How to Conduct an Interview: A Reporter's Step-by-Step Guide

Dana got 40 minutes with the city's housing director. She asked all 14 questions on her list, in order. Back at her desk, the recording held a polite man saying nothing quotable. The one moment he hesitated ("well, the timeline is a separate matter") she had stepped over to reach question nine. (Dana is a composite, not a real reporter.)

Most reporters have had that afternoon. The list was fine. The interview wasn't, because a list of questions isn't an interview.

This guide shows you how to conduct an interview as a reporter: prepare, build questions that get stories, set ground rules, follow up, use silence, ask the hard question and close well. It ends with a run sheet you can copy into your notebook.

Want to keep your eyes on the source instead of your pen? Try ParrotNotes free and record your next interview, with consent, on the phone you already carry.

Running a job interview instead? Our interview notes template for hiring managers is the better page.

How to conduct an interview in eight steps

1. Research the person and what's already on the record.
2. Write a one-page plan with the hard question worded out.
3. Build a question ladder from easy and open to specific and hard.
4. Set the ground rules and get consent before you record.
5. Listen for the follow-up instead of reading the next question.
6. Use silence. Count to five before you speak.
7. Ask the hard question fairly, with time left to answer.
8. Close and check names, numbers and quotes.

Before the interview: research and a one-page plan

Good interviews are won at your desk. Read earlier stories, public records, speeches and filings. Look for what's already on the record, so you don't spend minutes on it, and for what's missing or contradictory, because that's where your story lives.

Then write a one-page plan, not a script:

• The story in one sentence. "The rental-assistance fund ran out in June and nobody told applicants."
• The three things you must leave with. A date, an explanation, a reaction.
• The hard question, written out word for word. You'll ask it better if you've already found the words.
• Names and numbers to confirm. Title, spelling, the figure in last year's budget.

The SPJ Code of Ethics tells journalists to "use original sources whenever possible". The interview is often that source.

Write questions that get stories, not yes or no

A question that can be answered "yes" usually will be. Open questions start with how, why, what happened, walk me through, and tell me about. Use closed questions only to pin down a fact you already suspect.

Order matters as much as wording. This question ladder works for most news and feature interviews:

Write eight to twelve questions, not twenty. The best ones will come from their answers.

Set the ground rules: on the record, background, off the record

Sources and reporters often mean different things by these terms, so settle them out loud. The Associated Press's News Values and Principles (Anonymous Sources section) defines them this way:

AP also says reporters "should proceed with interviews on the assumption they are on the record," that conditions "should be negotiated at the start of the interview," and that at the end, the reporter "should try once again to move onto the record" what was said on background. Where your newsroom's definitions differ, follow your newsroom.

Anonymity should be rare. The SPJ Code says to reserve it "as a last resort for sources with information of substantial public interest who may face danger, retribution or other harm," and to "consider motives before agreeing not to identify a source."

A ground-rules script you can use:

"Before we start: this interview is on the record, which means I can quote you by name. If you want to say something on background or off the record, tell me before you say it, and we'll agree on what that means. I'd also like to record so I quote you accurately. Is that okay?"

Get consent before you press record, and keep the "yes" on the recording. Recording laws differ by state and country; our guide to one-party and all-party consent states explains the US basics, and how to record an interview on your phone covers setup and the on-tape consent line.

Recording frees you to look at the person instead of your notebook. With ParrotNotes, the transcript and summary are ready soon after you stop.

During the interview: listen, follow up, use silence

Now put the plan down and listen. The most useful question is often the one you didn't write, and it only appears if you're listening to the answer instead of reading the list.

Listen for signals: a hedge ("sort of"), a change of subject, a number without a source, a name dropped once, an emotional word. Each one is a door. Open it before you move on.

A follow-up phrase bank

Use silence on purpose

When an answer ends, wait. Count to five in your head before you speak. People dislike a gap in conversation, and many fill it with the part they were holding back. Keep your own questions short, too: ask, then stop.

Take light notes even when you record

Write margin marks, not sentences: a star where a strong quote lands, a question mark for a fact to check, "OTR" if they go off the record. Our post on the reporter notebook vs voice notes shows how to run both.

Ask the hard question

Every accountability interview has a question the source doesn't want. Ask it. The SPJ Code says reporters should, "without exception, diligently provide fair opportunity for subjects of news coverage to respond to criticism or allegations of wrongdoing." That's the hard question's job: it's the source's chance to answer before you publish.

How to ask it well:

• Ask it in the second half, with time left for an answer and a follow-up.
• Use the words from your plan. Neutral, specific, no adjectives.
• Attribute the criticism. "Three applicants told me..." is fairer and harder to dodge than "Isn't it true that...".
• Ask, then go quiet. If they dodge, rephrase once. A second dodge is your answer, and you can report it.

Marcus had a 30-minute call with a school-district spokesperson about late bus routes. He saved the hard question for minute 28, and the call ended with a promise to "follow up by email." The email never answered it. On his next story he asked at minute 15 and got a full answer, plus a follow-up. (Marcus is a composite.)

Be gentler, not softer, with people who aren't used to the press. SPJ asks reporters to use "heightened sensitivity" with crime victims, juveniles, and sources who are "inexperienced or unable to give consent."

Close the interview and check quotes

How you end the interview decides how much of it you can use.

1. Ask the closer. "What should I have asked that I didn't?" and "Who else should I talk to?"
2. Return to anything on background and, as AP advises, try to move it on the record.
3. Confirm the facts. Spell their name back; confirm title and every number.
4. Ask how to reach them for follow-ups.
5. Thank them. Don't promise quote approval unless your newsroom allows it.

Within the hour, mark the three strongest quotes, list the facts still to verify, and back up the recording. Then check every quote word for word against the audio: see how to quote an interview for what you can change, and how to transcribe an interview for turning the tape into text.

Priya interviewed a fishing-boat captain in Spanish for an English-language story. She recorded with ParrotNotes, read the transcript translated into English, and checked each quote against the original audio before filing. (Priya is a composite.) ParrotNotes Pro covers 99+ languages with translation and speaker ID, and AI search finds a line across all your notes.

A 45-minute interview run sheet

Copy this into the inside cover of your notebook:

Short on time? Shrink each block, but never cut the hard question or the closer.

Conduct the interview, let the phone keep the record

Knowing how to conduct an interview comes down to a few habits: plan instead of script, climb the question ladder, settle the ground rules first, follow the answer rather than the list, and close on purpose. Pick one, maybe the five-second silence or the closer question, and use it in every interview this month.

Keep your eyes on the source, not your notebook. Download ParrotNotes free and record your next interview on your phone. Free includes 100 minutes a month with an AI summary on every recording.