Prep questions for interviewees

We’ve been getting a few requests from upcoming interviewees for the questions I’ll ask when they’re on Mixergy.

I don’t script out my questions so I can’t send them ahead of time, but I understand the need for some guidance on what it’ll be about. So here are the two interview formats I use and how to rock each of them.

Before you read them, understand that they’re just guidelines. An interview is a conversation and there’s no way to script that.

Format #1: Business Biography

I use format for founders of successful companies. If this is you, my goal for our interview will be to understand how you built your company.

Outline I use:

1. Describe how big your success was

(I love to use numbers and stories.)

2. Where the idea came from

3. What you did before this business

4. What your first product looked like

5. How you got your first customers

6. Discuss your big challenges

7. Highlight milestones along the way

8. If you’re working on a new company now, we’ll talk about that at this point in the interview.

9. Advice. I often end by asking for advice, based on your experiences

How to rock this type of interview:

– Go light on advice and heavy on examples. Think about your favorite autobiography. Isn’t it full of great stories? That’s what this type of interview is about.

– Be introspective. Listeners want to hear why you did what you did. They want to hear why you think some things worked and why they didn’t

Format #2: How-To

I use this format for authors of business books and for anyone who’s teaching. If this is you, my goal for our interview will be to ensure my audience can remember and use what you’re teaching

Outline I use:

1. I’ll start with an example of what can be done by someone who uses your ideas.
(I love to feature a specific case, not a generic one.)

2. I’ll ask you for a specific tactic you want my audience to use

3. I’ll ask you for an example of that tactic in action

4. I’ll repeat steps 2 & 3 over and over and over

How to rock this type of interview:

– Have specific examples. If you just give advice for an hour, no one will remember it or care. But if you support each piece of advice with a specific example, then it’ll make your interview more engaging and it’ll illustrate how your ideas can be used and the results my audience can expect.