All writers, whether nonfiction or fiction, need to research their subject. Although online research is valuable, the best research is done by interviewing people.

Yet the thought of conducting an interview makes many writers shake like a leaf in a hurricane. As a word of encouragement, 99.9 percent of the people I've interviewed have been cooperative, so don't let the thought of talking to strangers intimidate you.

Most of these tips apply whether you are meeting the source in person or interviewing him or her on the phone. Many of the tips also apply to email interviews.

Know how to get potential sources to cooperate

The method I've found most effective is to simply tell the source, "I think you can help me." Most people want to help others, and potential sources appreciate that they might be able to help you.

Learn all you can about your topic in advance

Avoid asking questions you could have discovered through research. If your novel is set during World War II and your source is an expert, don’t ask when the war took place. If you don’t already know then 10 seconds of research will tell you. You only want to ask your source questions you can’t get the answers to anywhere else.

Dress appropriately

There's a simple rule to ensure you'll always be dressed appropriately, but not ostentatiously. Dress up one level. What this means is that you should dress just a little nicer than you expect your source to be dressed. Dressing a little better than your source will give you respect without intimidating him or her.

Be on time

Remember the source is doing you a favor. Respect his time.

Look for detailed information

If you’re interviewing a WW II vet about D-Day, go beyond asking him what ship he was on. What did the veteran say to his loved ones when writing what might have been his last letter home? Who was his best friend on his ship? What happened to the friend? What did he hear as he hit the beach?

Use the six journalistic questions

A good place to start developing questions is the six journalistic questions—who, what, when, where, why, and how. Using those as a starting point you’ll develop a list of questions to base your interview on. You don’t necessarily need a comprehensive list of questions, because as your source answers one question, his or her answer often leads logically to another question. Suppose you ask your WW II vet what it was like to jump into the water from his ship. He tells you “I fell face forward and thought I was going to drown.” Then of course obvious follow-up questions will spring to your mind. "What happened then?” “How did you save yourself?”

Ask open-ended questions

Avoid asking simple yes or no questions, or any questions that could be answered with a word or two. Instead, ask open-ended questions. Use words such as explain or describe to get deeper answers.

Ask objective questions

It’s not wise to ask our WW II vet, “You were afraid, weren’t you?” Instead, ask “Tell me how much fear you had.”

If you found these tips valuable look for Interviewing tips, part 2.