Tips for Better Interviews
After years of being interviewed, doing the interviewing (podcasts, summits, roundtables, case studies), & consuming interviews—I have some findings to share.
Interviewing comes naturally to some—but not all—of us. Have you ever found yourself wondering what questions to ask, how to get someone out of their shell, or simply if you’re doing a good job? Well… the guessing game is over!
It only takes a few simple shifts in your interview questions, structure, or communication skills to expertly run any kind of interview. Whether you feel comfortable with interviewing or you’re looking for tips to improve your skills, you’ll find this episode helpful!
Topics covered in this podcast episode:
How to begin an interview
The best interview questions to ask
How to improve communication during an interview
How to interpret the interviewee’s body language
Ideal length of time for a case study interview
Should you record case study interviews
Don’t forget you can submit a question that will get answered in an upcoming podcast!
As I hinted at above, I’ve been in all the interviewing chairs—interviewer, interviewee, & roundtable host.
I gathered some interview examples for you:
Podcast Interviewer: The obvious place to start is that as a the host of The Basic B podcast, I get to do lots of interviewing! I’m always looking for ways to brighten the interview experience for guests. (Thankfully, I’ve gotten excellent feedback so far!)
Podcast Interviewee: I was a podcast guest on Cubicle to CEO. Ellen Yin & I chatted all about “How to Write a Case Study in 30 minutes.” Ellen is someone you should definitely listen to if you want to improve your interviewing skills! Her interviews are incredible.
Case Study Interviewer: Leah Bryant asked me to write a case study for her about her podcast production client, Darrell Evans. She asked me to also interview Darrell for this case study. (It’s not-so-secretly one of my favorite things to do!)
Case Study Observer: When I create case studies, I’m not always the one doing the interviewing. In fact, it’s more likely that my clients come to me with an interview in-hand. That was the case with Angela & Ashleigh’s case study.
Summit Interviewer: I’ve never hosted my own summit, but I’ve been a part of several—including The Copy Chat Season 8 with Marisa Corcoran. At the end of each summit, Marisa has someone else interview her! For Season 8, she asked me to do the honors—and we had a blast.
Mentioned Resources:
Testimonial Template + Training
Connect w/ Brittany:
This episode of The Basic B podcast is brought to you in partnership w/ Leah Bryant Co.! Help me reach more service providers like you by following the show & leaving a rating or review on Apple & Spotify!
The unedited podcast transcript for this episode of The Basic B podcast follows
Hello and welcome back to the Basic B podcast and welcome specifically back to the Short and Sassy series. So as you know, we keep these shorter, a little bit more actionable and about a variety of topics. I really have been just thinking about interviewing and I've been watching so many interviews because I've been writing so many case studies. I've also been interviewing clients for the podcast. So I just thought that this would be a really good topic to dive into because
I've seen some things that could be done better, let's say, and I over the course of however many years I've been interviewing people, I can see that I've improved as well. So I want to pass along some of my best practices, my best tips and takeaways and all that kind of stuff. But I want to let you know that I'm not just coming to this from like, I know what's best for interviewing. Like, by no means is that accurate. One of my favorite people to listen to their interviews is Ellen Yin.
I think that she does a really incredible job of interviewing her podcast guests. She's been brought into different events as well to interview people and I think that she just does a bang up job. So if you want to listen to someone actually doing this in real time and get some practice just by like listening to someone else, I highly recommend Ellen and her podcast and I'll make sure that I link that below as well. But I've interviewed clients for case studies. I have interviewed one.
particular is that I interviewed Darrell for his case study with Leah, so I'll make sure that that's below. He was a hoot. He was one of these clients where he wasn't saying a whole lot and I kind of had to break him out of his shells to where he would say a little bit more and give me some more details so I could actually go forth and write a case study. But it was a lot of fun. I love interviewing people and that was a fun interview and the case study turned out beautifully. So I will make sure that I link that below and you can see that example.
that's just one person that I've interviewed for a case study. I've also been asked to interview peers for programs that I've gone through so that video can be then used to promote the program. That has been a lot of fun so that's something very different where I probably didn't experience the same things as the clients that I'm interviewing for case studies but I have experienced the same things for these peers of mine where we've gone through these different programs or memberships and I'm able to you know insert my
Brittany Herzberg (02:28.618)
and kind of bring that into the interview. I've also interviewed summit hosts and podcast hosts, and that is always a blast. They then get to take that audio and use it as part of their podcast or part of their summit event. So that's been really, really fun, and I've done that a few times in the last year, and it's just, I love it. Also, as I mentioned, like, I think I've told you this before, but part of my process for writing case studies, if I'm not doing the interviewing, that's option A. Option B is that the,
person I'm writing the case study for already has an interview. That might be a podcast interview where they had their client come on and they were asking them different questions about their experience. Or it could be a Facebook Live that they then give me the link to. Or this is probably the most common one is that there is an interview, a video interview that's been done and it's just hiding on a Google Drive. So I've listened to and consumed these interviews in order to craft case studies.
