How to Talk to Humans
Approach the species with care! But remember, they’re only human!
My toughest interview ever was with a dog named Biff, whom I had decided to profile for the New Yorker. I persuaded his owners that I needed time alone with the dog so I could really get a feel for his personality, so they left us for an hour or two. It only took me a minute to realize the futility of my task, since, obviously, dogs don’t talk.
But most of the time your research will pair you up in conversation with human beings. Then your real troubles begin. How do you engage a perfect stranger in a meaningful and authentic way, in, say, an hour or less? How do you steer them into providing you with pithy, revealing, interesting quotes? How do not feel like a complete jerk, sitting there with your pen and notebook?
Mastering the art of the interview is critical if you hope to write nonfiction, and undoubtedly useful with fiction, too. Whether you’re interviewing someone who is primary to your story (whom you probably will quote) or interviewing someone for background information, you need to do it well, or you’re going to have a lot of difficulty writing a strong piece. Obviously, each interviewer and interviewee is different, but I think certain rules apply to everyone.
- You’ve heard this a million times before, but it…
