Interview Niche = Found

In the past I have found myself struggling to conduct interviews, often getting nervous and scrambling for the next question to ask in my head--especially during phone interviews, when my poor hearing coupled with the inability to read body language or see the expressions on the person's face makes the interview even more painfully awkward. It wasn't until recently during a phone call with New Hampshire Surf Icon Ralph Fatello that I began to notice my skills improving. Knowing that Ralph is a notoriously aggressive character, I went into the interview with a prepared greeting and list of questions that I had written down in my notebook, and even practiced how I would answer the phone. Yeah, I was that cautious. 

What I expected to be a brief Q & A turned into a full-fledged conversation about surfing, philosophy, and numerous other things, lasting almost 40 minutes. During the interview, Ralph basically told me his life story and gave me much, much more information than I originally intended on obtaining, which was definitely a good thing; I got to know the guy really well in that short amount of time, and I was really happy with the amount of help he gave me. 

This interview definitely opened my eyes to how I should have been conducting my interviews all along. I realized that I shouldn't really treat interviews any differently than normal conversations, and felt comfortable asking the first questions that came to mind to help it move along smoothly. Even if the questions were unrelated to the subject of the interview, I think it helps to make the person feel more comfortable answering questions if you act--or truly are-- interested in every single detail they provide you with. So in short, I basically realized that preparation, relaxation, and earnest, deep curiosity are key in having the best interviews.