by guest blogger Jennifer Miller
A great donor newsletter is filled with powerful stories that reveal the lives of real people. Too often, though, newsletters read like meeting notes from an advisory board luncheon.
Compelling stories that motivate donors don't just drop out of the sky. Landing an interview with someone who can talk about how they were helped is tough. Coaxing the right details from them is tougher still. You have to be part psychologist, part reporter, and always fully prepared.
Here are ten key tips for a better interview:
Do
- Do bring a list of open-ended questions so you don't get one-word answers.
- Do create a comfortable environment. You don't have to sit at a giant table. Try taking your interview outside. Sit on the ground if the interview involves kids. Make it feel natural -- like you're just chatting.
- Do make small talk first. It's a litmus test for determining their comfort level in even talking, much less revealing personal details.
- Do ask pointed questions to get answers that will add color and dimension to your article. It's not so much leading the witness as framing your story.
- Do keep the donor in mind. The story isn't just about how someone was helped -- but how someone was helped because of the donor. Without the donor, you wouldn't even be doing this interview in the first place.
Don't
- Don't immediately bring out your camera and tape recorder. You'll get to that later, once your subject is more comfortable.
- Don't have more people involved than needed. You and the subject are all that matters. The more people listening in, the more it becomes an uncomfortable group interview.
- Don't forget to take as many interesting photos as possible. Someone looking over their mountain of bills, or a child getting licked by their therapy dog -- these are much more compelling than a standard head shot.
- Don't overlook children. If you've gotten approval to talk to a child with their guardian present, ask questions kids will actually respond to. (Bad: Was it hard to go to school hungry? Good: If you could make it rain any food from the sky, what would it be?)
- Don't forget the donor. Put yourself in the donor's shoes, and ask the questions they would about how their gift made a difference.
Then, write the most inspiring story you can so the donor won't think twice about continuing to make that difference.
