5 Essential Interviewing Tips for Yearbooks

Content is the lifeblood of any yearbook – features on clubs, spreads that highlight memorable games, and pages devoted to the prom and other big school events are all essential. Interspersing interviews with students, teachers, and faculty throughout your yearbook lends this content a vibrant and personal touch.

For the inexperienced, conducting an interview can be somewhat intimidating. Although they seem simple on the surface, it can be difficult to keep the conversation focused while remaining relaxed and natural. Does your yearbook staff need a hand with their interviews? Try giving them Entourage Yearbook’s top five interviewing tips for yearbooks!

1. Don’t ask “yes” or “no” questions.

Interviews are all about getting the interviewee’s perspective on the subject at hand. How did the experience make them feel? What will they remember most about a particular event? It is impossible to anticipate how someone might answer. If you give them room to provide their personal thoughts and feelings, you will most likely get much more unique and fresh interview. That kind of content will, in turn, give your yearbook much more character.

2. Relax!

Although interviews are “artificial” by nature, you can still have a relaxed and natural conversation. The interviewee will typically mirror the interviewer’s energy, which means that a relaxed atmosphere is essential to a good interview. Before conducting an interview, create a comfortable space free of distractions.

3. Keep the conversation going.

No, this does not mean that you simply move on to your next question. While not every answer from your interviewee will inspire follow-up questions, many will. Following these threads can lead to a much more interesting and dynamic interview that highlights the character of the interviewee while painting a better picture of the subject at hand.

4. Do your homework.

Before you even start your interview, you should have all the details you can about the interviewee. If they are organizing an event, you should likely already know what their role entails. If the event occurs annually, learn what you can about past events. This helps you avoid asking obvious questions while leading to more interesting lines of conversation. We hope these tips help you and your yearbook team with your interviews! To learn more about Entourage Yearbook’s services, call us at (888) 926-6571 or contact us online today!