How to Ask
Last night, I had the pleasure of hearing a lecture delivered by Terry Gross, host of NPR radio’s Fresh Air. Terry is the consummate interviewer – she has spent the last 32 years talking with everyone from politicians and dignitaries to authors and entertainers. She’s also a wonderful lecturer – she entertained a capacity-crowd of 300 at my alma mater, Rosemont College. What was clear as Terry spoke was her ability to connect with her interview subjects, even though the majority of those interviews were conducted remotely, not face-to-face. Even in the most controversial of interviews, Terry was connecting to this person and establishing a rhythm.
After the lecture, I thought about how it is that someone might explain to a new writer or journalist the fine art of interviewing. In Terry’s case, she has a tone and a pacing to her voice that causes most people to allow her to continue in areas that may not be comfortable for them. That’s a gift. Also, she said she researches prior to the interview, and she relies on the pre-interview that her producers conduct with the interviewee. As she put it, there is a lot of vetting of the potential guest before she gets to the actual interview.
For us, we’re not so lucky to have that process. But we do have methods that can work well for us. For sure, we should do our homework before the interview. That’s a given. Yet having a connection with an interview subject is a technique that must be cultivated. I’ve interviewed hundreds of people over the years, and what works for me is getting in the mindset that this person I’m about to talk to is someone I want to know. It’s not just another executive or just another interview to get out of the way. This is a person with an interesting life (don’t we all have interesting lives?) who has something interesting to say, and it’s someone I can learn from.
I am by no means in the same league as Terry Gross, who is in my opinion the queen of the journalistic interview style. She quoted John Updike when explaining how she views her guests, saying that their lives can serve as specimen lives, a view into the uniqueness of all of us. Her life, her interview style, is a model for how we can find a common ground with which to approach not only our interview subjects, but perhaps all our clients. But in light of that, we can at least attempt to find ways to carve our own interview style.
Hi Lori,
I agree–Terry is the consummate interviewer. No matter who she’s talking with, she always finds an interesting angle and gets even the most closed-mouth people to open up.
You and I should be so lucky to interview the people she talks with. My interviewees are business people–interesting for niche markets, but not exactly tuned for NPR. Still … if only I had even half her interviewing skills!
Cheers, Sandy
Amen, Sandy. We could only hope to have that kind of skill and such a wide range of folks to talk with!
Hi Lori!
Your post today arrived at just the right time for me! In a world where interviews are done so impersonally, I am glad to see you are interested in knowing the person as well as their story!
Interviewing is not my thing, so I’m impressed by anyone who does it well. Fortunately for me, I rarely have to grill people for the type of writing I do.