Talk to Me: How to Ask Better Questions, Get Better Answers, and Interview Anyone Like a Pro

by Dean Nelson

“Dean Nelson is one of the best interviewers around.” —Anne Lamott

From respected journalist, professor, and founder of the Writer's Symposium by the Sea, an indispensable guide to the subtle art of the interview guaranteed to afford readers with the skills and confidence they need the next time they say, "talk to me."

Interviewing is the single most important way journalists (and doctors, lawyers, social workers, teachers, human resources staff, and, really, all of us) get information. Yet to many, the perfect interview feels more like luck than skill—a rare confluence of rapport, topic, and timing. But the thing is, great interviews aren’t the result of serendipity and intuition, but rather the result of careful planning and good journalistic habits. And Dean Nelson is here to show you how to nail the perfect interview every time. 

Drawing on forty-years of award-winning journalism and his experience as the founder and host of the Writer’s Symposium by the Sea, Nelson walks readers through each step of the journey from deciding whom to interview and structuring questions, to the nitty gritty of how to use a recording device and effective note-taking strategies, to the ethical dilemmas of interviewing people you love (and loathe). He also includes case studies of famous interviews to show readers how these principles play out in real time.

Chock full of comprehensive, time-tested, gold-standard advice, Talk to Me is a book that demystifies the art and science of interviewing, in the vein of On Writing Well or How to Read Literature Like a Professor.

Genres: Nonfiction, Writing, Journalism, Communication, Audiobook, Self Help, Leadership

386 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 19, 2019

Reviews

[Happy Skywalker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly, I read this book because it was available from the library. I had no special interest in interview skills. But it was so compelling! It made me want to interview people. Almost just for the sake of interviewing them, to get stories and perspectives and maybe even information the public should have access to.

This author has a wealth of illustrative stories, many of which are hilarious or fascinating. The farther I got into this book the more I felt like I need to change my life and become an investigative journalist! It seems absurd. And yet I think it's pretty likely I'm going to find myself someone to interview and write a story on. Just because of the challenge of doing it well.

The book covers skills, styles, challenges, ethics, landmark interviews, and more. It stays interesting the whole way through.

[Molly Stillman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very well written book but I do feel like the subject matter was a little misleading based on the title… I would say that 95% of the book is really geared towards journalists and reporters. While some of the information can be applied if you are a Podcaster or just someone looking to improve your interview skills, I felt like the book missed the mark on that.

[Vesa · Rating 4 out of 5]

“When the interviews are done well, they have the potential for a human connection that goes past the level of merely gathering information. They become an experience where you are fully present with that other person, and she is fully present with you, and you have a sense of everything aligning just so that this interchange can take place… It seems we all live for moments of shared humanity. Interviews can provide those moments.”

The magic of interviews, as the author Dean Nelson presents it, seems as it shouldn’t be reserved for the official format of the interview only. These informative and insightful encounters happen all the time between people (non-reporters), we’re just not aware of our role in them. Follow-up questions, attentive listening, respecting the accuracy and privacy of the other, besides being touchstones for people who want to conduct good interviews, are also elements that people of all kinds of professions use in their everyday conversations. Consequently, the content of this book can be considered an enjoyable non-fiction read just as much as it is a journalism textbook.

Moreover, the stories and the interview transcripts that the author uses from his own career as a professional in journalism clearly illustrate the points made in each chapter, providing the feeling of actually experiencing the interviewing process. At times though, the same advice is repeated way too often. Fine! I get it that the interview isn’t about me! (Nelson says the interview is never about the reporter or how they feel about the story.) But can we move on to the next page already?! He suggests that the interviewer should remain impartial about what the source narrates during their encounter so that the audience is given the space to create their own opinion on the story. Similarly, I think that stating the advice once in the introduction and restating it in the conclusion is more than enough for the reader who is interested in receiving that advice.

[William Faulkner · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic read for anyone who deals with other humans at work. (Most everyone) Armed with case studies and interview critiques, Dan lays out best practices and watch-outs for interviewing. I picked this up to learn more about how to effectively run user interviews for UX design. It is full of actionable takeaways.

[Erin McIntosh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative and engaging, Nelson shares wisdom from his years of experience as a journalist. For someone not in the field, I found it especially enlightening. And while I may never find myself interviewing someone for a news story, I can relate to the idea that by listening to others, we bear witness to their life, their story. We validate their humanity.

Talk to Me is sprinkled with profound truths and laugh-out-loud wit. Already, I have found myself taking Nelson's suggestions into my own life. Ideas such as to get better answers, we must ask better questions. And, the value of preparation and doing one's homework.

I highly recommend!

[Timmy Bloom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book for those wanting better understanding. Something I appreciate is his focus on the ego in conducting a well crafted interview. I also enjoyed his push to ask hard questions and how one should think hard about the fruits of such questions before asking them. Will this question create chaos for views or will it bring about a shared humanity and understanding we never saw coming. A quote I loved from this book is "heat for heats sake or heat for lights sake".

