The art of an interview

I don't care who you are, get ready to learn from the best.

Whether it is interviewing someone for an article, a radio or TV show or just to find out what the other person on the other side of the table is thinking, it is important to remember one thing.

It isn't what you know about the person your talking to, its what you don't know about that person that makes the interview exciting.

Facts are facts and just hashing over them makes for some boring content and just as boring of an interview process.

TIP #1: Bring a laptop with you. Back in my day, we used notepads and 3x5 index cards we filled with questions we wanted to ask. Use the laptop as a means to ask questions and record voice answers.

TIP #2: Start recording from the time you get out of your vehicle to the time you get back into it. The best quotes happen at the beginning and when the person being interviewed thinks the interview is over.

TIP #3: Never try to ad lib the person you interviewed or put words in his or her mouth. Not only does the dialog sound corny,  you can be sued.

If you do it right, you should have all the necessary facts to build the article on before going through the interview process -- the template for this is in the back of the book -- and you should be able to hedge your questions based on the direction of the story.

But here's the ones I love to ask:

1. Tell me more about how you went from a broke on the streets Vietnam Vet to owning this business with gross sales over 10 million.
2. What was the best business decision you made -- and leave the wife out of this.
3. Who is your hardest customer to work with -- and leave the wife out of this.
4. Who is your most important customer -- again, leave your wife out of this.
5. How do you treat your customers differently?
6. What's your proudest customer experience that you can remember?
7. What was the craziest promotion you used to get customers through the door?
8. What was the biggest mistake you made that you experienced and learned from? And don't use this interview as an example. 
9. What steps do you use to help your staff be more customer friendly?
10. What techniques do you use to keep the cost  of your products down?
11. What's the most exciting aspect of the business for you?
12. What's the most challenging?
13. I see you have a lot of trophies on your wall how important is sports in your life and your children's?
14. Ten years from now, when you look back. What business strategy would you start today that would would still be serving you well?
15. Do you use the internet to help you sell your products and services?
16. What social medium do you find most useful? Twitter, LinkedIn, Blogs, Facebook or something else?
17. What is your greatest challenge for this year? How are you addressing it?
18. Where do you see yourself 7 years from now?
19. Do you see your business as being the best location for your business today?
20. How does the population growth in your community effect your business?
21. Do you use on location radio advertising?
22. What do you think advertising does for your business?
23. How do you train your employees to be their best while working with your customers?
24. Do you sponsor any events or activities in your community?
25. What is the most important VIP that has walked through your door?
26. If something would happen to you, how would this business manage?
27. Do you treat your employees as family?
28. What kinds of incentive programs do you have for your employees?
29. Do you help them to get a higher education? 
30. Do you have an Employee of the Month board?
31. What point of purchase strategies are you using?
32. Explain why the layout of your merchandise is the way it is? 
33. What's the easiest part of your job?
34. What is the hardest part of your job?
35. How do you manage shelf life products?
36. What makes your business special?
37. Do you have a suggestion box?
38. Do you have Android Apps that notify the customer when there is a sale on something they use?
39. Do you have website how to  articles that help your customers use the products and services more effectively? 
40. Do you ever go on vacation?
41. Describe how you see yourself?
42. Have you thought about bring your business to your customers?
43. Do you help educate and inform the newer generation on the value and importance of your products and your services?
44. What's the largest purchase ever made at your business?
45. Do you have any "try me" corners?
46. Do you promote art, artists and photography?
47. Do you use contests to promote your business?
48. Are your products seasonal? If so, how do you deal with off season sales?
49. What other businesses do you support?
50. What does customer satisfaction mean to you?

I could keep on going and going. But here's the important thing to remember, the questions you need to ask are the questions which make the story flow from one point to the next.

Two things you have to remember and respect.  You're taking up his or her time to talk to you. And you need to ask questions that shouldn't take 20 minutes to for him or her to answer and explain why he or she answered that way.

Here's a small example of how I work a spunky personality:

When John Gun gets up in the morning, he does what every man on this planet does. Takes a shower, gets dressed, eats breakfast with his family, kisses Martha -- his wife and head off to work at his pet store. But when he's at his pet store and his customers come walking through the door, he becomes their local Buddy Hackett.

While a lady is looking at a Blue Burmese kitten, "Oh, I wouldn't buy that kitten?"

"Why not" asks the lady.

"Look at her! She's only got one life left!" and as he walks away, "Cute little fur ball."

Reflecting on his approach, he laughs, "I've sold more kittens this way than the local SPCA. That rhymed, you know.  Way,  SPCA?"

My best quotes happened either while I was a bystander or right after the interviewee thought the recorder was off.

Things like:
  
"If there is anything I can't stand its people calling us the 3rd CAB because it sounds like CAV and CAV we are not!", said the Sergeant Major.


And:

"If you really want to know what I think about own any small business venture today, what makes the business special is what's inside the box. Inside the four walls.  

"Not just the quality of the products or the services. 

"You could go to Amazon and get that.  

"Its the exchange between customers my sales force and met on the floor making the customer smile, treating them like human beings and making them feel special. 

