Whether you’re doing your first interview to get more info for a memoir or your 100th to add to an article, interviews can be tricky, fun or terrifying. Sometimes they’re all three.
Here are 20 questions that are nearly foolproof to move your interview along.
Remember some people are naturals at being interviewed. Some are quite bashful. You’re going to encounter both.
The questions that follow will not fit every interview situation, but with a little modification you can get plenty of mileage out of these.
Be sure to listen as you ask questions and record or jot down the answer and be a wise writer. Ask follow up questions such as: “Why do you say that?” or “Fascinating. Tell me more.”
- Do you remember the first time you (and fill in the appropriate activity)?
- What is the greatest fallacy about you?
- What is your most vivid childhood memory?
- What was the toughest/easiest time of your life?
- Growing up, what were your secret aspirations? What is the most unique profession you wanted to achieve? When did you realize that you were meant to be a (add in appropriate word)?
- What is the biggest disillusionment you’ve ever experienced?
- What do you appreciate most about yourself? What qualities do you appreciate in others (in your field, gender, religion, etc.)?
- What do you admire least about yourself? If you could change one part of your personality (or anatomy), what would that be?
- What are you most proud of?
- What is the most unusual thing you’ve ever done?
- What was your first impression of (your client, a natural disaster, etc.)?
- If you had another chance, is there anything that you’d want to do differently?
- What do people remember most about you?
- What do you find most appealing (or annoying) about the music of this decade? (You might want to ask about government, teenagers, business, politics, or fast food, according to your specific research topic.)
- Do you believe in love at first sight? Have you ever been in love with more than one person at the same time?
- What’s the best thing about being (add profession, gender, age, or hobby)?
- What is success? Are you successful?
- Did you ever miss a chance to be really rich (famous, happy, successful, etc.)?
- What is your favorite spot in the entire world? Why? What do you do when you’re there? Could you describe how it looks?
- How do you handle (add emotion or circumstance such as stress, a handicap, wealth, or poverty) in your life?
Memorize the journalist’s famous six: who, what, when, why, where and how, known as the 5W’s and the H. These will get you through any interview.
Finally, always ask at the end: Is there anything you’d like to add or talk about something I didn’t ask? I’ve found that these questions, which have to be asked at the end, always produce a great ending or a dynamite hook.
Bestselling author Amy Tan sums it up well. “How to I make something out of nothing? It’s by asking questions.” So? Ask.
Thank you, Eva, for a great article. These are great questions and by having them all listed like this, it takes away some of the butterflies in the tummy when you go out on an interview. It gives the writer a certain kind of power, a power that gives you self-control and self-confidence. You are in charge, and you can guide the interview in the direction you want it to go. Plus it makes you comfortable in another’s presence, which enables you to hear things you might have missed in your previous nervousness. I printed this article out and put it in my interview notebook, so it is always with me. Thank you!
I, too, printed out these questions. They are wonderful. Thank you.