We Have Ways of Making You Talk. Namely, Interviews.

To the presidential candidate seated across the table, I must have seemed like tender meat ready to be shredded by wit sharpened on the pundit circuit.

The year was 2000, and Pat Buchanan was running a half-hearted campaign. Interest was low enough that I, student reporter that I was, managed to get an interview at the last minute.

It did not start well. He mocked my ragged reporter’s notebook. He joked about how I had dressed up for the occasion. (I hadn’t.) He scoffed when I asked a yes-or-no question. Rookie mistakes.

Then something clicked.  I asked him what it was like to be the perennial candidate on the road with limited funds and low visibility. He launched into anecdotes about life as a fringe candidate. He talked about all the things he and Ralph Nader had in common. His mocking smiles turned into something resembling enjoyment. I left with the material I needed for a story.

The lesson was clear: When you find out what lights an interview subject’s fire, stoke it.

If you write for a living — whether you’re covering news or creating custom content — you have to know how to talk to people. More important, you have to get them to talk to you. It all starts with the interview.

The Setup

I do not recommend doing interviews by email; the result is rarely anything but stilted. Introductions are a different story, though. Give me an email introduction over a sweat-inducing cold call any day.

You can set expectations by email. Tell subjects who you are, where you work and where you got their contact information. Tell them about the story you hope to write and why their perspective is valuable. For example, the mother of a child with a chronic illness may not be used to the spotlight, so let her know her perspective will help others who are going through the same thing.

Talk Small

Talking about the weather is mundane, and name-dropping a person’s hometown is the stuff of bad stand-up comics (How you feeling, Boise?). But at the start of an interview, small talk can pay off big.

Keep it light. I do many interviews by phone out of necessity, and I record them rather than trying to scribble notes. But recording through our phone system means starting the interview with a menacing robotic voice that says, “Warning, your call is being recorded.” I always follow with, “Well, now that you’re completely at ease…” It’s a lame joke, and I cringe every time I hear it while transcribing. But I can’t help but notice how often it produces a lighthearted laugh and cracks the ice.

You can ease your way into the interview with basic questions. Ask people about their background and family. If you get the sense that they are opening up — from their tone on the phone or their body language in person — dig deeper.

Behold the Power of Silence

Silence is awkward. During an interview, it leaves a hole where the conversation should be. Your first instinct will be to fill that hole with babble.

Don’t do it. Your interview subject probably feels the same way. Why not let him or her fill the void instead? Some of the best answers and anecdotes have come when I thought a person was finished talking … then started up again.

Write a Script, But Don’t Stick to It

Preparing a list of questions ahead of time is crucial. Being prepared to abandon that list may be just as important.

The best interviews feel like a conversation, and good conversations are rarely orderly. You ask a question, and people may or may not answer it directly. Or they may talk about something seemingly unrelated that turns out to be perfect for the story. You follow up. They go on tangents, and you follow them. Then you bring them back around. At the end of a good interview, you’ve covered the ground you meant to cover and made some scenic detours.

The Slow Play

If it’s your job to explain a complex topic to a lay audience, pretend you’re a member of that audience when you ask questions. Do your homework, but allow the interviewee to explain as if you are starting from scratch. If they get bogged down in jargon, ask them to clarify and repeat important details. In my experience, it is far better to have too much information than too little.

Keep Listening When It’s Over

I usually cue the end of an interview by thanking people for their time and telling them I will be in touch with follow-up questions. If I’m lucky, they don’t stop talking.

Sometimes they had something in mind, but I didn’t ask the right question. Other times, they feel at ease once they know the interview is winding down Either way, the best insights often come at the end, so keep your notebook and your ears open.

Do you have an interviewing success (or horror) story? Share it below. I promise not to mock you, Buchanan style.

[Image: chris.yasick]