One of the most important things is to really enjoy interviewing people. Be happy to be there. Your subject will sense that and loosen up. You may be nervous (a la Scoble interviewing Gates) but if you are genuinely interested in what that person has to say and are excited about having the chance to find out their story, your subject will respond to that.
--- In videoblogging@yahoogroups.com, "Ed Smith" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Hi Robert, wow, what a great list of things to do/not do in order to conduct > a knockout interview. You really hit on some good stuff there. I like the > point of clarifying jargon with the point of view of the listener in mind. > You see that missed so many times I know we all need to hear that again and > again. > > I just added a post to the > http://www.conductknockoutbroadcastinterviews.com/blog/ that suggests we > move our dress code up a notch when doing interviews that the guest and/or > listeners will not see. I think our dress affects our performance in subtle > ways and will help us focus on the things you have suggested. > > OK, Robert, thanks for that great info, and please continue to offer > suggestions, comments, etc. > > Edward W. Smith. > > On 9/2/07, Robert Scoble <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > I've interviewed many of tech's biggest names (Gates, Schwartz, > > Chambers, > > Ballmer, etc) for my video show, ScobleShow.com. > > > > Some things I've learned: > > > > 1) Don't go for "gotcha" questions. These people all are very astute at > > answering questions (at Microsoft they prepare execs for the press by > > doing > > "rude Q&A" sessions). They'll turn your rudest question into something > > they > > want to ask. That strategy never works and usually ensures you won't be > > invited back. > > > > 2) Instead, ask at least one question they've never been asked before. > > With Gates I knew he'd been asked any question I could come up with so I > > turned it around: asked him what he'd ask the world's richest guy if he > > were > > in my position. > > > > 3) Do your homework. Know what your interviewee will probably say > > BEFORE he/she says it. > > > > 4) Listen. My best questions came AFTER they said something and I asked > > for more in depth. Best followup? "Why do you say that?" > > > > 5) If you hear jargon ask them to clarify. Often times this brings up > > some interesting stuff. For instance, if I were interviewing Marc > > Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, and he talked about "the social graph" > > I'd > > ask "some of my listeners don't know what you mean by 'social graph', can > > you give us a short definition and explain what you mean by that?" > > > > 6) Have a thesis for the interview. If you interview someone > > interesting there are 100 ways you could take the interview. I'd focus it > > on > > one theme and try to get them to tell a story with your questions. Lead > > them > > down a path. If you're asking Gates about how he took over the operating > > system business, for instance, I'd ask him a question about his high > > school/college experience, then early days at Microsoft, then ask about > > the > > DOS purchase, etc etc. > > > > 7) Have an outline of questions to ask, particularly if you'll be > > nervous. With Gates I started out very nervous, but then I calmed down and > > my brain started working again. That's when you can start having a > > conversation and not just going off of your prepared questions. > > > > 8) Listen, listen, listen. I always look my interviewer in the eyes and > > try to give them 110% of my attention. That leads to a better interview. > > When I'm distracted or not totally focused for some reason I find > > interviews > > don't get as interesting. > > > > 9) Start out with stupider questions just to get you both going. That's > > why I ask EVERY INTERVIEW "who are you?" and "what do you do?" Those two > > questions aren't really all that important, but they both get us going and > > also give your heart a chance to calm down (if you're interviewing someone > > famous) and also get you into the listening mode. Often times people will > > say something interesting in response to the "what do you do?" question. > > John Chambers, CEO at Cisco, for instance, talked about his being a > > father. > > That opened up a part of his life that makes for great conversations. > > > > 10) Listen, listen, listen. It's amazing when I listen to podcasts and I > > can tell the interviewer isn't really listening and isn't asking for > > clarification of jargon, or more depth on something really interesting > > that > > was put on the table. "Can you explain more about what you mean by that?" > > I > > really hate it when an interviewer is clearly NOT having a conversation > > and, > > rather, only has 10 questions that were prepared and is rushing to get > > through those. Use your prepared questions as a guideline, or a way to > > start > > a conversation but DO NOT be a slave to them. That's the quickest way to a > > boring interview that sounds stiff and stupid. (out of 600 interviews I've > > done I've only gone into two with prepared questions for just that > > reason). > > PR people, by the way, will ask for your questions in advance. I always > > answer that I don't prepare questions in advance, but will give them some > > examples of things I'd like to talk about. Again, talk about themes, not > > specifics. "I'd like to talk with Steve Jobs about the development of the > > iPhone and the design process that led to that." > > > > Hope these help you with your questions. > > > > Robert > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > > > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] >
