How to Conduct Great Interviews for Nonprofit Storytelling

For nonprofit organizations, some of the best storytelling involves the people impacted by your mission. Strong nonprofit storytelling interviews help bring those experiences to life. Whether the content is for print, a podcast, or a video, how you conduct the interview matters. You need to ask the right questions. As a former broadcast journalist, I interviewed anywhere from one to six people each working day for years. When I shifted to video production, I still found myself interviewing people and refining the skill. Here’s what I’ve learned so far about how to conduct a great interview.

First, know what you’re interviewing the person about and why. Think about the interview ahead of time and ask yourself:

• What’s the goal of this interview?

• What information am I hoping to get from this interview?

• What can this person speak about?

• What information do I need to include in the final product, whether it’s a written story, a podcast, or a video?

Once you have the answers to those questions, write down your questions for the interview. Give yourself a roadmap! Important tip: don’t give the subject the questions ahead of time. You don’t want their answers to feel rehearsed, or show up with written responses that they want to read from a sheet of paper. You can inform them of the topics you’ll be covering. 

Before the interview starts, ask the subject to use your question in their answer. For example, if you ask, “how long have you volunteered with this organization?”, you’d want them to respond with, “I’ve volunteered with this organization for five years.”  You wouldn’t want them to just say “five years” because your audience wouldn’t know what they’re talking about. 

During the interview, start with some “easy” questions to get the person comfortable talking. Ask them to introduce themselves and tell you a bit about themselves. 

Allison interviews for a Legacy Film.

This seems obvious, but always ask open-ended questions. If a question can be answered with a simple yes or no, you aren’t going to get very good answers. 

Conduct the interview conversationally and be sure to actually listen. If the subject says something you want to know more about, ask. Let things flow naturally. You don’t need to just stick to the questions you wrote down. When there’s a pause in the conversation, I like to check my questions to see what we’ve covered so far. 

Depending on the topic, things can get emotional. If your subject starts to tear up or needs a second, that’s okay. Give them that space but do not say anything. Let the emotions show. If they’re still struggling, ask them what’s coming up for them right now. These make for really powerful moments. 

Always end the interview with “anything else you’d like to talk about or say?” Sometimes the best soundbites come from this question! It also gives the subject the chance to take control and speak freely.

Overall, lean into curiosity during an interview. Ask your questions, listen, ask follow-up questions, and let your subject share their story. If you follow these nonprofit storytelling interview tips, you’ll have great interviews and even better stories to share!