There’s an art to interviewing, not just to get information for stories, but to give stories – especially in the ones for our online lifestyle magazines — personality and a little lift. Here are three techniques that really impressed me by three of our writers at Urbane Media.
Off-the-wall questions: Generally, stories that tell a person, businesses or a band’s life story or expand on their curriculum vitae bore me to tears. In a series of stories that MJ Galbraith wrote about two bands that will be performing at the Motown Winter Blast for The Urbane Life, he asked the members of The Sights and The Muggs the same questions that have nothing to do about their bands or their music:
What’s your favorite thing about winter in Michigan?
What’s the best way to stay warm?
What was your favorite thing to do when school was cancelled?
These questions give a pretty good glimpse as to what to expect from their music without ever having listened to it and neither story reads the same.
Just two guys talking: Before Street Eatzz’s Chef Tom Keshishian started writing, he honed his interviewing skills first as a detective for the Washtenaw Sheriff’s Department and then as host of “Dining in the D,” a TV series that aired last year on Detroit Public TV. But aside from being a chef, a TV host and a former cop, the real gift he has as an interviewer is the way he explains it to his nervous and anxious sources: “Just think of this as just two guys talking.” Letting an interview just flow results in some genuine conversation like this passage from one of his recent stories, Ernie’s Market: A Slice of Americana, Baby.
The bread delivery guy comes in and lays out the packages of onion rolls that were ordered for the day. Ernie tells him, “I love ya, Baby, but I can’t use these buns.” He asks me why he shouldn’t keep them. I tell him that they were overdone and will taste a bit bitter. I pass the test and Ernie sends them back but still has that smile and goodness on his face.
A combination of both: I knew I could count on Mark Stowers to turn out a story about a dog sledding event at the Motown Winter Blast without having it sound like an overt promotional piece. He has a gift for turning out sports stories that focus on the human element. By having a casual conversation that got down to tailoring personalized questions to find out what Amanda Vogel puts into dog sledding, it was enough to make me want to check her out in person after reading Time for the Big Dogs to Sled – Motown Winter Blast.
These are three writers to watch in the world of content marketing. I do.
Bonnie Caprara
Bonnie Caprara is an editor, writer and media relations specialist at Urbane Media. Her career has traversed between print journalism and media relations in the agency world and for private clients. She's also a semi-serious foodie with a penchant for Cheetos.
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