Researching a Subject Before the Sit Down
Launch library · evergreen read
Arriving with a genuine understanding of a subject's background changes the entire tone of an interview. It allows questions to start from where the subject actually is, rather than covering ground they have already explained elsewhere, and it signals a respect that tends to be returned in kind. Questions built on that understanding rarely retread ground the subject has already covered elsewhere.
The research itself need not be exhaustive to be useful. A clear grasp of the major facts, the general shape of a subject's history, and any obvious areas of sensitivity is usually enough to ask better questions than an interviewer who walks in cold and hopes for the best. That respect is usually returned in kind, in the openness of the answers that follow.
The risk on the other side is arriving with conclusions already formed from research alone, treating the interview as a formality to confirm what was already assumed. Preparation should sharpen curiosity, not replace it with certainty before the subject has had a chance to speak. Curiosity should be sharpened by research, never quietly replaced by a conclusion reached before the subject has spoken.