The Art Of The Celebrity Interview: Eight Key Tips To Keep It Tight

Forbes writer Jim Clash interviews racing legend Mario Andretti, New York, New York.

Courtesy of Jim Clash

As a journalist, I interview people on a regular basis. That's my job. Many are high profile and from different walks of life - explorers, actors, athletes, authors, businessmen, scientists. Over my three decades of conducting these, I've learned a thing or two about what and what not to do. Below are a few basic principles that apply to most all interviewees, especially celebrities. There are subsets of these, but the eight below are a good start.

(1) Do your research beforehand, both about the source and his or her area of expertise. But don't do too much. You certainly don't want to ask a naive question, the answer to which you should have known from the source's biography. But, at the same time, you don't want to know too much, push the conversation into trivia that nobody understands or cares about. What you want is a smart question broad enough that the answer will interest and enlighten your audience, but one that is not too much inside baseball.

(2) In the beginning of an interview, use a humble, folksy tone. Convince the source that you are a regular person, not some self-important reporter. Also, if it's say, a Sen. John Glenn or Sir Edmund Hillary or Neil Armstrong, give the icon due respect. He deserves it.

(3) Never talk about yourself. I know when I first started, I'd try to impress sources with something cool I'd done in their area of expertise. Bad idea. So what if I flew in the back of a fighter jet? My guest has been to the Moon. Further, when you butt in with your own exploits, you disrupt the flow of conversation. More importantly, you waste precious time. If it's a high-profile guest, he's busy. And the higher the profile, the busier he is. Remember, the interview isn't about you, it's about the source.

(4) If you ask a question, and the source doesn't seem to be answering your question but a different one, let him continue to talk if what he's saying is interesting. That happened with the late physicist Dr. Edward Teller. You can always make up a question later that fits his answer. Further on in the interview, then, circle back and see if you can get a better-matching answer to your original question.

(5) Have a specific order of importance to your written-out questions, but don't be too rigid about that order. If the answer to No. 2 is a natural lead into No. 7, switch the order. Be flexible. Also, prepare more questions than you think you'll need. Some sources answer in a few words or sentences. You can run out of questions earlier than anticipated, then be scrambling to make more up on the fly. That happened recently with Mike Tyson. Luckily, I know a lot about boxing.

(6) If you are a fan or are in awe of a particular guest, try to remain calm and professional. Don't gush. Sometimes to break the ice, I will even tell a source flat out that I'm a fan. I did that with CCR rocker John Fogerty. Most will laugh, as did John, and that helps put you both at ease.

(7) Humor goes a long way. When I interviewed another rock icon, Art Garfunkel, halfway through our chat I called him "Paul" out of nervousness. I tried to keep talking as if nothing had happened, but he stopped me: "Jim, I heard that." I apologized profusely, of course. He just laughed and said, "Don't worry, it happens all of the time."

(8) If you have a tough question, save it for the end. If it's asked too far up front, it may alienate the source and he will become guarded, maybe even shut down.