Ask any journalist and they’ll probably tell you that conducting interviews – the bread and butter of their profession – is one of the most rewarding aspects of their work.  When I was an inquisitive foreign correspondent, picking the brains of knowledgeable people or hearing from people directly affected by major events always felt like a privilege and an enriching experience.

 

I didn’t always view interviews that way. As a rookie journalist, I was once asked to interview a senior European official at short notice. I turned up unprepared (this was pre-Internet, before search engines) and I struggled to ask relevant questions. Thankfully, my interlocutor took pity on me and fed me the information I’d need to write my news article. Over time, I developed my interview skills and always seized opportunities to tap  primary sources.

 

As a book coach, I’ve discovered that this approach does not come naturally to all writers. Many confine their research to written sources or don’t even think of interviews as an available option. Reaching out to potential interviewees can feel intimidating, I know.  

 

Yet interviews are, first and foremost, conversations and the main requirement is an ability to listen and absorb what is being shared. All it takes is some initial research to prepare for these encounters. Incidentally, writers of research-based nonfiction may benefit most from tapping human sources, but interviews can also help memoirists or indeed fiction writers who need to bridge information gaps or provide more context for their story.  

 

Information gathering

 

The primary aim of interviews is to collect information, but they can offer a lot more than just facts. Through First-hand accounts of events, the expression of personal views and human feelings, they bring nuance and a variety of perspectives to a narrative.

 

Even if you’re approaching an expert to verify some information or want to ask specific questions for your book, it’s always worth starting with open-ended questions that break the ice and allow interviewees to talk freely. Keep an open mind: a throwaway comment by an interviewee can open up exciting new avenues worth exploring in your book or a new angle on your core subject.

 

If you need more targeted answers as well, prepare a list of focused questions beforehand and make you cover all these points during the  meeting. In practice, most interviews combine open-ended and more pointed questions. The best approach is to remain flexible and follow up with additional queries if an answer is unclear or warrants digging deeper.

 

A storytelling tool

 

A one-hour interview may only yield a single quote in a news article because of the tight word count.  In a book, space is not at a such a premium and interviews offer greater possibilities. You still have to be selective about quotes, but interviews can be woven into your narrative.

 

I always recommend taking extensive notes from the encounter, beside recording the conversation. Storytelling is, after all, a highly effective way of conveying factual information. Interviews can become building blocks that support your narrative. Through detailed descriptions of the décor, of an interviewee’s reaction to questions, their body language, the way they talk, or the time they take to reflect, you can invite the reader into the room and bring your interlocutor to life. The experts or eyewitnesses can become  characters in your nonfiction book. In some cases, you can even build some of your story around them. 

 

And don’t worry about the extensive amount of material that ends up on the cutting room floor: it is not wasted.  Even if you opt not to quote the people you’ve met at all, what you’ve learned during these in-depth conversations will add depth and soul to your writing, with new viewpoints and layers of subtlety. Think of a piece of furniture that acquires a rich patina with each coating of polish enhancing its beauty.

 

Bestselling author Miranda July acknowledged interviewing a number of women in their forties before writing “All Fours,” a novel whose protagonist experiences a midlife awakening. Their contributions do not feature directly in her book, but they provided inspiration and were blended into a fictional tale.

 

Including other people’s voices in your work will amplify your own as the author, liven up your writing, and promote shades of opinion. Interviews cannot never replace deep researching into academic and other secondary sources, but meaningful conversations with interesting interlocutors, carefully selected to provide diversity and authentic insights, can be a powerful complement to more static sources and benefit both the author and the book.

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