The Interviewer’s Field Guide
- Kevin Huffman
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
Anyone who thinks interviewing is simply “asking questions” has never sat in a stranger’s living room with three cameras pointed at their face while they try to tell the hardest story of their life.
Interviewing isn’t a conversation, and it isn’t an interrogation—it’s a strange, delicate, improvisational dance where the stakes are emotional, ethical, and sometimes existential.
After years of doing this work in living rooms, prisons, back rooms, and borrowed rooms, here are the strange but true rules I’ve learned. They’re not universal, but they’re real. And they’re useful. And they’re yours.
THIS IS ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW. not really, but it's a start
First, it’s not a conversation.
It’s not an interrogation, either.
The interviewees are not a “subject.”
This is not a story to them.
You are not their friend.
It’s not a set. This is their house or office. OK, maybe it’s an Airbnb, but still—don’t treat it as a set.
You don’t read questions.
You can interrupt.
Hug the camera.
Head room is annoying. Look room is nice.
You should adopt a persona.
You can cry, too.
You can ask leading questions.
You should read their book.
The crew is part of the deal—they should be listening and contributing, but don’t turn around and look at them too often, because they will be on their phone and will get embarrassed and defensive.
This could be the only chance you ever get with the interviewee.
This might not be the only chance.
Never read your questions.
It’s good to challenge people.
When you get good, you can challenge people mid-sentence.
You are taking a piece of their soul.
You really do have to leave the place cleaner than it was before.
You have to love them, even if you hate them.
You leave with a responsibility on your shoulders to get it right—not just in the edit.
Shut up sometimes.
You don’t have to buy their bullshit.
Cut only when you say to cut.
It’s your interview—don’t let them take it over.
Stand up sometimes.
Get off the sticks.
Always be interviewing.
After you steal their soul, it’s nice to be nice.
The vibe is everything.
Take your shoes off in their house.
Never talk story with the interviewee before the camera is rolling.
They may not have told this story to their closest friends or family, and they’re telling it to you because you asked—and that’s really nice but heavy on the heart sometimes.
Sometimes you must tell them what to say. It’s OK.
Pronouns—Who are we talking about here?—are important but annoying if you constantly have to stop people to remind them who they’re talking about because you’re worried it won’t fit together in the edit. So lighten the fuck up and move on.
The worst people are the ones who think they know what you’re going to do with the interview—the “media-savvy” ones.
Most of the time you don’t need to get it perfectly said.
Don’t be that person who is smarmy and arrogant and who is “the producer or director.”
They may be impressed by your other projects, but don’t talk too much about that.
No tech talk during the interview, please.
It’s nice when they don’t realize you’re already rolling.
When you’re interviewing a celebrity, they’re going to stay in the box and not give you much—which is fair—and sometimes that’s all you’re going to get. But if they do wander outside the box, be there and be cool about it.
If you’re interviewing a general or someone from the State Department, they often know where the flag in the background is supposed to go.
When it’s a big interview with multiple cameras and lights and makeup and monitors, it’s hard to bring the temperature down and focus. It’s good to go outside and get some air before the action. Then get in there and go to war.
Do your best to keep the publicist out of the room.
Same with lawyers—but they will always insist on being there.
It’s OK to bail out if it’s totally hopeless.
If someone is being forced on you, you may be tempted to forget to roll.
This is often a chance for them to talk about the worst day of their life.
You are kind of a trauma therapist.
Sometimes they thank you afterward.
You have to instinctively know when to wrap it up.
It’s hard to block out the noise and stay in that tunnel with the interviewee.
They know when you’re faking it.
Use the word “what” in every question—it gives them a chance to paint a picture.
Ask them to paint a picture for you.
Go ahead and ask the stupid question.
Try not to laugh at first when they say something funny because it may ruin the moment in the edit, but sometimes it’s better not to think about all of that. It’s confusing.
“Listen closely” is a cliché, but it’s true.
Silence is great, and yes—the interviewee may fill in the gaps with something profound.
Let them tell their useless anecdote once or twice, but then cut them off.
You can be curious.
If they tell you some things are off-limits, it may not be off-limits.
You should have a little bell inside your head that goes off when you have it.
You can also have a little machine in your head that clicks when the stories from this interview mesh with stories from another interview.
You are always telling the whole story. You are always telling the story.
You might be surprised that you know more about the story than the actual person who lived the story.
It’s better to talk to old people in the morning.
Some people are just naturally good.
They are really looking at your face for signs that you are full of shit.
No matter how you do it, you have to be the bad cop sometimes.
If the dog is happier in the room, keep the dog in the room.
Don’t leave your list of questions lying around.
Sometimes they are secretly recording you recording them.
Most people will beg you for a copy—and I didn’t tell you this, but occasionally, with good judgment, you can give them a copy. But don’t do it until you’ve been in the business for 10 years.
When they’re going to cry, shut up—and don’t secretly be glad you made someone cry, because you just made someone cry.
Your editor will complain that you didn’t ask this question or that question, but be comforted knowing they always complain, and most have never been on a shoot and really should do it sometime because they are hermits.
You will be so excited about the interview, but chances are the crew will not be. And while you’re blathering about how well it went, they will be waiting for you to shut up so they can line up their next gig.
If you generally suck at talking with people, you will probably suck at being an interviewer.
Closing Thought
Interviewing is not about control. It’s not about showing how smart you are. It’s about walking into someone’s life—sometimes the darkest corner of it—with humility, presence, and enough craft to honor what they give you. These rules won’t make you perfect, but they’ll make you better. And in this line of work, better is everything.
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