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Talking to the Source 37 Interviews and Counting

ebarrows • Mar 14, 2019


Mid-2017 to date I’ve recorded 36 interviews on my little digital voice recorder. I put “37” interviews in the title because I just did one today but I only took notes…but since we’re counting non-recorded interviews let’s add at least another 15. And if we’re going to do that, why not add the 3 21-question interviews I research, craft and edit for each issue of FitNFabs Magazine , another 12. So 64, 65 interviews in the last 18 months sounds like a lot and some weeks, it is.

I’d say a majority of the interviews I conduct are for the Midpen Media Center newsletter. Last month I interviewed a Stanford professor who developed MyShakespeare , an online multimedia website presenting Shakespeare’s plays in a fun, interactive and dynamic way. From speaking to the site’s creator, I learned the history of the project, what goes into developing it and the positive ways students and teachers have used it to delve into the world of the plays. I wouldn’t have reached a deeper understanding of the MyShakespeare website without speaking to its creator. I was able to bring the knowledge I gathered during the interview into my article through direct quotes and synthesizing information.

Over the course of these 65 interviews, I haven’t had a bad one yet. I know how to frame questions in a thoughtful way and I get more than a “yes” or “no” answer. Several times I’ve had interview subjects pause and say “That’s a great question.” It’s usually something they have to think about for a moment but it’s relative to what we’re talking about and adds depth to the conversation. I use interviews in my writing to capture quotes and information for people profile articles, expert perspectives, introducing new works or projects, Q&A interview features, and professional bios.

I’ve already got another interview scheduled for tomorrow and one next week. The FitNFabs Magazine and Midpen Media Center articles below are samples of recent interviews. If you have a writing project requiring information only the source can tell, I’d love to ask you some questions about it!

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