8 Interview Tips to Help Create Fresh Content

By Rose Strong

Do you regularly write blog posts, articles or press releases? Are you often researching and seeking ways to tell a story or better explain a topic? To make your content fresh, you need information that is different from all the other stuff out there on the Internet and in the media biosphere. Sometimes the perfect quotes or information from interviewing a specific person can help you create a blog post, article or press release that gets noticed.

Have you ever wanted to interview in the style of Terry Gross, on National Public Radio’s Fresh Air? Gross has a way of getting her guests to say things to her that other interviewers never seem to be able to emulate. Well, that takes practice, and lots of it, but even without years of practice, you can still aim to create original content by using interview tactics that make your subject feel free to talk and give you interesting information.

Here are a few tips I’ve learned over the years from my own experience and from others to conduct effective interviews. Note that some of these tactics work best with willing subjects; interviewing “hostile witnesses” is a whole different ballgame.

1. Be prepared! 
Do your research before ever speaking to the person who can give you direct quotes and information. Set up a list of questions and know your topic, because if you don’t, it will show.


2. Start with small talk. 
Don’t just dive in with the topic you’re researching. Some people are a bit unnerved by an interview and find the process to be somewhat difficult. Start by asking where they’re from, where did they go to college, what was their first job - something that can be soft and manageable for them to just chat about. Typically, people like talking about themselves, so a soft start helps builds trust, and people who trust, talk.


3. It’s not a game of 20-Questions, so take it slow.
You want to entice your interviewee to tell you things, not hammer them with question after question to get to the good stuff. A good interview takes patience, not force. Design your questions to elicit information in small blurbs by dissecting the topic into small portions, if possible. Be prepared to give your subject time to answer.


4. Ask open-ended questions. 
These are the ones that don’t allow for only a yes or no answer. It’s best to allow the person you’re interviewing to speak freely and answer with more than a one-word answer.


5. Don’t get stuck in a box.
Allow your interview subject to talk, and if you don’t stick to your prepared questions; it’s okay. You may find out something you didn’t expect, making your story take a different turn or giving you material for another story or blog post.  


6. Maintain control of the interview.
I know, this seems completely opposite of what I just said, but you do have to maintain some semblance of control, if for nothing else than the sake of time and efficiency. Keeping an interview on track may take some practice, especially if you are interviewing someone who enjoys talking or simply says what comes into their heads.


7. Listen, listen, listen and listen some more.
Give your subject space in between questions and listen up. Allow a bit of silence. A few seconds in between is good and allows your interviewee that chance to think. Don’t interrupt, and don’t interject your own experiences or ideas. It’s not about you.


8. Make this your final question:
In my years of doing research for articles, blog posts and press releases, there is one question with which I typically end each interview: “Is there anything I didn’t ask that you think is important for people to know?” After you’ve gone through your prepared questions and veered off onto other paths and come back again, this question gives the interviewee a chance to state, or restate, the most important points.

Interviewing someone can be a smooth process if you follow just a few of the hints above. You won’t be perfect, and sometimes you’ll walk away thinking you should have asked this or should have asked that. It happens. That’s what a follow-up email or phone call is for, and most subjects won’t mind or find it a bother. It lets them know you’re doing your best to be thorough and get to the heart of the matter.

The Pope is coming – and Ad Space Will Be at a Premium

By Kim Tarasiewicz

As a non-Catholic, I am still fascinated by Pope Francis and interested in his visit to the city of Philadelphia in September. The numbers are staggering, with 15,000 visitors attending the conference and 10,000 volunteer greeters and representatives expected in the city during the week-long World Meeting of Families. Even more incredible is that more than 1.5 million people are expected to stand on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway for the Pope’s Sunday Mass.

Our media connections have alerted us that advertising space in and around the city will be at a premium during the Pope’s visit. Can you imagine your ad on a SEPTA bus tail or transit sign during that time? Or better yet, how about a digital billboard on one of the major routes into the city? But you also have to look at what you are selling – with visitors from 150 nations, are you really getting the most for the extra money you would be spending to advertise during that time period? If you are someone like Coke or Pepsi, probably, but local businesses might be better waiting until after the hoopla and spending their budgets to reach a more local audience.

In a way, this seems like a perfect example of old-fashioned advertising opportunities for local businesses. Shops and event planners are joining forces to name special food items for the Pope’s visit, such as the #PopeinPhilly milkshake the Potbelly Sandwich Shop created in partnership with Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia who recently visited the city to plan for the event. The city will be buzzing with souvenirs on street corners and in shops and local establishments running sales with some type of reference to the pontiff’s visit.

Area colleges and universities are asking students to volunteer and, of course, will use photos and stories about their students in their public relations and social media outreach during the month. But on the advertising side of business, those same schools will be competing for advertising space within the city and surrounding suburbs. Late summer and fall are busy recruiting times before enrollment applications are due, and the schools may end up paying premium prices this year. For larger schools in the area, the extra advertising money spent may attract “out-of-town” students that wouldn’t normally have seen those schools as an option.

Whether you are Catholic or not, you have to be impressed by the amount of planning and organization necessary to run this type of event. The media coverage, the advertising and the social media buzz around this is already massive, as the event planners are sending out press releases almost daily. So join in the fun, buy an “I love the Pope” mug and enjoy a history-making event for Philadelphia.