Life Hacks for Preparing and Conducting Interviews

An interview is one of the most common genres in journalism. The main goals of an interview are to gather interesting information and reveal the personality of the interviewee through conversation.

An interview is simply questions asked by a journalist and the answers given by the interviewee. Just questions and answers. However, asking the right questions is crucial.

Interviews can be short or long, with one interviewee or multiple participants. The questions can focus on a single topic or cover a range of subjects.

Preparation for an interview is essential and should begin not five minutes before the scheduled meeting but as soon as you decide to set it up. Research the speaker and familiarize yourself with the topic of the interview.

Yes, every interview starts with studying the topic and brainstorming ideas like, “What questions can I ask the interviewee?” You should prepare a list of questions in advance rather than hoping to come up with them during the conversation. Pre-prepared questions are good, but you can’t rely solely on them. Your interviewee may share something intriguing, and you’ll need to come up with new questions on the spot—quickly, during the interview itself.

A journalist must be attentive to the interviewee’s perspective and ask follow-up questions to obtain the most complete information.

Be prepared for the interview to deviate from your plan and adapt to unforeseen circumstances. The interview might last longer than expected, or the interviewee might give unexpected answers.

Never be late for the meeting. Respect the person who has set aside time to speak with you.

Record the interview using a voice recorder, which can be an app on your smartphone. Later, you can listen to the recording and extract the most valuable insights for your text.

Try to build rapport with the interviewee so the interaction feels like a friendly conversation.

You might start with a casual chat before the interview begins, even discussing unrelated topics. A psychological trick is to imagine you’re speaking with a good friend—someone you genuinely care about and find interesting.

Some interviewees may be extremely hard to engage, even for seasoned journalists or skilled psychologists. Don’t take it personally or let it discourage you.

Start the interview with questions that the interviewee will enjoy answering. Give them a chance to share their achievements or successes.

Avoid questions that can be answered with a simple “yes” or “no.” Instead, ask ones that require detailed responses.

Keep a notebook handy and record the interview on your phone’s voice recorder app. Highlight key points in your notes. First, mark the information that must be included in the final text (if it’s for publication). For example, during an interview with the head of a nonprofit organization, you might note key topics such as the opening of a crisis center, insufficient funding, grants received, or lack of facilities. Second, jot down names, dates, and terms to avoid errors. Confirm details immediately if needed.

Always listen attentively. Forget about yourself—how clever your questions are, what you’ll ask next, how you look, or what the interviewee thinks of you. Listen carefully and with genuine interest to what they’re saying. This will naturally lead to follow-up questions.

Yes, you should prepare a small list of questions in advance, but many questions should arise organically during the conversation.