Would read again and again

[Lindsay M · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books on journalism that I’ve read. Really practical advice, great storytelling, and interesting and important discussions regarding ethics. Anyone who is interviewing anyone about anything should read this.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though the primary audience for this book seems best suited for professionals in journalism, I found it to be quite interesting and educational from a salespersons perspective. Application of the techniques, questions, settings, timing, etc will most certainly result in increased competence leading to greater production and or clarity in communication.

This book was quite refreshing, and the stories and examples furthered the importance of preparation and understanding the person you intend to interview, or pitch, as a salesperson, or any professional who regularly interacts with others. The author's transparency and humor made this an enjoyable, and an easy read.

I would highly recommend this book to any person looking to hone their communication skills, or for the obvious, any person actively involved with interviewing, or who is interviewed on a regular basis.

[Chris Osantowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won’t pretend that I have any ability or desire to interview people like a journalist, but I found this book fascinating. It is a great introduction to journalism and does a great job explaining and informing on things like the ethics of journalism, writing questions, and navigating contentious conversations.

[Lydia Gahafer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very very helpful for a brand new high school journalism teacher. This gave me a solid foundation on the art/science of conducting interviews that I can offer to my 15 year-old students! Thanks Dean!

[Daniel Novak · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dropped this a quarter in. Within what I read, it didn't feel like there were any concise, clearly defined conclusions to each chapter, just anecdotes linked to general statements/advice here and there, which for the most part I already believed to be evident. Also, I expected this book would be useful to non-journalists (I'm an entrepreneur) but it wasn't clear to me that it is, or at least the book didn't do a good enough job of selling that (with actionable specifics) from the start.

[Vovka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent guide from a journalist on how to interview well. Really loved the breakdowns of interviews between well known interviewers (e.g., Terri Gross, Barbara Walters) and well-known subjects (e.g., Gene Simmons of KISS). That last one was quite a doozy and stunningly bad for Ms. Gross.

[Behrooz Parhami · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to the unabridged audio version of this title (on 8 CDs, read by Michael David Axtell, HarperCollins, 2019).

This book is very useful to journalism students and aspiring reporters. However, in this age of connectivity and primacy of knowledge, everyone can benefit from it. We all ask questions in the course of performing our jobs and pursuing personal hobbies. A social worker or a psychiatrist is as much in need of questioning skills as a journalist. So is a professor, when a student stops by to discuss a personal challenge or (ethical) dilemma.

Choice of who to interview and what questions to ask are of course the most important elements of a successful interview. Nelson offers many practical suggestions, both on the details of interviewing techniques and on big-picture issues. For instance, as an interviewer, you should check your ego at the door. The interview isn’t about you but about the subject. You should neither try to be super-friendly nor overtly hostile. Don’t ask questions whose answers are already available in your subject’s writings or prior interviews. Good interviews are the results of hard work and preparation, not rapport or luck.

From this book, I learned the exact definitions of terms such as “background interview,” “off the record,” “not for attribution,” and many more. I also realized the importance of detailed note-taking (while not being so immersed in your note pad that you do not make eye contact with your subject) and recording the interview whenever possible (if agreed to by the subject). Nelson also offers useful tips on tools of the trade, such as always having enough pens or pencils and carrying a pre-tested recording device loaded with fresh batteries.

Several actual interviews, including Barbara Walters’ now-classic interview with Mike Wallace, are used as case studies, with detailed discussion of what was right or wrong at each step.

A journalist’s main asset is his/her reputation and trustworthiness. Unlike most other professions, no formal training or exam is needed to become a journalist. So, when a story appears inappropriate or iffy, it is better to lose the story than the reputation.

[Jon Angell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Talk to Me... by Dean Nelson

I came across this book in a Tattered Cover which is a bookstore chain in Denver, Colorado. It is one of the largest independent bookstores in the United States. I have gone to Denver every year for a while and the Tattered Cover is on the itinerary every time. It may be my favorite bookstores, partly because of interesting finds like this. I was looking for some good books on the writing/journalism craft and they had a large section to browse. This one is a gem.

This book by Dean Nelson is thorough. It gives a comprehensive overview of the does and don'ts of interviewing. It is very readable and offers several examples to the principles. He tells many entertaining stories related to the subject. He suggest several famous interviews found on the internet and offers commentary about what goes right and what goes wrong.

Nelson even suggested watching the movie "Almost Famous" as an inspiring movie for writers and interviewers. (Great Movie BTW) He offered commentary about several of the events in the movie, and how it related to journalist and interviewers.

I aspire to learn this material/skill so that I might at some point effectively do interviews to eventually craft a few feature stories for publication. I can't speak high enough for this book toward moving toward that goal, but I don't think the book should be limited to that audience. I could make a good argument that this would be good non-fiction book for a broad and general readership. Interviewing is far more pervasive than we might think. Our doctors and healthcare people interview us. Law enforcement and judicial participants conduct interviews. Employers interview employees and potential employees all the time. Heck, we all at one point or another may be required to conduct an interview in one form or the other.

