There are so many amazing people all around you, and interviewing them gives you not only a great excuse to meet and learn from them, but also a ready-made article that you can either post to your own website or try to pitch to other already-existing sites.
Whom you choose to interview will depend on many factors. The first factor is clearly your own area of interest and expertise.
Here is a video of Sawtasky
How to start an interview
Part One – The agenda
- Determine the purpose or goal of the interview.
- Develop a brief statement that tells why this interview is being conducted.
- Specifically, identify how this information will be used.
- Make a list of the information required.
- Draft questions that, when answered, will provide the necessary information to satisfy your goal.
- Make the questions flow.
- Open questions – questions of feeling, perspective, prejudice or stereotypes "How would you?" Make the demand about something.
- Closed questions – yes/no tunnel sequence often needs more open and probing questions to round out the interview.
- Probing questions – Follow-up question on vague, superficial or inaccurate information.
Here is a video of Sawtasky
How to start an interview
Part Two – Questions and questioning techniques
Part Three - push the probe
Elaboration – “What happened next?” “Could you go into that more?” “How did you feel about that?”
Clarification – “What do you mean by the word BLAH?” “Could you provide examples of what you mean by BLAH?”
Repetition – When the interview didn’t hear or is trying to evade the question. Repeat the question exactly as originally stated.
Confrontations – Calls attention to inconsistencies, misinterpretations or contradictions. These are best asked at the end of the interview after ideas are established from open and closed questions.
Mirror statements – Reflective or summary statements that indicate if the interviewee is being understood. “In other words, you are saying" . . .” Let me see if I am understanding you . . .”
Neutral phrases – Demonstrates attention, indicates interest and encouragement to keep people talking. “Oh” “I see” “Go on” “Wow” “And then?”
Silence – A powerful probe that gives both the interviewee and the interviewer time to think. Don’t rush through as this may be the only opportunity to talk with this person. Silence distinguishes the novice from the skilled interviewer.
Turn on your recording device NOW
Have them say and spell their name
Have them say their title
Listen, actively
Your source is a teacher
If they say something you don’t understand, ask them a follow-up or ask them to explain it in a different way
Even if you are recording, keep a pen and paper handy to write a note to yourself about something you might want to ask later.
Quotes, Quotes, Quotes
As the novelist Elmore Leonard said, “When people talk, readers listen.” In interviews, the writer listens for the telling remark that illuminates the person or the situation. Leonard says he lets his characters do the work of advancing his story by talking. He gets out of the way.
“Readers want to hear them, not me.”
Listen to the singer Lorrie Morgan talk about her problems:
After her husband, the singer Keith Whitley, died of alcohol poisoning, Morgan was only offered slow, mournful ballads by her songwriters, she said in an interview with The Tennessean of Nashville.
“I mean, it was all kinds of dying songs,” she said. But then she fell in love with Clint Black's bus driver, and she decided to change her tunes.
“I said, 'I'm not going to do that. I'm not basing my career on a tragedy.' I live the tragedy every day without it being in my music.” Her life, she said, has turned around, thanks to her new love. “He's a wonderful, wonderful guy. This guy is very special, and I'm into him real bad.” However, not too long afterward Lorrie’s love life took a detour ¾ her affections switched to a politician.
For reader interest, for enthralled reading and viewing, direct contact with the individual interviewed is best achieved by letting interviewees speak.
Research shows that quotations are useful. S. Shyan Sundar of Pennsylvania State University found “the credibility and quality of stories with quotations to be significantly higher than identical stories without quotations.”
Take a look at these links to additional ideas about ways to interview.
Find someone interesting to interview based on the material on your blog.
Many popular bloggers are conducting interviews – the benefits are numerous.
Interviews help you grow your readership and reputation in the following ways:
- They allow you to start building relationships with your interviewees. Often these are people with a wider reach and greater influence who can help accelerate your own success.
- They increase your credibility and reputation with your own audience (and new visitors) because people can see you virtually “hanging out” with big names.
- They drive traffic to your blog, especially if your interviewee has a large audience. An interview is a magnet that attracts people who haven’t heard of you, but do know the person you’re interviewing.
- They can help your audience solve specific problems by bringing someone else’s relevant experience and knowledge to their doorstep.
- You can get a lot of traction from a single interview by bundling it with other content, creating a transcript or using it as the basis for a podcast.
Sometimes their correct address will be obvious; other times you’ll need to spend a little time searching for the right contact email.
But once you have this information, the following tips will increase your chances of getting a favorable response:
- Prove you’ve done your homework. Highlight some information from your preliminary research that shows you understand who they are and what they’re up to.
- Be on an intriguing mission. When you have a goal that people believe in, they’ll be excited about working with you. For instance, Henneke Duistermaat wants to “stamp out gobbledygook and to add sparkle to boring business blogs.”
- Tell them they’re in good company. Mention other people you’re interviewing (or planning to interview). If you plan a mastermind series and there are other big names on your list, influencers won’t want to be left out.
- Head off objections from the start. For instance: reassure them that the interview will be no longer than half an hour; tell them you’ll record it so you can do it anytime it’s convenient for them; say you’ll send your questions and all the other details ahead of time to make the process run smoothly.
- Make the opportunity irresistibly tempting. Most authorities will recognize a chance to grow their audience if your listeners have similar interests. So emphasize those commonalities and let them know why you’re so excited to have them talk to your audience.
- Pick the perfect moment. Influencers are particularly interested in accepting interviews when they are launching a new product, course, or book – so be on the lookout for those kinds of events.
Combine these ideas in your email and you’ll have a very convincing invitation indeed.
Here’s a template you can steal right now:
Hi [Name],
[Comment on their work, how you know them, if you appreciate their books, teaching, etc. Try to make this original and prove you’ve done your homework.]
I’m wondering if you would be willing to do a quick 30-minute interview sometime over the next few weeks?
I have a blog called [blog name and link]. I help [audience] to [goal].
I recently came across something you wrote/said [here] and I’d love for my audience to hear your take on [topic]. [Statement of why this is important to your audience, or what’s missing in the niche.]
I’ve also interviewed/am planning to interview [here’s where you can drop names, if applicable.] I’d love to include you as well.
The interview will be pre-recorded, so we can talk whenever it fits into your schedule and I’ll make sure to keep it to 30 minutes.
I’ll send you my questions ahead of time so there will be no surprises.
Please let me know a few times that work for you, and I’ll be happy to set it up.
Thanks,
