10 ways communicators can conduct better interviews

When I worked as a journalist, I had to interview people all the time. It was my favorite part of the job—fun to get out of the office, interesting to meet new people, engaging to spend some time learning their stories.

Then, I switched to corporate communications. Interviewing was harder, more challenging. But I quickly learned that a really good interview was the secret sauce to writing a great story quickly.

Don’t view your interviews as nuisances or unwelcome obligations. Instead, here are 10 tips that will help make your interviews rock:

1. Make sure you interview the right people. It’s too easy to get sucked into interviewing the first person you find—or the one your boss suggests (usually a vice president). Instead, invest some time in identifying a floor-level employee who loves to chat. All organizations have a Chatty Charles or a Chatty Chelsea. Your job is to find them.