The Art of Interviewing: A #CMWorld Twitter Chat with Laura King Edwards

Interviewing is the cornerstone of good storytelling.  

As content marketers, it’s our job to ask a lot of questions. On a recent #CMWorld Twitter chat, we spoke with Laura King Edwards about strategies for perfecting interviews. As content lead at Wray Ward, Laura knows mastering this skill can be difficult. But she says it can be made easier with the insights shared here. 

What follows is a brief summary of the chat. If you’re looking for more tweets, click here. 

Why is interviewing a key skill for content marketers?

A1: The age of #content has elevated storytelling. And great interview skills are crucial for telling great stories.

Also … great research is gold, but great interviews are priceless! #CMWorld

— Laura King Edwards (@lkedwards11) February 4, 2020

A1.1: Also, the want to learn is needed.

Being a content writer for an agency specifically, you can’t be expected to know every industry. The skill is to know how to research efficiently and be able to apply that research to your writing. #CMWorld

— Cosmitto (@CosmittoDigital) February 4, 2020

A1: And interviewing customers is one of the best ways to gain knowledge on what your audience cares about, how they consume content, how they feel about your brand/product etc., which informs a more successful content strategy #CMWorld

— Kristen Hicks (@atxcopywriter) February 4, 2020

A1. Interviewees are valuable primary sources. Without them, our content would lack authenticity and authority. Strong interviewing skills help us capture the information and knowledge that helps readers. #CMWorld https://t.co/Wp1bc9tDBp

— David Simanoff (@dsimanoff) February 4, 2020

What are ways to prepare for an interview? Are there instances when you shouldn’t prep?

A2: Write questions, but try not to share them in advance (nothing worse than a robotic answer from an expert who rehearsed or wrote responses in advance). #CMWorld

— Laura King Edwards (@lkedwards11) February 4, 2020

A2: (1/2) Usually, I prep a question framework and share it ahead of time w/ the person or group I’m interviewing, but I tell them we might “go off script” — if there’s something interesting that pops up, I’m going to dig in and learn more. #CMWorld

— Holly Rushton (@hollymrushton) February 4, 2020

A2 DON’T “over-prep” but ALWAYS prepare for an interview #CMWorld

— Chaim Shapiro? I’ll Help You Maximize LinkedIn!? (@ChaimShapiro) February 4, 2020

A2: Type A here. I research, write questions, and sometimes even practice the questions ahead of an interview. Perhaps I’m too prepared, but I’ll take it over being on the fly. I’m sure there are instances when you shouldn’t prep, but that just makes me uncomfortable! #CMWorld

— Amy (@amylonghorn) February 4, 2020

Why is establishing a rapport with your source important?

A3: The best interviews feel and sound like conversations, with a natural flow. You can establish a rapport pretty quickly by approaching your questions this way. #CMWorld

— Laura King Edwards (@lkedwards11) February 4, 2020

A3: Without comfort and trust, it’s difficult to get a productive interview. #CMWorld

— Mike Lewis (@MaverickAdverts) February 4, 2020

A3: Making your interviewee feel comfortable will allow them to open up and talk about topics that neither of you may have planned on, but will help tell the story you are aiming for. Rapport is not just about personality, but physical location of the interview as well. #CMWorld https://t.co/Y53fMGHTwx

— Andi Robinson (@hijinxmarketing) February 4, 2020

How can you structure questions so they encourage a source to give useful answers, rather than a bunch of platitudes?

A4: I love this one. I structure my questions like a story outline. Think exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution. (Yes, I majored in English.) #CMWorld

— Laura King Edwards (@lkedwards11) February 4, 2020

A4: It’s easy to forget these questions, but they’re important:
-Can you tell me more about that?
-(at the end) Do you have anything else to add?#CMWorld

— Laura King Edwards (@lkedwards11) February 4, 2020

A4: Also: identify this person’s usual responses on the subject beforehand, and take this as a starting point for your piece. Challenge this person to move beyond their comfort zone. #cmworld @CMIContent

— Loes van Dokkum (@loesvandokkum) February 4, 2020

A4. At one company I used to work at we would give real life scenarios that we had faced and asked “what would you do?”

They were open ended questions that generated great responses. Or not. #cmworld

— Tod Cordill (@todcordill) February 4, 2020

Silence can be awkward, but it can also be an important component to your interview. What are some reasons why you should quietly sit through it?

A5: Remember how we said the best interviews feel like conversations? Silence is natural. Let it be (and give your expert time to come up with strong answers). #CMWorld

— Laura King Edwards (@lkedwards11) February 4, 2020

Sometimes a pause during the interview gives them space to think, and they’ll automatically fill in the silence. It can work wonders to get someone to elaborate.

Just don’t let the silence drag on for too long, so it becomes awkward! LOL #cmworld

— Carrie Morgan (@morgancarrie) February 4, 2020

A5: The only reasons I can think of are (1) to let the other person finish their thought, (2) gather my own thoughts or (3) for emphasis and DRAMA #CMWorld pic.twitter.com/of7ALXYm6b

— Daniella Alscher (@G2_dalscher) February 4, 2020

Our community shared several tips for notetaking during interviews.

A6 Record the conversation (with permission, natch) and then use a service like https://t.co/HPhfjSXQmO (free) or https://t.co/K75qPx3QHu (paid) to transcribe. Then you can focus on the conversation, and write down only the important points so you remember them later. #cmworld

— Martin Lieberman (@martinlieberman) February 4, 2020

A6: Come up with your own short-hand and transcribe sooooooon after the interview so you don’t miss/forget any good nuggets that may have come out of the conversation. #CMWorld

— Amy (@amylonghorn) February 4, 2020

A6: One question per page, so you’ve got room 4 any kind of shorthand, quick sketch, jot while maintaining eye contact, whatever. Best advice: write up those notes as fully as possible as soon as you can; many ad-libbed notations have a lifespan of 5 minutes, tops! ?? #CMWorld

— Mark Armstrong (@mrstrongarm) February 4, 2020

A6. Is the source ready for a new question while you’re still writing down the last answer? Give yourself a bit more time by saying, “that was a great answer. Give me a moment to finish writing it down.” #CMWorld https://t.co/YirEJTKLh8

— David Simanoff (@dsimanoff) February 4, 2020

A6: Focus your attention on the interviewee instead of your notebook. Only take notes of things you want to remember to ask about later on. Record the session (with permission). #cmworld https://t.co/bu9Nv3yJrU

— Loes van Dokkum (@loesvandokkum) February 4, 2020

A6: I type while listening, but also record interviews for transcription, so I don’t have to worry too much about missing something #CMWorld

— Kristen Hicks (@atxcopywriter) February 4, 2020

A6: record and transcribe. @zoom_us and https://t.co/sQqJrvY7OA! #cmworld

— Bethany Johnson, multiple award-winning B2B writer (@thanybethanybe) February 4, 2020

Tell us about a favorite interview – either one you’ve done or one you’ve watched. What made it special and unique? Leave us a comment. 

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