Trial and error: Improving your interviewing skills

I was a college freshman when I got the assignment: Interview the university’s star swimmer for a feature story.

I was nervous, even though the guy was my age. Using what little background I had on him, I wrote 20 questions on a yellow legal pad, expecting to knock them off one by one.  Within two minutes of starting the interview, my list was about as helpful as the one you use for groceries. The swimmer’s answers didn’t exactly follow what was on that legal pad. Yeah, shocking, I know. My choices were to either continue plowing through the list or ask follow-up questions when warranted.

I chose the latter. It made my story better and changed my way of thinking about interviews.

If you do not regularly interview people, the task can be daunting. Subjects and interviewers are sometimes nervous. What will they ask? What if they don’t answer the questions?

Here are a few tips to make your interview go more smoothly:

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Interviewing skills improve with practice. And good interviews will enhance your storytelling.