one person I did this for is I watched Ashley and Angela's interview so that I could write that case study and again I'll make sure that that's below so you can see an example. And then lastly, which I actually mentioned at the beginning, was that I've interviewed countless podcast guests for my shows and it's just been so fun to talk to people but also to see how I can make their experience better and make for a better interview. So that is my, that is my like...
credentials, I guess, if you will, for interviewing and then these are the things that I really want to dive into. So first off, how do you even begin an interview? This is, I would say this is probably like the most awkward thing that I really wasn't sure how to begin interviews. I just like talking to people and I'm not someone who really does small talk or fluff, so I just want to get to it. I just want to get to the point and I kind of had to bring that in for when I'm interviewing again.
podcast guests or people that I'm going to write a case study about. So a few things have helped me. I will chit chat with the people before I hit record and I will say a lot of this stuff to them. So I will first off set expectations. I will say I make sure that I do most of the talking up front because I find that really puts the other person at ease. They understand what I'm looking for, they know how they can do quote-unquote their best, and it just gives them a lay of the land so they know what's coming. So set expectations.
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Some things there would be, you know, we're gonna get into a 30 minute interview. This is what it's gonna look like. This is how it's gonna flow. I love sharing with them how it's gonna be used. So if it's not gonna be used at all, I will let them know that. If it's going to be used for a Facebook Live or something like that, I will let them know that. And that is often something that I've already asked my client beforehand, before I even get into the interview.
I will then ask them after I give them all this information, I'll ask them if they have any questions. Often, it's no, but if they do have any follow-up questions or if there's something that is in their mind or they're a little bit concerned about that they haven't expressed to me, this gives them an opportunity to do that. So I love, as you know, if you've been around for any amount of time, you know that I love asking questions and asking if people have any questions. When it comes to the questions that...
I want to ask on an interview or that I feel like are the best ones to ask in an interview, the number one thing I want to make very clear is that you want to ask open-ended questions, which means it's not a yes or no question. It is a question where it's like, well, what was your experience like? And then that lets them tell the story. They can give as much or as little detail as they want. You do not want to put words in their mouth. Do not lead the witness.
This is not a time where you want to be leading them to any specific destination. You want their words because that is where, when you get really good testimonials or when you get really good one-liners from clients, that happens because they are using their own words. They are giving you keywords that you can then use for the rest of the case study, for example, or in a sales page or something like that. So do not put words in their mouth. That is a big no-no that I see.
happen a lot and I used to do the same thing. I would give them, you know, here's an example. How did that make you feel? How were you feeling once you wrapped up the program? Were you excited? Were you pumped? Were you... So that is me giving them options. I don't want to give them options. I'm going to get a much better response if I say nothing. If I ask the question and then I just am silent. That's another thing. Get used to silence and just embrace it. With me being a massage therapist, like I am...
Brittany Herzberg (07:17.934)
quite comfortable with silence, but not everyone is. And that is something that you really need to embrace in order to have a good interview. If this is an interview that's gonna be used in a podcast, you can always edit out those silent spaces, but let there be silence because they, their brain, whoever you're interviewing or talking with, their brain is going, they're thinking, they're trying to find that answer. So give them space and give them time to come up with an answer for you that they feel really good about and that they feel really strongly about.
should you then notice about the person that you're interviewing? This is me probably just being like a highly sensitive human that I am, where I'm a little too observant sometimes, but often my observations make for a better experience for someone like I mentioned. So what do I want to notice about the person that I'm interviewing? I want to pay attention to, are they repeating themselves? If they are.
I probably don't need to ask that question again. I don't need to rephrase it. I don't need to come back to that point because if they're saying that, they're gonna keep saying that. Also, it could be that maybe I do need to rephrase the question and ask it from a different angle or give, lead them into it just a little bit differently. But notice if they're repeating themselves, what is their body language like?
Are they leaning in? Are they really closed off? Are their arms closed? Are they like, you know, wrapping into themselves? If they're doing anything that looks like, you know, going into a fetal position, they're probably really not comfortable. So we just wanna notice that and think through like, how could I make them more comfortable? For me, I like to laugh. I like to joke. It's a way that I am able to just set someone at ease and kind of disarm them, if you will. And it lightens the mood.
However, that is also something that you want to pay attention to. Something that I've done recently is when I'm doing interviews, I will kind of test before we're even recording to see if that person will respond to humor. So I might crack a joke before we've hit record and I'm going to notice like, okay, did they respond to that? Was that something that they're just like, they're typically more of like a reserved kind of... The only word that's coming to mind is like stiff. More of a...
Brittany Herzberg (09:36.27)
straightforward more of a serious kind of personality, you want to notice that. Sometimes humor will have someone kind of like break a little bit and have them open up a little bit more. Sometimes it doesn't have that effect. So I usually test that before we're recording and maybe you could do that too. So those are just some things to notice about the person while you're actually recording. Now when it comes to how long an interview should be, it depends on the situation.
