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February 22, 2021 Content Chat Recap: How To Conduct And Edit Compelling Interviews That Engage Your Community

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The potential success of your content is often determined by how valuable of a story you tell. The best way to gather a full picture of your topic—and create an engaging, audience-focused piece of content—is to interview subject matter experts, customers, partners, and other people who are close to the topic at hand. But the art of interviewing is intricate, and it is difficult to lead an effective interview without preparation and practice.

In this #ContentChat, we’re joined by storyteller/writer, editor, content marketer, and event speaker Jonathan Crossfield (@Kimota) to discuss how to conduct and edit compelling interviews that engage your community. Read the full recap below, where we discuss how to optimize your list of interview questions, ways to put an interviewee at ease and help them tell their story, the tools needed to create and edit audio or video interviews, and more.

Q1: What preliminary research should an interviewer conduct? What information is most important to know before stepping into the interview?

First, align on the intended goal of the interview. What content will this interview inform? How can this interviewee help meet the intended direction of the piece?

Review the interviewee’s previous interviews, biography, recent content, and social media activity. Ensure you are aware of their current role and areas of interest.

Check to see what questions they’ve already answered. Create questions that explore new territory or expand on what has already been discussed.

Confirm base details with internal teams like sales or customer success before the interview. In the case of customer case study interviews, these details include why the customer chose your product, how long they’ve been using it, and any stats about their results.

Q2: How can an interviewer optimize their intended questions? Do you recommend they have a set list of questions they read from?

Have a set of questions to work from, but treat this as a general guide/flow for the conversation. Add questions based on the interviewee’s responses and new areas that arise. Use your question set to get you back on track if the interview derails into a tangent.

Make your question list easy to read and skim. Use general ideas or keywords instead of verbatim questions so that you sound more natural in your delivery and do not stumble trying to read directly from your sheet. Flow your questions together naturally like a conversation.

As Martin said, the best interviewers aren’t necessarily the best question-askers—they’re the best listeners. Focus on the conversation. Listen for cues from your interviewee that you should further explore an area or ask a follow-up question.

And remember that the interviewee should spend the majority of the time talking. Interviewers should act as a guide and avoid minutes-long monologues.

Q3: How do you put your interviewee at ease and quickly build rapport?

The interviewer sets the tone for the interview. Arrive at/join the meeting early and be prepared. This will reduce the likelihood of last-minute issues or stressors that could set a negative tone for the interviewee.

Start with small talk to put the interviewee at ease. In your preliminary research, find some common ground that you can bring up (if possible) to create an immediate sense of connection. Your interviewee is likely nervous, and this is an opportunity to help them become more comfortable.

Transition from small talk to then review the purpose of the interview and provide examples of the intended end result. Use this time to answer any questions.

Reinforce that this is meant to be a casual conversation. They will not get in trouble for what they say and that the goal is to tell the best story.

Confirm any housekeeping items, like how the interviewee would like their title and company positioned.

Be genuinely interested in the interviewee and what they have to say.

Once you are ready to start the interview, let them know. Then, ask the first question.

When natural, ask the interviewee if they’d like to answer any specific questions. This can uncover their interest areas and gives them a chance to talk about something that matters to them.

Q4: How can interviewers gain valuable insights from interviewees who may be inexperienced, short in their answers, or too product-focused?

It is common for interviewees to be misaligned or short in their responses. Prior to the interview via email and at the start of the interview, explain the purpose of the interview and let the interviewee know what areas you will explore. Share example content that shows how the interview will be used.

In same cases it is appropriate to send your questions ahead of the interview.

Identify your “must-cover” questions in your initial interview question guide. These are questions or details that are crucial for the end piece of content. Ask the same question in different ways or ask follow-up questions to gather the depth of information you need.

Balance factual questions like “how did it work?” with emotive ones like “how did that make you feel?” to put the interviewee in the story.

Ask more questions than you’ll need and edit later. Store any extra information in a separate document for future reference/use.

Let the interviewee share additional stats or responses after the interview. This can keep them focused on their train of thought during the interview, instead of getting caught up on a small detail they can’t remember in the moment.

And remember that silence is an effective interview tool.

Q5: What tools are needed to conduct and edit audio or video interviews? Are there resources you recommend for folks just getting started?

Jonathan recommends video platforms like Zoom to conduct and record interviews. The face-to-face presence can help the conversation flow better and makes it easier to establish rapport with the interviewee.

Invest in an external microphone to improve your audio quality.

A smartphone can be used to record interviews, too. However you record the interview, consider a tool like Rev or Otter.Ai to transcribe the conversation.

To edit audio and video, Jonathan recommends Audacity, Hindenberg, and iMovie for various needs. Derek recommends Zoom P4 for podcasting.

Q6: How can an audio or video interview be repurposed? Are there examples you can share?

Repurpose the audio from interviews and embed it as streaming content within the article.

Gather soundbites from a variety of interviews to create content like “Five experts share their answers to…” or “Five customers reveal their favorite feature…” etc. You can also use these soundbites in your email marketing.

Share all finished interviews with your sales and customer success teams. This keeps them better in tune with your customer needs.

About Alek Irvin

Alek Irvin is a content marketing professional with a rich history in social media management, executive thought leadership development, and media relations. As a consultant at Erika Heald Marketing Consulting, he creates human-focused content and thought leadership platforms that help brand leaders connect and engage with their communities. Alek has worked with a range of startups and Fortune 500 companies across the B2B technology and consumer spaces, including IBM, Dell Technologies, Hitch Works, Emtrain, Integrate, and Frameable. Connect with him on Twitter @AlekIrvin.

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