You lined up a personal interview for your book? Congratulations. Have you tried digital interviews? A digital interview gives you a permanent record whose content you can refer to later or reuse in another format. How many video snippets can you extract from an hour interview, for instance? It fills in those segments of information that you miss in your notetaking. It is insurance that you don’t, for instance, write 179 when you mean to write 197. Listening to your interview later is an opportunity for you to critique your performance. End of Notetaking as We Know It? Digital recorders make it so easy to record an interview, including using your phone if you want, that you might be tempted to just put away your pen and paper or laptop. […]
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For the intimate thrill of the experience, in-person personal interviews can’t be beat. But how do you interview experts who are out of your travel area? You have at least two options: email and video interviews. Email Interviews For simplicity and convenience on both ends, go for the email interview when you can. They’re easier to set up; easier to conduct; and easier for interviewees to answer questions clearly and at their own convenience (though give a deadline by when you need the answers). And you don’t need to transcribe them. Likely you’ll receive answers that are longer and more detailed than you need. They’ll include typos, repetition, and extraneous anecdotes. You can edit them. Get rid of puff. Delete redundancy. Shape the answer to fit your space. But never […]
You finally nabbed the interview you want because you approached your subject professionally and did your background research. You’ve been granted a precious hour. Don’t wing it and risk getting sidetracked. The mind seeks order. Help it out. Organize your questions so they inspire quotable quotes. Here’s how: Quotable Quotes Start with a Freewrite List every question that comes to mind. Don’t worry about wording – yet. Don’t censor your thoughts: Is it a stupid question? Think of the journalistic Five W’s and an H — Who? What? When? Where? Why? and How? — and fashion questions around them. Your final list will cover the complete range of your questions, in no logical order. Now put them in order. Find Related Questions and Group Them Find questions on similar topics […]
In “Securing Your Personal Interview” I taught you how to approach experts for your personal interview. Congratulations on approaching one and getting a “Yes.” Now you’ve got to prepare your interview questions. This is your time to shine. Do the research to find out all you can in advance. If your interviewee belongs to an organization that is pertinent to your book, read literature on the organization. Read articles the person has written on your subject. Study biographical information. You don’t want to ask “How old are you?” or “Where are you from?” when that information is readily available on the Internet. Answer those Level A interview questions in advance and begin the interview at Level B. Let your questions rise to the level of your expert’s expertise. I Panic […]
You can find no better way to give credibility to your dearest esoteric theory than by quoting an expert who agrees with you. But how do you approach the expert to grant you a personal interview? It’s easy – if you are polite, persistent, and patient. Set up Your Personal Interview in Advance In other words, don’t expect to be greeted with an open bar when you show up for an unannounced hour interview. You have two main ways to set up your personal interview, each with its benefits and disadvantages. Email Email is my first choice. It’s easy if you have an address. Be personable and friendly. Show passion and respect. Here’s a sample outline for your introductory letter. In well-developed paragraphs, say: Who you are Why you desire […]