal and engaging dimension to even the driest of subjects.

The three reasons for doing an interview tends to be:

• You want to write about the person you’re interviewing
• You want to write about someone the person you’re interviewing knows well
• You want to write about an organisation, product, service, event, etc. and need to talk to someone knowledgeable

Should I do pre-interview research?

Yes. Most definitely. If the article is about the person you’re interviewing, then find out as much as you can about them – their career, their personal life (if appropriate), their successes (always good to start an interview with a genuine compliment) and any other relevant information that led to the interview. For example, are you interviewing them because they just changed jobs, written a book, launched a new product, service or company?

If, however, you’re talking to this person because of their expert knowledge (on someone else, an organisation, product or service), you should  also seek out information on their connection to the subject.

How do I research a person or subject?

Search engines have made it easy to research just about anything. Company websites are the obvious starting point, as is social media. Then search the ‘news’ section and see if there are other articles on the person or subject.

Use any previous interviews to make sure you’re not just repeating questions that have been asked before. Rather, see if any important questions were missed or if you can ask follow-up questions such as, ‘Last year, you mentioned you were opening a new branch in Dusseldorf. How is that going?’

Should I play an interview ‘by ear’?

While most interviews throw up some surprising points, do consider what angle you want to take beforehand. Without a reason for interviewing someone, without that hook, you’ll end up talking too generally and leave with lots of information but no clear point.

See ‘How to write an article part one – finding the angle’ for more information and examples.

Establish your angle and create questions to back it up. And check if your interviewee also has a point/message/angle they want to pursue. This will leave you with three (possibly four) main themes:

1. Your point
2. The interviewee’s point
3. Previous article themes
4. Any issues that arise out of the interview itself

Should I stick to my questions?

The fourth point above is an important one. We go into interviews expecting certain things, but if the interview goes well and the conversation develops naturally, other themes might well arise that no-one had considered before. Don’t be afraid to abandon your preconceptions if these new angles seem more interesting.

Is it okay to email my questions?

There are three ways to conduct an interview: face to face, on the phone or by email. I can’t stress enough how superior the first two methods are to the third. The beauty of the interview is that it brings the interviewee’s natural, spoken voice to the article. Sending a list of questions by email usually means you’ll get a dry, written style, often including stock phrases and a lot of cut and paste from company literature. You’re the writer, make sure you’re in command of how the article is expressed on the page.

With your research done and your questions in front of you, you should be free to develop a conversation. This means you can stray and meander as much as you like, but always come back to the questions you wanted to ask.

Is it okay to ask difficult questions?

If you’re using your interviewee as an expert, you’ll need to be something of a devil’s advocate when discussing the subject. I don’t mean going hell for leather in some sort of Paxmanesque interrogation for the truth, but be aware that your interviewee will want you to accept an idealised version of the subject.

Here we can fall back on the ‘w’ questions: What’s new? What’s different? What problems are being solved? What’s the need? Who’s it for? How will it help? Why now?

Should I stick to the script?

Of course, having your questions thoroughly prepared can have pitfalls. You have to be aware what exactly the interviewee is saying so you don’t simply run down your list of questions and ask something that has already been answered. In a word, listen. This will also give you the opportunity to develop the conversation more naturally.

With good research combined with a good interview, you’ll be able to write an engaging piece that covers all the issues and weaves in the personal element behind the corporate image. It’s sometimes difficult for companies to appreciate this, but I assure you I’ve never had compliments for writing an article that simply regurgitated the company line.

If you know a superior article will be the result of your efforts, then this alone will dispel most of the worries you might have about interviewing.

Look out next month for ‘how to write an article part 3 – beginnings, middles and ends’.

Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash