How to Conduct a Successful Interview

When writing a blog post or article, sometimes it’s useful to include an expert opinion or personal quote to boost your credibility and to improve engagement with your content. If you’ve been assigned to conduct an interview or if you think it could benefit your writing task, follow these guidelines to successfully conduct a professional interview.

• Ask, don’t expect.

Generally, it’s best to never assume someone is free. In an email or a Slack message, ask the person politely if they would be interested in answering some questions. When sending the first message, outline what you’re working on and the topic you would like to interview them about so they know what they’re agreeing to from the beginning.

You also want to figure out how you’d like to conduct the interview. If you only have a few questions that can be answered via email or Slack, stick to that (this also saves everyone time). If you have several questions or want to have an engaging conversation to spur new ideas, have an in-person or Zoom call meeting. Determine what medium you want to conduct the interview on before asking, so you can let them know what type of interview they’re agreeing to.

• Come prepared.

Once you’ve arranged a time to meet with your interviewee, be sure to prepare for it. Outline all the questions you need answered before the interview, and even memorize some of them so you can work them into the conversation naturally. If you’re only emailing them, be sure to order the questions naturally, so they can write their answers in a coherent way.

The way to figure out what to ask is by doing research first. Look up the person’s job title, work they’ve done, papers they’ve written, etc. Use this information to come up with creative and in-depth questions on their profession or area of expertise. If you can find the answers to your questions on Google, make new ones, otherwise it’s a waste of both of you and the interviewee’s time.

This might look different for different professionals. If it’s a professor, look into their research or lab. Figure out what they’re interested in so you can be as specific as possible with your questions. It looks good to them when you know what you’re talking about. If you are interviewing a young web developer, they might not have publications or websites like professors do. If you can’t find out about their personal career, read up on their job in general so you still have knowledge on what type of work they likely do.

• Ask the right questions.

Make sure you know exactly who you’re talking to and what their area and level of knowledge is — avoid asking them something they don’t know the answer to. Don’t assume they know anything unless you have confirmed through your research that they have information on it. If you aren’t sure about their level of expertise, ask a general question to gauge what they know before diving into the subject. Of course, if they don’t seem knowledgable, avoid further questioning.

Ask open-ended questions rather than yes/no questions, so they have the opportunity to elaborate on their ideas. Try not to ask only what, but also why, so later on you can explain their ideas well in your written work.

Here’s a few example questions that apply to different types of interviews.

1. What experience do you have with []?
2. Can you explain how [] works? How do you use it in your company/job/research?
3. What works about [], and what doesn’t?
4. Why do you use [] over other products/ideas/platforms on the market?
5. Would you recommend []? Which groups would it be helpful to?

Obviously, every interview is different. Re-work these questions to apply to your interview topic, or come up with your own if these wouldn’t make sense in your case.

• Record the interview and take notes.

You will need to document the answers to your questions. It’s possible to write everything down in real-time, but it’s easy to miss things, and it can be rude to constantly ask someone to repeat themselves. Ask them at the beginning of the interview if they are comfortable being recorded, so you can go back after the interview and transcribe it. During the interview, take notes on the main ideas for you to reference later.

• Let them speak.

Remember why you’re interviewing them: they have information you want. Let them do most of the talking, only interjecting for clarification or elaboration on a concept you want to know more about. Once the questions you prepared have been answered, give them the chance to bring up other topics by asking, “Is there anything else you’d like to add?” This tells them that you value their opinion and want to hear it.

You should also get comfortable pausing, or not responding right away when they finish talking. If you remain silent for a few seconds after they finish a sentence, they might continue on to share more information that you didn’t deliberatly ask for. Again, they have answers you want, so give them the space and time to talk as much as they want. If they don’t keep talking, continue with your line of questioning.

• Be polite and appreciative.

Whoever you are interviewing took the time to talk to you, and they didn’t have to. Maintain a friendly, polite demeanor throughout the interview, and don’t forget to say thank you! If you’re speaking with a professional, you want them to think highly of you and the organization you represent so you can establish a connection with them or their company. No matter who you’re interviewing, it’s good practice to show that you respect their time and appreciate the favor they’re doing you.

Following these guidelines, you can take your interviewing skills to the next level. Preparation, respect and appreciation will improve both your and the interviewee’s experience, ensuring the most positive, informative interview for your blog!