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I came up with this post and the one on Friday while I was a TA in an ELA class last school year. The students had to interview a person, so they were learning about how to ask questions to get deep answers. This got me thinking about when I did some author interviews and similar projects while I was a student. I didn’t think about job interviews though, so these tips might not work there. Then again, what do I know?
- Go into an interview with some level of background knowledge. If you are talking to an author, learn about their books, inspirations, and whatever else you can find. Check out their blog if they have one. This information will allow you to come up with questions beyond the basics and create better follow-up questions.
- Try to avoid ‘yes/no’ and other types of questions that can be answered with a single word or sentence. This is why planning might be necessary. Authors might enjoy rambling at length, but you can’t be sure of that. Some authors can be fairly shy if questions go beyond the book. Ask about inspirations, concepts that got cut, most difficult of the process, and anything else that might get a conversation.
- Speaking of conversations, try to treat the interview like one. A solid conversation is one with back-and-forth, but also depth. If you’re simply throwing out a question and receiving a simple answer, you aren’t getting the most out of your time. This is where spontaneous follow-up questions can expand on things. It might result in other questions getting dropped for time, but you get a more natural flow.
- LISTEN TO YOUR INTERVIEWEE!
- Don’t set out to embarrass your interviewee or make them uncomfortable. There is an audience for ‘gotcha’ questions, but they’re not interested in the author or their book. They want the type of entertainment that comes from the tearing down of another human being. Send them to Twitter for that. You, hopefully, chose to interview this person because you were curious about them, respected them, and wanted to help them get some exposure. Not to bring them to tears.
- Do what you can to make your interviewee comfortable. This can be a relaxing setting, a drink, snacks, or anything that will put them at ease. You can even ask beforehand if there is anything they would like to feel comfortable. This will help the interview flow and prevent the event from starting with tension.
- Pay attention to body language. This will be a clearer sign that you heading in a comfortable or uncomfortable direction. Avoiding eye contact, tense muscles, twitching, and many other signs will show if you are heading to an early end to the interview. You can also figure this out if the answers become more limited and restrained.
