On Interviews

Broadcasted on television, streamed through podcasts, read in magazines or newspapers—we’ve all seen interviews in some shape or form. Interviews are essentially a structured conversation between two (or more) people. A great interview doesn’t just retell information that is already known or could be easily found by the general public—it traverses new ground. It’s a conversation that digs deep into the interviewee’s experience and seeks truth about the topic of focus. 

Archetype accepts interviews submitted in the format described below. 

1. An introduction to the interviewee’s life, experience, relevance to a certain topic, and how the interviewer became acquainted with the interviewee (if applicable). 
2. A transcript of the conversation, edited so that the superfluous sections are removed for better focus.

In this interview with The Globe and Mail, the focus of the conversation is Simu Liu’s success as an actor and his thoughts on the current state of diversity in the entertainment industry. Notice how the article begins with an introduction to Liu’s success, then transitions into the interview portion, where the interviewer asks questions about Liu’s thoughts on representation and behind-the-scenes insights. The conversation removes superfluous sections such as introductory small talk or tangents that distract the reader from the focus of the conversation. 

Imagine if the initial banter of the interview was included in the final draft, including a discussion of the weather. Unless you’re talking about a locust plague of biblical proportions, readers will lose interest, or worse, feel as if their time was wasted. While the interviews published in Archetype will be longer than the regular news article, it is still important to decide on a clear topic, and to have the interview follow a logical narrative flow that the reader can easily follow. Ultimately, your aim is to gain insight from the interviewee about certain ideas, events, and experiences, rather than skimming across surface level occurrences. 

Joseph C. Hermanowicz, a sociology professor from the University of Georgia, compares interviews to romantic dates and intimate exchanges. The premise is that people can learn a lot from the processes behind physical intimacy and apply it to the intangible intimacy people experience in conversation. 

Like a cherished date, the interviewer should treat the interviewee with respect and curiosity so that once the interview is over, both parties have a sense of satisfaction in knowing that they have been listened to and understood. Hermanowicz writes, 

Good interviews capture basic, and occasionally deep, levels of meaning from the details supplied by the people interviewed. But the interviewer typically comes away from the good interview sensing that much more on the topic in question could have been gathered from the respondent. In good interviews, there is little, if any, sense of having come close, let alone having touched, someone’s ‘essence’ or inner core—the stuff that makes them tick.

Some of the most popular interviewers—David Letterman, Oprah Winfrey, Howard Stern, Barbara Walters, Sean Evans—have achieved their status for these very reasons. They are skilled in the dance of conversational intimacy. This is something that can be learned and practiced, and interviews take lots of research and preparation. In Hermanowicz’s list of 25 tips, these six stand out as most helpful to your writing. 

1. Converse. In a great interview, as in a great conversation, the interviewer asks sub-questions, asks for clarification, asks the respondent to expand on what he or she just said.
2. Listen. Not listening makes your interviewee feel that he or she is unimportant, “not worth listening to.” Consequently they will close up, become more protective, and end the interview sooner than you wished, perhaps even on a sour note—all of which results in not getting the detailed data you need for good social science.
3. Word questions clearly. They should normally be short and specific, but without eliminating the candor, subtlety, and nuance that prompt respondents to speak personally. They should mostly use terms that are part of general speech, although in some situations using terms or expressions germane to the particularities of types of respondents (e.g., lawyers, high school students) are helpful in eliciting detailed conversation.
4. Sequence your moves. A great interview is not a random mix of questions in which the last question can be asked first, the first last, and so on; the great interview is strategically organized and planned. A basic rule of thumb is that a given question (within a given topic) normally anticipates the next question, so that there is a progression and flow to the conversation. 
5. Embody detached concern. An interviewer need nott view their subject as casual friends, acquaintances, or informal encounters with whom you joke, tease, or otherwise engage in repartee. Self-control is again paramount; care needs to be exercised in what the interviewee says, and how and when he or she says it, together with facial and other body expressions that should simultaneously convey respect, self-confidence, and openness on the part of the interviewer.
6. Rehearse. Anticipate how your interview will go, and what you will say and do. This means: Know your questions. A great interviewer has a very good sense of the questions—both main and probe—that comprise the interview, the sequence in which they will be asked, and the way in which they will be asked.

Archetype accepts interviews with people from all walks of life who have something to share. What do an aspiring writer, a war veteran, a celebrity, and a lawyer all have in common? They all have a story to tell. It’s the interviewer’s role to build a genuine connection with their interviewee and explore all topics with curiosity and passion.

On a practical note, interviewers can seek transcription services to save time from typing out the conversation word-for-word. Video conferencing softwares such as Zoom also provides a transcript when the interview is recorded to the cloud. And lastly, remember to ask for permission to record the interview! 

Selected Reads 

• An Interview with Sigrid Nunez by Eleanor Wachtel (Brick, Issue 108) 
• “The Eternal Sunshine of Harry Styles” by Rob Sheffield
• “Camille Paglia Declares Cinema Done” by David G. Hughes
• “Simu Lui for The Globe and Mail” by Cliff Lee

More Resources 

• “The Great Interview: 25 Strategies for Studying People in Bed” by Joseph C. Hermanowicz

Feel ready to submit your interview to Archetype? Go to our submissions page to review general guidelines and submit!