But I will say, you only need 30 minutes. You can get everything you need in 30 minutes. I used to block off an hour for interviews, interviews that I would do for getting testimonials for a sales page. And then I would block off an hour for case study interviews. I don't need to do that. You don't need to do that. I've, and even I've seen interviews recorded that are like 45, 48, 50 minutes. You don't need that much time because I see the people repeating themselves. I see the people.
getting uncomfortable or getting like antsy where they're ready to go. They're like, okay, can we, can we be done now? So those are kinds of, again, going back to like what to notice about the person. Those are some things to notice, but you only need 30 minutes. I've even done an interview as short as 15 minutes. I was talking with a very busy doctor and he only had time to just like jump on a phone call. We weren't even on zoom. So I'm going to get to a tip about that in a second, but you don't need as much time as you think you do.
and coming to the interview with a set, you know, prepared little list of questions will really help you maximize the time that you have with that person. And by recording the interview, it's going to enable it to move a little bit faster as well. So, do you need to record these interviews? Is that something that you actually need to push for? No. You don't need to push to record interviews. However, whenever that has been the case, like with this doctor, with the 15-minute interview, I clarified with him
I this might take a little bit longer because I'm gonna be scribbling notes the whole time that we're talking I might repeat myself I might ask you to repeat something so that I can make sure that I grabbed that quote from you and He was very okay with that. We only had 15 minutes. We only had a phone call and we made it work But just know that in general It's gonna take a little bit longer if you're not recording the interviews because you are making those notes because you are gonna repeat Yourself and because you're gonna ask them
Brittany Herzberg (11:57.526)
to repeat themselves as well. Because people say really smart things and we just really wanna capture it. So I've also had people ask me not to use the video. That was something that they just, they didn't wanna be on video. They didn't want the video to be repurposed in any way. And I honor that. I am a big stickler that if someone says, this makes me uncomfortable, I don't wanna do it, we're not doing that. If they're okay with me recording the interview so that I can make the most of our time and be super efficient.
then I let them know I'm going to be recording this. I'm only it's only going to see my eyes and my ears. It's not going to anybody else. And when I delete this, I will confirm that with you. So I've even sent emails to this has happened twice. I've even sent emails to those folks and included a screenshot where it was like, you know, video deleted or file deleted or something like that. And I will let them know.
Because I take that real seriously. If that's something that you're asking me to not use the video, I'm not going to let that video stick around longer than I need to. I'm going to go in, re-watch it, pull the quotes, maybe watch it a second time to make sure there's nothing that I missed, and then I'm truly going to delete it. So, just know that you don't need to record it.
if you're doing like a phone call and you're writing out notes or you're typing out notes, there's going to be some repetition. Just again, set expectations and let the person you're talking with know that and know that it might take a little bit longer if you're if you're writing or typing and talking and trying to like remember where you want to go in the copywriting world. It's called pulling on a thread. So if I come to an interview and I have eight questions listed out, but then they say something in my brain is like, oh, I'm going to go ask more about that.
something that I'm gonna have to write down. So when it comes to interviewing, there are a lot of things to take note of, a lot of things to take stock of. You really want to be paying attention to the person and just noticing how they're feeling and what their body language is telling you. You want to come in prepared with a list of questions. You want to set expectations for sure. You don't need more than 30 minutes and you want to be asking those open-ended questions. No fleeting the witness, please. But
Brittany Herzberg (14:05.342)
Where do you go from here? There's a few different things that I can help you with as far as interviewing and that you might want to come to me for interviewing assistants, let's say. So if you want to outsource interviews being done, I do that. That is something that I absolutely love. You can DM me or fill out the contact form on my website and we can talk through specifics.
But do know that is something that I do. I love doing. And I always confer with you first about, like, what do you actually want to get out of this interview? How is it going to be used? All that type of stuff. And I will ask you to introduce me to the person that I'm going to be interviewing so that it's not like, hey, I'm Brittany. I'm some random person who's going to be interviewing you and asking you a whole bunch of questions about X.
Also, if you're interested in done for you case studies, but you don't have an interview, you don't have time to do the interviewing, you don't want to do the interviewing, know that is a part that I offer, that is a service that I offer. So whenever we're talking through, you know, on the initial call or the initial voxer, when we're talking through specifics and the process and what to expect for you as well, I'll tell you that that's an option. Either you can come to me with a prerecorded interview, or that is something that I can do for you.
Also, if you want to get better with interviewing, if you want to get better with interviewing, that's a big focus inside the case study training program. And that's gonna be starting on April 29th. So stay tuned because I'm really excited, but that is a huge focus. That is the first thing that we focus on. And you can always come to the calls or find me on Voxer and ask me any like follow-up questions or if you have an interview scheduled and you wanna make the most of it, that is something that you and I can talk through before as well.
And it's such an important skill being able to interview someone that I created a mini email course around this skill, this practice, this workflow. So keep your eyes open for that. In March, there are resources. There's a live call for that. All kinds of goodness, but it is it is an email course because I love them so much. So that's all I've got for you about interviewing. If you have any follow-up questions or clarifying questions about interviewing about the process,
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about something that I just didn't even touch on, use the question submission link below that you'll see in the show notes and I will talk to you next time.