Such a simple, powerful question. Preparing for interviews is often, well, always overlooked in the storytelling production process. Not for me.

Question: Would you build a house or do a remodel without an architect preparing a plan? If your answer was yes, then you don’t need to read further.

For those who are still reading, I frequently try to glean wisdom from experienced reporters, if they are willing to divulge it.

I read The Art of Crafting Effective Interview Questions by Emily Laber-Warren. Emily writes about heady science topics I can’t pronounce. For me, this is a good place to start.

Here are Emily’s bullet points and a few good quotes from others:

Let the Story Shape Your Questions

One of Hirji’s favorite questions is simply: “Why is everyone talking about this?” “You don’t want to spend so much time trying to sound smart about something,” she says, “when actually you just need to ask it in the [most plain], stripped-down way.”

Craft Your First Question with Care

Give special thought to the first question you pose. You may be tempted to start an interview slow and build up to the important questions. Don’t. Try crafting a starter question that helps the source warm up to the conversation, but make it count. You never know when an interview may get cut off unexpectedly, Hirji says.

Use Your Angle to Stay on Track

An interview is a process of discovery, and the best material will sometimes be stuff you had no clue about before the conversation began.

Improvise Follow-Up Questions to Go Deeper

No matter how carefully you craft your prepared questions, when the conversation starts you need to be ready to come up with questions on the fly. An interview is a process of discovery, and the best material will sometimes be stuff you had no clue about before the conversation began. “Sometimes you get your best quote or your best facts from a question that wasn’t prepared,” Hirji says.

Excellent article, Emily. Thanks for passing this along