How to Conduct an Interview With Literally Anyone: A Guide đď¸â¨
my thoughts on community & conversation - welcome back to The Slush Pile!
Itâs officially Issue 11 of The Slush Pile and almost the one-year anniversary of the original launch of the newsletter! When I first began this venture, I thought it would be an outlet for my rejected scraps of writing, only for it to become so much moreâa how-to, an advice column, a personal diary, a community. This month, I wanted to write another how-to guide for writers at any stage/genre of their career: how to conduct an interview with literally anyoneâfamily members, fellow writers, academics, field experts, etcâand for any occasionâproject research, a panel, a published interview, a podcast, etc. Asking questions to learn and gain information about the other person is a delicate art and also a fun one if you allow it to be, with just a few important tips and tricks.
As someone who has conducted many interviews with dozens of writers and creatives (including mostly recently Sandra Cisneros), Iâve become a practiced hand at coordinating with PR reps, researching, preparing questions ahead of time, coming up with questions on the fly, subtly directing the conversation, and making an interviewee feel comfortable during each step of the process. If youâre hoping to interview someone, including your own idols and creative inspirations, I hope this newsletter can be a helpful tool for your ventures. May we all get the opportunity to speak to our favorite people at least once in our lives!
Requesting an interview
Donât be afraid to put yourself out there, even if it seems impossible. At this stage in my career, Iâll often get interview requests from potential interviewees themselves or their PR or media representatives, or get assigned through my editors. But if thereâs someone you really want to interview, send that request, even if you donât know them personally! Whether itâs a contact form, their personal email or their repâs email (you can usually find this on their website), stay professional and enthusiastic. Be sure to include the following:
who you are in one sentence! DO NOT send a full bio unless askedâwhile this process benefits you too, it should always be about the interviewee. Give a basic one-liner about you, your occupation, and where youâre based.
the publication or organization youâre writing from! If youâre not attached to a specific outlet or org, be honest and just say where youâre hoping to place it or what you would use the interview for because it will come up. (NOTE: personal blogs can count as an âoutletâ!)
spell out what you want! Explain as specifically as possible what youâre looking for and how much time youâll need. A Q+A style interview? A feature on a podcast? A quote or two for a larger article? It helps everyone if youâre upfront with what you want and show your control, confidence, and professionalism from the very beginning.
why you want this interviewee! This is your chance to show how your enthusiasm for the interviewee and personal reasons for reaching out. What makes them perfect for the project youâre working on? What do you hope to learn from them? If youâre writing from an outlet, why would they be perfect for your audience? It helps to name something theyâve done or worked on that you loved, like a book, film, album, article, etc. Make them feel special!
your portfolio (if applicable)! If youâve conducted interviews before, be sure to mention the interviewees by name to show off your experience and include a link to your online portfolio or website. If this is your first time, donât be afraid to share that too!
the next steps! In the last part of the email, offer them the option to reach out to you with any questions, what platforms you would be able to work on like Zoom, phone, or email, and what date(s) you may have in mind (but let them know you can be flexible!).
and finally, reiterate your thanks!
Setting the date
So youâve made contact and received the green light for the interview! Next, youâll need to finalize a date and a time, and the platform it will be conducted on. Is this in the morning or afternoon? What day? Is this in person? On Zoom or by phone? By email? Do what works best for both you and the interviewee by asking the PR rep (theyâll know the intervieweeâs schedule and prior commitments), glancing at your calendar, and figuring out when is a good day and time to meet, when hopefully you wonât be as busy. Try to pick a slot when youâll have wiggle room to arrive early and leave late. Iâve conducted interviews that were supposed to be 20 minutes and we ended up talking for 45!
Researching the interviewee
Nowâs the time to start deep-diving into the research step and thinking about what you want to focus on during the interview. If youâre focusing on a certain project of theirs, become an expert on it until you might as well have written it yourself. Familiarize yourself with their website, their bio, their Wikipedia page if they have one, their social media. Even if you know them already, you never know what other gems youâll find via their digital footprint, which can come up during the interview and become potential questions later! This is all essential to helping you in the next stage: preparing questions that are open-ended, specific, and engaging.
Preparing your questions
Regardless of how much time you have with your interviewee, itâs best to come prepared with a list of at least 5-10 solid questions, though it can certainly be more. Over time, Iâve found that no matter how many questions you have, youâll want to find a good balance between three types of questions:
opening questions! These are basic questions about themselves to get everyone warmed up. How their upbringing influenced them, how they found their passion for their career or interest or field. Basically, how they started out. (NOTE: even something like how theyâre doing today is a question youâre allowed and encouraged to ask!)
meaty questions! This is hopefully where youâll spend the bulk of your interview time. These are the big questions about themselves and their projects, questions that could lead to stories or first-hand accounts. Try to reference specific aspects that show youâve done your homework and want to get detailed and in-depth with them. This is not the time for yes/no questions unless you have an immediate follow-upâhelp them open up and share their stories!
wrapping up questions! I like to use these kinds of questions as a chance to look forward, get them thinking about the future, and offer advice to the interviewâs audience. What can people expect next from you/What are you working on now? What advice would you give to those whoâŚ? What is something you wish you knew? This also politely signals to the interviewee that the interview is wrapping up.
