Gathering background information
Get to know who you are interviewing before you do so. Are they a typically shy person? If so you need to start off with yes and no questions that may not give you information, but will help them get warmed up. Are they an outgoing and talkative person? If so, great! You can ask vaguer questions because they will give you more information and be more talkative. You also have to make sure and know everything about the thing you are interviewing them about. During the interview, if they say terminology you are not familiar with, make sure and ask them to clarify the definition.
making questions
After looking up any background information you need, you should be able to make questions that direct the conversation in a way that you want. Before you write anything, you need to know the angle of the story and then create questions based on that. Also asks questions about general information to make sure that you are accurately reporting what happened. Going into an interview, you should have at least 10 questions prepared. No more than 3 should be yes or no questions or else after a while they will not give you information. Generally, the questions should be open ended. Always ask who/what/where/when/why/how to make sure you have enough information about the situation before getting into more detail and their personal opinions.
the interview
Give the interviewee an idea of what you are interviewing them about before you go for it just so the interviewee is somewhat prepared for your questions. When you are asking the questions keep eye contact and nod your head when the person is talking so the interviewee knows they have your attention fully. You want to make sure the interview is as smooth and like a conversation as possible so that they feel comfortable talking to you. NEVER do an interview without recording it! It works best to record the interview on your phone so that you have easy access to it later. At the beginning of the interview, have the interviewee state their name and that they give consent for the interview to be recorded. It is ok to not directly follow all of your interview questions. If you need to add some questions for clarifications or add more to get more information or make it feel like a conversation, do so! When you are done asking the questions, make sure that you get contact information for the person so that if you need to do a follow up interview to get more information you have a way to get it quickly.
post interview
After you are done asking all of your questions, make sure and thank the interviewee. After the interview, type it up along with the questions that you asked. Decide if you need a follow up interview, and do so if you need to. DO NOT delete the interview from your phone until the book has been published to ensure that if there are any problems with the quote or personal narrative, you can show them that they said the quote and they agreed to it.