How to Interview a Famous Historical Person

Don't forget your tape recorder.

Interviewing a famous person can be much different -- and much more difficult -- than your average interview. Historical famous people may be less than willing to give detailed information during the interview. However, if you come prepared and interested and allow them to speak fully, you'll leave the meeting with a lot of great facts. As long as you remember to act naturally, your interviewee should feel comfortable enough to give you what you're looking for.

Things You'll Need

• Tape recorder

Instructions

1. Ask a few general questions to begin with. This is the time in the interview when you're making your subject feel comfortable, so don't alienate him by asking difficult or painful questions. Highlight his greatest accomplishments and ask his opinion on it. Discuss his latest projects. He's likely used to talking about these subjects and has spent plenty of time pondering them, so this will take him into his comfort zone.

2. Ask questions that the general population will be most interested in. While you might not be all that interested in this celebrity's personal life, your readers probably will.

3. Let her talk. If something has piqued her interest, go with it. Let her speak on a topic as long as she sees fit and ask her follow-up questions. You'll coax her into a state of comfort and you never know what subjects might come up.

4. Write down questions ahead of time. If you feel the interview stalling, you can glance down at your notes and ask a question that might have slipped your mind. You don't have to follow a script, but having questions laid out before you will help direct the conversation. As soon as your subject begins speaking, formulate a follow-up question. Your biggest enemy is silence, so having questions ready to go will keep the conversation flowing.

5. Double-check your tape recorder. A recording device is absolutely necessary for interviews since they provide direct quotations and can help you to remember small details. A writer's worst nightmare is realizing you forgot to press "record" so always check before you begin the interview.

References

• The Times: Top twenty tips when interviewing the famous