Want Good Answers? — Ask the Right Questions

Many professionals working in international development cooperation engage in public relations activities to promote their projects and messages. One effective approach is to conduct video interviews with experts, decision-makers, and beneficiaries, which can be shared on their websites and social media channels.

To create a successful interview, it is important to ask the right questions strategically, rather than just focusing solely on the content. In this article, I will discuss how phrasing questions effectively can elicit informative and concise responses.

The Problem with Open Questions

When conducting public relations interviews, project staff often make the mistake of using open-ended questions, which can encourage interviewees to provide lengthy and potentially unproductive responses. While open questions can be useful for building rapport and uncovering interesting information, they can also make it difficult to keep the conversation focused and within the allotted time frame. Closed questions, on the other hand, can help control the flow of the interview and keep the interviewee on topic.

Balancing Closed and Open-Ended Questions

It is important for interviewers to strike a balance between closed and open-ended questions to gather necessary information while still keeping the conversation focused. To keep questions somewhat closed, interviewers can use “how” or “why” questions, ask for clarification or elaboration, offer multiple options, or use prompts like “tell me more” or “can you elaborate.” By doing so, they can encourage the interviewee to provide more information without necessarily asking an open-ended question.

Conclusion

To create an effective video interview, projects should clearly lay out their objectives and provide interviewers with the leeway to structure their questions effectively. By striking a balance between closed and open-ended questions, interviewers can gather necessary information while keeping the conversation focused and engaging. So, next time you conduct an interview, remember to ask the right questions to get the best answers or hire a professional who knows how to do it. But don’t micromanage them; give them leeway to do their job.