So far, I’ve written five posts about interviewing. While they’re all relevant to interviews, they don’t have much to do with the actual process of interviewing someone. So for this post, I’m actually going to discuss some of the tips, tricks and techniques to getting the answers you want from an interview subject.
1. Have Questions Prepared
Very few people can get away without having at least some questions prepared ahead of time. Having your questions ready not only shows you’re prepared for the interview, it also helps you to keep the interview on track. I’m sure every interviewer has a story about someone who was supposed to talk about thermodynamics but went on and on about sheep instead. If you have a list of questions ready, you’re less likely to be sidetracked by the interview subject’s rambling and more likely to pull the interview back on focus.
Having said that, sometimes letting an interview subject ramble a bit will help you get a more interesting interview. So while you want to keep the interview on track, you have to be flexible enough to just let the subject talk. As you get more experienced in interviewing, you’ll learn when to jump in to guide the interview and when to just let the subject talk.
2. Know How to Ask a Question in Two Ways
This is something that becomes more natural with experience, but at the start of your interviewing career, it’s a good idea to have every question written in two ways (and by that I mean reworded). Why? Because the interview subject may not necessarily understand the question you asked or may not give you the answer you need. And if he doesn’t understand it, simply repeating it won’t get you the answer you want. But rewording it might.
3. Ask Open-Ended Questions
Questions that only get you a yes or no answer won’t help you to write your article (and won’t get you good quotes). You need to ask questions that your interview subject will elaborate on. This allows him to give you more information and, depending on the type of interview, share personal anecdotes that will flavour the story. Yes/no questions just won’t help (unless you’re just clarifying something).
4. Have a List of Questions, But Be Prepared to Ask Questions on the Fly
One of the most infuriating things for a reader is an article in which the interview subject has said something tantalizing and the interviewer has completely ignored it in favour of asking questions on her list. So, even though you should have some questions prepared ahead of time, you have to be able to ask questions based on information the subject has given you. This fits in with my next point…
5. Be A Good Listener
As an interviewer, you’re worried about getting your questions out, making sure you get good answers, thinking of follow-up questions and taking accurate notes so you don’t mess up the article. That can add up to not actually listening to what you’re being told. It can be difficult to master, but listening to your interview subject will help you to get the answers you need.
How? If you’re listening, you’ll come up with follow-up questions. The subject will say something and your mind will wonder about it. “What does he mean by that?” or “How is that possible?” Those are follow-up questions. If you’re listening, you’ll recognize if you’re not getting the answers you need right away, rather than writing down the subject’s answers and realizing after he’s gone that he didn’t actually answer a single question.
An interview subject can tell if you’re listening or not, and if you are listening, it’ll help put him at ease in the interview. In many ways, an interview is like a conversation, with you responding to information the subject has given you. But you can only do that if you’re listening.
6. Get Comfortable With the Awkward Pause
Almost every interviewer will tell you that an awkward pause does wonders for getting a subject to talk. People like to fill awkward pauses, which means they’re likely to talk more. So if you have a question that you don’t feel the subject has fully answered, or you think he has more to say, stay quiet a moment or two after he’s done talking. See if he starts talking again. Don’t let the pause go on forever; if it’s clear he’s done talking, move on to your next question. But don’t assume that just because he’s paused for a moment, he’s said all he can say.
Some people might need a pause to collect their thoughts or ensure that they’re making the points they want to make, and you might stop that if you jump in right away with a question. So get comfortable with the pause.
Ultimately, as you gain experience interviewing, you’ll develop a feel for when to jump in, when to hold back, when to guide the interview and when to just let the subject talk. Each of these is determined by the individual interview–I don’t think there can be a rule of thumb that covers every interview. Once you get a feel for the natural rhythm of each interview, you’ll adjust to each interview accordingly.
