What makes a great media interview? Quality questions and answers!

Have you ever participated in a media interview? As the interviewer or the interviewee? How did you prepare?

This week and next, I am a guest instructor for the nutrition communication course at Purdue. The topic is media interviews. This week, we talked about how to prepare, and next week, I will interview each student.

When I taught this topic in the past, our emphasis was on preparing for in-person interviews on television. Now, we focus as much on being prepared for virtual interviews and podcasts.

We also discussed how to prepare to be both the interviewer and the interviewee. After all, interviews are often conducted by “regular” people, not just well-known television anchors.

In a previous post, I shared 5 Tips to Master Media Interviews and how to be prepared when the media calls.

In this post, we will add 3 steps to prepare to be the interviewer and 6 characteristics of good interview questions.

3 Steps to Prepare a Great Interview:

A great interview will sound relaxed and conversational, but requires careful planning and preparation to be polished and professional. Follow these three steps to prepare for a great interview:

1.      Select the best sources

Do your homework about the topic. As you do, identify subject-matter experts. These are your best sources to interview. If possible, consider interviewing more than one person to provide multiple sides to the story.

2.      Do background research on the topic

Do background research on the topic to prepare good interview questions. Locate books, research articles, news articles, blogs, other web-based articles, social media posts, and more.

Consult multiple references, using primary sources and research whenever available. Be sure to explore different viewpoints on the topic.

Identify what your audience is most curious about, what confuses them, and points of agreement and disagreement.

 

3.      Prepare good questions in a logical sequence

Prepare good questions having the characteristics listed below. Prioritize which ones are essential and which ones can be omitted if time is limited. Put the questions into a logical sequence.

Consider asking several people,  including the interviewee, to critique your questions. Do they make sense? Will they elicit the type of response you are looking for? Better questions lead to better answers.

Revise questions that miss the mark.

6 characteristics of good interview questions

A good interview will sound conversational rather than scripted. Help your interviewee feel relaxed and comfortable. Keep it flowing, but don’t rush the answers. Silence can be powerful. Here are 6 characteristics of good interview questions:

1.      Be focused and precise 

Be focused and precise rather than vague and general. This will keep the interview on topic better than any other strategy.

2.      Keep them simple

Keep your questions simple, asking just one thing at a time. Complicated questions often ask more than one question. Sometimes they include too much commentary, and the question gets buried. Be as brief and to the point as possible.

3.      Use open-ended questions

Avoid yes/no questions and use mostly open-ended questions. To be both open-ended and precise, consider prompting the interviewee with a directive such as “describe the steps” or “explain how...”

4.      Prepare follow-up questions

Think of several potential responses for each of your questions. List one or more follow-up questions that would logically flow from your expected responses.

 

5.      Ask questions that your viewers, readers, or listeners want to know about.

If you're not sure what these are, find out. Look at the questions you get about the topic from your audience. Use these as a starting point. If practical, allow audience members to submit questions ahead of the interview or take questions live during a Q&A session.

6.      Be prepared to be flexible.

It is impossible to anticipate how an interview will go. Be prepared to ask questions you didn’t consider ahead of time. Be ready to get back on track if you go down a rabbit hole. Focus on the purpose of your interview, maintain your composure, and have fun.

“Successful people ask better questions, and as a result, they get better answers.” ~ Tony Robbins

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