Plan an Informational Interview with Specific, Open Questions

Set the viewer's question before booking

Choose what the viewer should learn, such as how a small workshop organiser prepares materials for first-time attendees. Identify why this guest has relevant experience and avoid presenting them as an expert outside what they can support. Write a short invitation explaining the topic, intended format, approximate duration and planned distribution. Discuss whether clips, a transcript or promotional extracts are also planned. A guest can make a more informed decision when the project is described honestly instead of discovering the use after a casual chat has been recorded.

Build a process map rather than a biography

Outline the process you want to understand: receiving the event brief, estimating materials, checking accessibility needs, preparing instructions and reviewing the event afterward. Then write one open question for each stage. Example: what information do you need before ordering materials? This invites an explanation with practical detail. A short background question can establish context, but do not let the entire interview become a chronological life story unless that is the actual subject. The process map gives you a route back when the conversation wanders.

Ask for examples and decisions

Follow a general answer with a concrete prompt: can you describe a time when the materials list changed, and how did you decide what to remove? Ask what the guest noticed, what alternatives they considered and what happened next. Avoid feeding them a flattering conclusion such as so your system always prevents mistakes. An interview is more useful when it contains uncertainty and trade-offs. If the example involves private participants, invite the guest to anonymise details or choose a different case rather than exposing people who did not agree to appear.

Prepare clarification prompts

Keep a small list beside the main questions: what do you mean by that term, what happened first, who made that decision and what would a beginner need to know? These are more useful than repeatedly asking how did that make you feel when the viewer needs a practical sequence. Let the guest finish before choosing the follow-up. If an answer contains a factual claim you cannot verify during the call, mark it for checking rather than interrupting with a guessed correction or leaving it unexamined in the final edit.

Record with consent and a usable production plan

Agree the recording arrangement and intended use before starting. Check audio with a short sample and ask the guest to identify any names or terms that captions may misrecognise. Explain how corrections to factual details will be handled, without promising editorial arrangements you cannot provide. Give the guest a chance to pause if private information arises. Plan captions and any visual description needs alongside the interview, following the general accessibility approach in W3C's media planning guidance. Good sound and clear context are more useful than unnecessary camera movement.

Edit for clarity while preserving meaning

Select answers that address the viewer's question and keep the context needed to understand them. Do not join separate sentences to manufacture a stronger endorsement or a position the guest did not take. Verify spelling, role descriptions and factual claims, then prepare captions from the actual edit. If a commercial relationship is relevant, handle disclosure appropriately and check current platform requirements. Save an interview log with timestamps, topic and verification notes. The finished piece should communicate the guest's actual explanation, including meaningful limits, rather than merely extract the most dramatic sentence.

Your working checklist

Checkmarks stay in this browser when storage is available. They do not submit a form or complete a booking.

• Viewer question and invitation note
• Process map with open questions
• Clarification prompts
• Recording consent and timestamp notes

Put it into practice

1. Write the viewer's learning goal and explain the planned recording and distribution to the guest. Confirm their relevant role without exaggerating their expertise.
2. Create a process-based question sequence with specific example prompts. Prepare neutral clarification questions and identify topics that may involve private information or later fact-checking.
3. Confirm consent and record a sound test before the interview. Listen for decisions, sequence and concrete examples, and mark factual claims that need verification.
4. Edit the answers without changing their meaning. Check names, context, caption accuracy and any necessary commercial disclosures before publishing the interview and related extracts.

Common questions