Write it Right
I’ve put my reporter skills to good use a few times when fellow bloggers asked for question recommendations when attending events.
Here in SoCal, there are becoming more opportunities for bloggers to interview celebrities, company owners and other bloggers. While small tidbits of viral Q & A sessions are shared and discussed on Facebook, asking the right questions and can bring depth and interaction from readers and bring up the quality of a blogger’s interview skills.
Not sure what to ask and how to ask? Here’s some time for creating a fresh and informative interview experience.
Consider the W’s… Who, What, When, Where, Why.
If you can’t answer those for yourself, do some research. This counts for movie release, product launches, and fundraising events.
Make it about the ‘How’.
Jessica Alba started Honest Company inspired by trying to find safe products for her baby. We all get that. But an essential part of the story is HOW she did it – and how hard starting a business can be. and in 2014- between 50 and 84 million people understood that struggle, themselves being entrepreneurs.
Get on with your fact-findin’ self.
See what I did with that last sentence? Get some backup for why that story is important. Before you express surprise over Hugh Jackman singing in Les Miserable while doing multiple Wolverine roles, remember he was also in a “Oklahoma!” TV musical performance and has several singing credits on soundtracks.
Also, before you reference the latest viral internet outrage that involves them, check the facts, since your name and possibly brand will have to stand by them. in today’s news, Queen Bey did not drop $20,000 on champagne. Don’t ask your favorite musician about it.
Find a different angle.
Go specific, go emotional, go different than their main focus.
For someone with little ones, what is their bedtime rituals like when they are and are not working? Someone with a new clothing line – Don’t just ask who they envision this line for, ask what decisions went into that focus and what was their proudest moment so far regarding that line. For someone who is a tech entrepreneur, what was their favorite childhood book?
Other great questions that are never overused… What did they want to be when they were 5? What dead historical figure’s brain would they like to pick over coffee?
Remember who is reading.
Why are you writing this post again? You wanted to see celebs and went to an action film press junket? But all of your readers have toddlers. Tie it in – how worthy is it for a date night, dropping cash and a babysitter. Ask that celeb what kind of dinner would their character eat before the movie.
Use IMDB thoroughly – have they ever done a similar role? What kind of life experience did they bring in?
You got a chance to interview a celeb about some book donation drive thing – Don’t just ask what book she reads to her children every night. Ask what she was read every night, as what book she wanted to buy for the drive. Ask about the funniest place she found a book in her house.
Tell me some of your favorite questions to ask with interviews!
