Jul 30th

10 Tips to Help You Do Better Interviews

by @nateriggs

I received this message from Andrew Dechellis on my contact form this week:Andrew-DeChellis

Hey man I have a question, I was wondering if you could help me out with. I am going to be interviewing Jordan Romero (youngest person to ever climb Mt Everest – 13yrs old, completed in May 2010). I have writing in my past but never really have interviewed anyone before. Any tips or pointers you could shed light on would be great, or any articles you’ve read would be awesome. Thanks.
Andrew
Thank you, Andrew.
I do a lot of interviews, mostly because I enjoy the process.  It’s a great way to connect with new people while also creating content.  If I had to pick one my favorites so far, it was my interview with Natalie Malaszenko and, more recently, with Chris Brogan.
I’ve learned a few things along the way.  Here are some ideas:

Tips for Doing Killer Interviews

  1. Get to know your interviewee before the interview. Have coffee or a beer or dinner.  Skype if you are at a distance.  Google their name.  Search the social web for mentions of their name, blog comments, videos and any profile they might have.  Do good homework by learning their personality, what’s important to them, and what’s unique and interesting.  Most importantly, let them also get to know you.  Familiarity, and even a basic sense of trust, will make for a much more comfortable and open interview session.
  2. Use video every time. Even if you only intend to do a written interview, you can capture more of the interviewee’s tone and voice by having a visual recording.  We humans communicate more with our nonverbal cues than we do with our words.    Using video also gives you the ability to naturally ask questions and stay engaged in the conversation, without having to stop and scribble notes.  Scribble your notes after the session.
  3. Select the right interview spot. If you are shooting video, low background noise is pretty important, so coffee shops are out.  Pick an environment where each of you can be relaxed and comfortable.  If you are going to do a video, make sure to pick a decent backdrop.  Pick a scene that’s interesting and colorful, but not distracting.
  4. Build your list of 2-4 starter questions. Construct these questions in a way that will get the conversation going, but don’t ever be afraid to scrap the list if the conversation takes off.  Sometimes the best content comes from the natural exchange of conversation, rather than a scripted format.
  5. Create tension…gently.  The best interviewers know how to push the boundaries to get the juicy details without offending their interviewee.  Use the homework you’ve done to probe for information that hasn’t yet been shared yet.  Develop questions and direction that helps the reader or watcher learn more about the human side of the interviewee.  Always be careful to show respect, but don’t be afraid to ask tough questions.
  6. Set up each question. Start each question with a bit of background on the situation, the interviewee or the intent behind why you are asking the question in the first place.  Then go into the actual question.  Here’s an example that Andrew might use with Jordan: [Setup] “Climbing Everest at age 13 is one amazing achievement and probably took a lot of time and effort in preparation.  Most kids your age are focused on video games, school sports and hanging out with friends.”  [Question] “What provoked you to want to take on a time-intensive and dangerous challenge like making the climb?”
  7. Always start with “Thank you.” Your interviewee is giving you a gift of their time and content.  It’s always important to show that you appreciate and respect their investment.
  8. Be a mirror.  Your communication  style will be important.  We humans have the ability to create levels of comfort by being like the person in the opposite seat.  Look at how your interviewer is sitting.  Try to match it.  If your interviewee uses lost of hand gestures, don’t be afraid to do it too.  Think of yourself as a reflection of their communication style.
  9. Keep good time. While I’m not a fan of placing a stopwatch on the desk or setting an alarm, it will be important to be privy to where you’re at in terms of the length of the interview.  This can be tough to benchmark since each interviewee is different, but as a general rule of thumb, 2-3 good exchanges can take around 6-8 minutes on video.  That length can generate between 500-700 words of written and slightly edited content.
  10. Shut up. While it’s important to adequately set up your questions, once you pass the mic, shut up and let the interviewee run.  Good interviewers will spend 90% of their time listening while the interviewee shares.  Always stay mindful that the interview is about them and their story, not you and yours.

It seems like the skill of interviewing is becoming more and more important now that every human and business can publish content online.  Do you interview people?  If so (or if no), what would you add?

by @nateriggs

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