"And not a number on a spreadsheet."

My English teacher said I have a way with words. I also have a way with people to get those words.

Time to move on.


   

















   

 

Promises, promises

Skimming through writing books looking for a prize?

Find anything out there that works for you?

Say you bought a few and thought that was what you were looking for only to realize the book's a bomb?

Are most of your inspirational writing collections collecting dust?

Here's what I think you are looking for. I know when I first got started it was exactly what I wanted.


I wanted a book that helped me understand a straight and direct way to communicate. I wanted patterns in writing techniques that my mind could work with to and use.

But of utmost importance, I needed to write non-fiction, prose and poetry.  I needed to be able to see how other writers communicated with their readers.

Sound familiar? It should. Because you are looking for the same thing right now.  Otherwise, you wouldn't be still here hoping and praying this the book you've been waiting.

A word of warning, unless you do what I do -- basically vanish from the face of the publications eye for a 22 year stretch --, expect to become a well known author. Just because you start off with only 1 article published the first year doesn't mean this line of work, it simply means you are good enough to get published, you just need to do it more often.

Read this book, do the assignments. Above all, have fun with this quirky world we call freelance writing.

So, who am I?

I'm not my daughter whom which I'm afraid, has inherited my natural talent. Not as dyslexic as me and full of vim and vinegar, she wrote her first Science Fiction novelette in October, November and December, asked me to read it and asked me if I knew anyone who would publish it.

Well, I read the first page, said to myself, this child of mine writes just like me.

After I got his e-mail, I told her to contact a friend of mine -- Shirrel Rhoades of Amazing books. She did on the 10th and  three days later it along with two more she hasn't written yet are under contract.

The first is being published in February.

As for me, I've worked for Shirrel Rhoades as a contributing editor for Opportunity and Income Plus, I've had nice, decent images published by Bruce Helford when he was the editor for the Bits and Pieces Section of Hustler Magazine.  He also became the producer of Anger Management and the Drew Carey Show.

I had my images stocked by Black Start Publishing and my images were published through the world.

2 images of mine are part of a 135 photographers collection Shirrel Rhoades donated to the Savannah College Of Arts and Design. The collection in which Shirrel Rhoades said where the top 135 who had significant impact of the history of photography.

5 of 7 fiction articles I wrote in one day, Were published in Street Chopper, Jamming, In the Wind and 2 in Iron Horse.

My Army writing career started with Rendezvous With Destiny:

And ended with Killer Copters: Our Deadly Middle East Weapon this in 1980:

In between 1975 and 1979 I was published in AARES, Army,  Army Aviation Digest,  Army Aviation Magazine,  Army Times, Clarksville Leaf Chronicle,  EurArmy,  Fort Campbell Courier, Front Line,  Lake Charles American Press, Pillars and Posts, Sierra Vista Herald, Soldiers Magazine and Stars and Stripes.

Short of Army Magazine, all have had more than one article published in each. As a collection, over 250 articles and 500 images went into print.

I was awarded 2 Army Accommodation medals -- was put in for 3 but the 3rd Infantry Division rejected the 3 because I had just gotten one. A Commander's Certificate.

I also received a personal letter of appreciation from the Commanding Officer of the 101st Airborne Division. Why? Because basically, I saved his butt.

Simple story.

I'm on REFORGER 78 taking pictures and writing stories off my duffle bag for A Troop, 2/17th Cavalry that was part of the Task Force 229th.  I had just gotten a story published in Stars and Stripes. It turned out that the official photographer assigned to the task force, broke his leg. And for the only time in my life I became an official US Army photographer.

Meaning, I took all of the images during the exercise. From the bottom of the first paragraph, start from This Year.

I've worked with Hilary Brown of ABC News and took images in Black and white that the color versions taken By David Allen Burnett were published in Time Magazine.  

By now, you're probably thinking that I had to be trained for this. That Public Affairs was my specialty.

Nope.

My Job title was 67Y20. AH-1G Cobra mechanic. All of my writing and my photography skills have been because I wanted this. And, because I had some of the most fantastic people helping me along the way.

Then I got out. Then I had to learn who to write what sold to civilian publications and to become my own editor --become my worst enemy.

Between 1980 and 1996 --when I went to work for Microsoft. I've been published in the following:


Commercial:

American Fitness
Army Times
Aviation USA
Better Homes And Gardens
Bicycling
Bow Hunter
Camperways
Camper Times
Gleanings In Bee Culture
Entrepreneur
First Hand
Income Opportunity Magazine
Income Plus 
Inter Coastal Waterway 
Lake Charles American Press
Lagniappe
Opportunity Magazine
Small Business Opportunity Magazine
Southern RV
Southern Boating
Western And Eastern Treasures

Men's Magazines:
Adam
Chic
Cheri
French Edition Of New Look
Gentleman's Companion
Hustler
Stag
Swank

Trade Publications:
American Salesman
Army/Navy Surplus
Bicycle Business Journal
Cigar Magazine
Gift Shop Magazine
Industrial Photography Magazine
Outdoor Power Equipment
Pet Dealer
Studio Photography Magazine
Unfinished Furniture