Here's what I've learned about the craft.
Good interviews don't accept surface-level answers
Terrible interviews stay on the surface. "What's your morning routine?" "What's on your home screen?" These aren't interesting questions because they offer no chance for interesting answers.
Ask why and how questions, not what questions.
Instead of "What's your morning routine?" ask "How do you prioritize your time?" Instead of "What's your favorite app?" ask "How do you identify high quality software?"
And always follow up with why. This forces introspection and reveals insights that surface-level questions never touch.
Identify internal themes and inconsistencies
Great interviewers actively listen for patterns. Did the guest mention "confidence" three times in three questions? Point it out. Did they contradict themselves? Pull them back.
When this happens, the guest learns something about themselves in real-time. That's when interviews become valuable for everyone involved.
Be comfortable sounding dumb
The worst interviewers can't ask a question without adding preface or opinion. They're afraid of appearing dumb in front of their guest and audience.
This is ridiculous. The whole point of interviewing someone is because they know something you don't. Check your ego at the door.
Don't rescue your guests
This is the hardest skill. An interviewer asks a hard question. The guest pauses. One second, two seconds, three seconds...
Bad interviewers jump in. They re-ask, pivot, or provide their own mini-answer to "help."
Good interviewers are comfortable with silence. Silence is one of the greatest interview tools. A nod, some patience, and space to think produces better answers than interruption ever will.
Identify non-answers
From the inside, it's hard to catch when a guest evades. From the outside, it's obvious: they never answered the question!
Good interviewers aren't just adding minutes to runtime. They're looking for truth. When a guest evades, pull them back—reword the question or attack from a different angle.
Ask short, direct questions
Most interviewers let questions run on. By the end of their breath, they've asked three questions at once. The guest chooses one, the others are forgotten, and everyone loses.
Keep questions short. Keep them direct. One at a time.
Interviewing is mentally taxing. You're balancing so many things: What question was asked? Is the answer clear? Are there follow-ups? Is this valuable for the audience?
Try juggling all of that while looking like a normal human. It's hard. But like everything else, it gets better with practice.