How to Interview a Subject for an Article

1. Know the facts and know which questions to ask in your interviews.
2. Do your homework. Research the subject by “googling” him or her. Write down the important things you want to know and are relevant to your article.
3. When you meet with the individual, make him or her feel comfortable in your presence. Be calm and don’t spend the entire time taking notes. Listen, and if you must, ask the subject if you would be allowed to use a voice recorder to capture the conversation. This can be very helpful.
4. Always avoid yes-no questions.
5. LISTEN to what your interviewee is saying and be patient. Let the subject tell the story. Don’t interrupt.
6. Repeat the question if you’re not sure he/she understood it.
7. Don’t be afraid to ask what they mean if you are unclear about something he/she said.
8. If you’re doing a quick, on-the-spot interview for a breaking news story, be tough and do not take rejections, hang-ups or door slams personally.
9. SILENCE IS GOLDEN and can get the other person to speak up. Don’t try to fill all the awkward silences by saying something trite. Let the other person fill up the silence.
10. Writer Stephanie Riggs says, “Think emotion—don’t think linearly. Tell what touched your soul”
11. ALWAYS think of the “SO WHAT? WHY should someone care?” when you’re writing your piece.
12. “Personalize”—use a single person to explain a larger event / issue. This is called a microcosm story.