TIP: If this is a person who is a seasoned interviewee, skim those previous interviews and take note of what they get asked a lot/the most, and try to avoid repeating them unless absolutely necessary, say, for context. Donât be afraid to bring new, fresh questions to the table. What do you specifically want to know? What havenât they had the chance to say about themselves? What havenât they yet talked about that needs to be said? How can you make them feel like this isnât just another interview? If they ever say âThatâs a good question!â or light up, you know youâre doing a good jobâthatâs what youâre aiming for!
Setting the tone & conducting yourself
How you begin the interview will set the tone for the rest of your time with them. Are you open or withdrawn? Interested or bored? Excited or impatient, like youâre just waiting for this to be over? Just by the way you say hello, youâre letting the interviewee know what to expect and how to respond in kind.
Remember, this is not like a job interview! Youâre not asking questions to determine if theyâre worthy of your time, attention, and energy. Youâre not even really asking questions to extract information that benefits you, though it could. This is a conversation. Granted, a still professional one, but donât be afraid to loosen the tension and have fun! Here are a few quick tips:
Smile naturally to help them feel comfortable
Record the audio/video for the transcription and donât take notes (if you have permission from both the PR rep and the interviewee beforehand)
Maintain eye contact to show your interest
Be mindful of time! Keep an eye on the clock and determine when itâs appropriate to move on. Feel free to skip around your questions too or skip a few altogether. And keep in mind: this is a conversation and youâre encouraged to respond to what they say, not just move on to the next question without comment or reaction. But donât go on long tangents yourself or take time away from the interviewee. Remember, this isnât about you!
Creating questions on the fly & following up
I know I previously emphasized the importance of showing up prepared with interview questions, but itâs equally as important to consider these as guidelines, a suggested set of directions, rather than as rules. Donât be afraid to go off the path you made for yourself and follow the flow of the conversation as itâs happening in real time. Iâve even had interviews where I only ended up asking half of my prepped questions, and thatâs okay too! The last thing you want is for your interviewee to feel like youâre reading off a script. Instead, engage. Show them youâre interested by listening to what theyâre saying and trying to extract your next question from that answer, even if itâs not one you planned on asking. Basically, youâre doing the hardest part of the process by doing two things at once throughout the interview: listening AND getting your next question ready. Itâs a learned art but all it takes is a little practice!
Direct the conversationâsubtly!
You are in control of this space. Youâre choosing when to move on or stay on a certain topic. To help establish this, I will mark transitions in the conversation by saying them aloud before I ask my next question so everyone is on the same page and the interviewee feels guided and secure. But donât say them so aggressively that they feel like theyâre being dragged behind. For example:
To kick us offâŚ
Turning now toâŚ
Diving a little deeper intoâŚ
Going back toâŚ
Speaking of thatâŚ
To wrap us upâŚ
For my last question(s)âŚ
Another way to direct the conversation is with a polite interjection. Especially if this is a timed interview and the interviewee doesnât seem to be stopping their flow or train of thought, find an appropriate place to interrupt and say something like, So sorry, but that me thinking aboutâŚ; Actually, I was wondering aboutâŚ; Iâd love to hear more about⌠Then, either ask a follow-up question related to what theyâre saying or use a transition phrase to redirect them back to the main conversation. If itâs done delicately and with care, they wonât see it as rudeâtheyâll be glad to have you there to reel them back in!
Wrapping up the conversation
Once youâve asked your last question, thank them for their time, flexibility, ability to meet with you, what they shared, and what you learned. You can never show too much gratitude for someone taking the time out of their schedule to speak with you. Then, walk them briefly through the next steps, such as where theyâll be able to access the interview or if any follow-up may be needed. Offer an approximate date, too, just to give them an idea of when to expect to see the final interview or outcomeâbe realistic! Itâs always better to give them a later date and be early than an earlier one and be wrong.
TIP: If youâre creating a full interview transcription, send the draft to the PR rep and/or the interviewee for final review and approval before publishing. This has helped me so often with misspellings of peopleâs names and mistakes in stories and personal information. Better to catch it in private than have to fix it in public!
P.S. Looking for even more interview tips? I recently invited my Twitter following to offer up the strategies they use to conduct interviews. Simply click on the tweet embed below or click this link!
notes from the writerâs desk âď¸
my favorite recently pubâd pieces:
updates:
STREAMING SERVICE: season two, the sequel to my self-published debut poetry chapbook STREAMING SERVICE: golden shovels made for tv, IS NOW OUT! Digital and signed physical copies are available, as well as the option to bundle both chapbooks and receive a bookmark and sticker with every physical order! Order your copy today! Thank you as always for your support :â)
I am now a media mentor for Tectonic Media! If you are a young/aspiring journalist, I am available for consultation and mentorship on a variety of topics. Learn more about my areas of specialty and how we can connect here.
resources:
Looking for book recommendations? Check out my Bookstagram and TikTok to keep up with what Iâm reading and loving right now! On TikTok, youâll also get more snippets of my everyday writing life and lifestyle/fashion content. See you there!
other stories iâm loving đ
currently reading:
Ancestor Approved, edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith
currently watching:
Bobâs Burgers, S13
currently listening to:
âHouse by the Waterâ by Cloe Wilder
all my love,
sofĂa xx