Interviews

If you are going to do any article writing at all, you need to learn how to interview people. Here are a few tips.

Arrange your questions in a logical pattern. You don't want to be talking about their financial dilemma and then jump to their preschool years, and from their go to what they believe the Bible says about money, and THEN ask about their teen years.

Let the person know ahead of time what you're interviewing them for. Some people encourage surprising the person, but this only makes the person nervous. Besides, they'll have time to collect their thoughts if you let them know before the interview.

Make eye contact every so often for about 15 seconds and lean forward slightly. This lets the person know they have your complete attention.

Record the whole interview. Some MP3 players and such have microphones built into them. Most people don't like the idea of being recorded. Just tell them you're using it so you can quote them accurately, and you they can go "off record" anytime they want. That will most likely put them at ease.

Pick a quiet location for the interview if you can. It's a little irritating when you're writing later and you hear a dozen conversations going on around you.

Don't take a lot of notes on what they're saying. When you take a notepad, you jut down what the room looks like, what the person looks like, and so on. The reason for this is that you're recording everything anyway.

Don't be afraid to ask questions you hadn't intended to ask. Recently I had an interview where I asked an unplanned question and later I thought, "That's going to be a great selling point for this article!"

Be sensitive. If you have hard questions, ask them near the end of the interview when they're most comfortable with you. Don't ask them within minute one, "How did you feel when your two-year-old died when you left him in the car?" Let them spend time with you first and their comfort zone will expand.

It's a great idea to write the article as soon as possible when the experience is fresh in your mind.

Let the person read your article. If they think it looks good, then great job! If not, ask why they disapprove.

Does anyone have any thoughts? From personal experience, you'll probably be nervous the first time you interview someone. You start thinking things like, "You think you're uncomfortable!"