Writers often need to conduct interviews. Now whether you need an expert for a non-fiction book or someone to help develop a plot for a novel, the interview process can be valuable. You will need to have some ideas about what kind of questions you should ask. You'll also want to know how to ask them and the best way to capture responses at the interview for later use.
There are two general types of questions. The “open-ended” question is meant for gathering insights, opinions, motivations, and, possibly, access to special stories or hidden gems. Then there are “closed” questions, mainly used for gathering facts and confirmations.
Try to make your questions as “open” as possible. Go through your list of questions and cross out all the questions beginning with “Have you...Do you...When...” Replace those questions with leads, such as “Describe...How...Tell me about...” If you begin your questions this way, you should get broader responses to your questions. The questions should develop from a genuine base of knowledge. If you are interviewing a fellow author, read one of his books. If your subject is an actor, watch a movie of his, and so on. Then study the interviewee’s genre further until you are certain that you're well informed. Once you’ve acquired a knowledge base, the questions will just start rolling out.
At times, you may want to work with the interviewee on predefined questions. One hazard of providing your questions ahead of time would be getting rejected prematurely, as in the case of asking very personal questions. So, don’t provide probing personal questions in advance, but rather a description of the general areas you’d like to explore in the interview.
Today's interviewing formats have gone through some changes to match our techie lifestyles. One innovation is the option of email interviews. Such email interviews are not a bad option, especially if your subject lives in another state or country. What you lose in personal interaction, you gain in convenience.
For all of other kinds of interviews, you should ask up front how much time you’ll be allotted for the interview. This time limit will be useful when you are planning your questions. It will set a workable boundary to plan around.
Traditional phone interviews and face-to-face interviews can be a slower process than an email exchange. Prepare enough questions to fill the allotted time twice over. During the interview pick your questions, while carrying on a normal conversation. Put check marks next to the questions you really want to ask. Never read straight from your list. Remain natural, and don’t force yourself to stick to the script.
In order to gather information, you should ask permission to record the interview for transcription later while still taking important notes down during the interview, including any new questions that come to mind.
Finally, practice interviewing somebody you know. Use these tips, so that when it's time to do it for real, you'll be prepared.