How many questions should I actually write?
This is the question that reaches us most often, and the honest answer is fewer than you think. A forty-minute conversation rarely needs more than eight to twelve main questions. Writing thirty feels thorough, but it pushes you to rush through a list instead of listening to the person across the table.
In Module 2 we ask learners to draft a longer pool first, then cut it down. Anything that repeats another question, that can be answered with a single word, or that you would not be curious to hear answered gets removed. What remains is a short, confident set.
Think of the main questions as the spine of the session. Around them you leave room for the guest to wander, for a good tangent, for silence. A tight list is what makes that freedom possible, because you are not worried about what comes next.
- Aim for eight to twelve main questions per session
- Draft a long pool, then cut repeats and one-word prompts
- Keep a few spare questions in reserve, not on the main list
Should I send the questions to the guest in advance?
Most guests ask this themselves, and most creators hesitate. Our advice is to share the themes, not the exact wording. Telling a guest that you will cover their early career, one difficult project and what they would change gives them time to gather thoughts and examples without sounding rehearsed.
Sending a word-for-word script tends to produce word-for-word answers. The guest reads from memory, eye contact drops, and the conversation loses the small hesitations that make it feel real. Themes keep it prepared but alive.
There is one exception. If a subject specialist will need to look up a figure, a date or a name, tell them which question will need it. That small courtesy avoids an awkward pause on camera and shows respect for their time, which is a habit Module 1 covers in more detail.
How do I put the questions into a sensible order?
People often ask whether order really matters, since the edit can rearrange everything. It matters because the guest experiences the conversation in the order you ask. Opening with a heavy or technical question before they are comfortable tends to produce stiff, cautious answers that no edit fully repairs.
We teach a simple arc. Begin with something easy and personal that the guest can answer without effort. Move to the central subject and spend most of your time there. Then, in the final third, ask the more reflective or challenging questions, once trust has built up.
Finish on something forward-looking or generous, such as advice the guest would give a newcomer. It leaves them in a good frame of mind, which shows in the last minutes of footage and in how willing they are to be involved again.
- Open with an easy, personal question
- Spend the middle on the central subject
- Keep reflective questions for the final third
- Close with advice or a look ahead
What makes a question open rather than closed?
Learners usually grasp the idea of open questions quickly but still slip into closed ones under pressure. A closed question invites yes or no. Asking whether a project was difficult gets you one word. Asking what made it difficult, and what the guest did about it, gets you a story.
A practical test is to read the question aloud and imagine the shortest possible reply. If that reply is a single word, rewrite the question. Starting with how, what or tell me about usually fixes it.
Open does not mean vague, though. A question such as tell me about your work is too wide, and guests freeze. Narrow it to a moment, a decision or a specific example. Good open questions are focused on one thing but leave the guest free to decide how to answer.
How do I prepare follow-ups for a subject specialist?
Specialists bring a particular challenge. They know their field so well that they skip steps, use shorthand and assume the audience follows. Your preparation should include a handful of follow-ups whose job is to slow things down and translate.
Before the session, read around the topic and note two or three terms a general viewer might not know. Prepare plain prompts such as what does that mean in practice, or can you give an example someone could picture. These are not signs of ignorance; they are how you speak for your audience.
Also prepare a follow-up for the moment an answer is interesting but incomplete. Asking what happened next or why that mattered keeps the guest going without you steering them. In Module 2 learners write these alongside their main questions, so they are ready when the moment arrives.
- Note unfamiliar terms from your background reading
- Prepare plain prompts that ask for an everyday example
- Keep why and what next ready for incomplete answers
What if the guest goes off my list entirely?
It happens in nearly every session, and it is usually a good sign. A guest who moves into a topic you did not plan is often more engaged than one who answers neatly. The list is a safety net, not a track you must stay on.
Follow the tangent for a short while and decide whether it serves the interview. If it does, let it run and adjust the order afterwards. If it drifts too far, bring the guest back gently with something like that is useful, and I would like to return to what you said about the early years.
Afterwards, mark which questions went unasked. Some will no longer matter. Others may be worth a short pick-up recording or a written follow-up, which is a perfectly ordinary part of producing an interview.
Good question preparation is mostly restraint: a short list, an honest arc, open wording and a few follow-ups ready for when the conversation needs them. None of it requires special equipment or experience, only time spent thinking about the guest before the camera starts. Learners in Module 2 receive written feedback on their own drafts, which is often the quickest way to see where a list can be shorter, clearer or kinder to the person answering.