This book of 380 pages has good information, easily read. The Table of Contents gives a good glimpse of what you might expect:

Intro: More Than Instinct: Asking better questions and getting better answers.

Chapter 1: It Starts In Your Head: Deciding whom to interview and why. Case study: Where Clueless Meets Reckless: David Green of NPR Interviews Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders.

Chapter 2: Then It Goes To Your Hands and Feet: Hunting and gathering your sources.

Chapter 3: Then You Dig: What you don't know will hurt you.

Chapter 4: Now You Make A Plan: Pick a structure, but be ready to abandon it.

Chapter 5: Just Before You Start: A few more considerations before the questions begin.

Chapter 6 : An Interview That Started Out Well, Went Off The Rails, And Got Better Again: Chris Wallace of FOX News interviews former President Bill Clinton.

Chapter 7: Don't Avoid The Hard Part: What's most uncomfortable might also be the most important. Case Study: Still a clsssic, and better than Frost/Nixon: Barbara Walters interviews Mike Wallace.

Chapter 8: Before And After The Interview Ends: How to wrap it up well and how to ensure accuracy.

Chapter 9: Note-Taking And Recording: You probably won't get sued if you do this properly.

Chapter 10: Terms You Should Know: WE use these phrases, but what do they mean?

Chapter 11: Check Your Ego At The Door: Interviewing those you love and those you loathe. Case Study: An interview that started out badly and pretty much stayed that way: Terry Gross of Fresh Air talks to Gene Simmons of KISS

Conclusion and Acknowledgements

After reading this book I don't imagine that I will ever see any interview the naive way I had before. I now have a good grasp on what goes into a good interview. I now know what makes a bad interview. I know some of the common interview strategies that are regularly used.

This may be one of the most readable how-to books I have read. Practical and engaging. I highly recommend this one.

[Anna Mussmann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Talk to Me is about conducting successful interviews. The author walks his readers through topics like choosing people to talk to, researching background information, preparing questions, and guiding the conversation along a pre-planned arc without losing flexibility. The advice is illustrated with anecdotes from his own career as a journalist and writer.

I had actually thought the information would apply to social interactions or to education (which, after all, involves a lot of question asking). It turns out that it’s truly focused on journalism. Any connections to other spheres are left to the reader to make independently. I finished it anyway and found the glimpse into someone else’s career reasonably interesting--the author is a good storyteller and competent writer, and he keeps the pace moving nicely along--but it left me pondering the usefullness of this kind of how-to book.

On the one hand, I can imagine it fuelling a teenager’s interest in journalism. On the other, its vibe reminded me very much of some of the volumes on writing fiction that I’ve read in the past. I mean the kind of book that leaves you with the feeling you’ve learned useful stuff, yet, on closer examination, is very difficult to act upon.

Most books on writing fall at some point into the trap of basically saying, “Write good stuff and then it will be good!” Perhaps this is because “good writing” is only semi-teachable. Some of it must be caught rather than taught. But the issue goes deeper than that. Most books on writing attempt to provide situational advice instead of delving into principles. Indeed, some writers deny that a subjective art has any relationship to objective principles at all. Yet principles are useful.* One can generalize from a principle, whereas it’s much harder for a would-be writer to generalize from anecdotes about other people’s stories. Talk to Me contains a lot more of the latter than the former.

The part I found most memorable was the discussion about using questions to create an arc--a sort of plot, if you will--out of a free-flowing interview. Thinking about this challenge almost makes me want to start a podcast. And, really, perhaps that is a testament to the book having achieved some sort of success upon me as a reader.

*Of course it’s also possible to be frustrated by a how-to book that provides principles but not examples or instructions [parenting books fall into this often!], leaving one completely without practical help. I’m leaning towards a hypothesis that such cases are actually examples of authors who may not have truly thought through the principles in order to teach them. John Truby’s book on writing is a good example of a principle-based book that avoids vagueness without becoming overly prescriptive.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve always found journalism to be interesting, important, and mysterious. I say mysterious because I’ve never taken a journalism class and I’ve rarely had to interview or even question people in a formal way – I never really thought about what goes into it. I came across Talk to Me by Dean Nelson and thought I’d delve more into my curiosities of journalism.

As someone who considers herself an introvert and someone who does not need to interview people professionally, I was pleasantly surprised by not only how approachable Nelson made interviewing seem but also by how practical and applicable interviewing skills can be for all people, regardless of their profession. We interview people almost every day, albeit in an informal way. We are all seeking information one way or another and this book is a great guide book on how best to do that. This book also teaches you how to appreciate interviews. Usually when I watch interviews online, I’m focusing on the interviewee – what they’re saying, their body language and demeanor, and so on. But after reading this, I’m paying more attention to the interviewer. The interviewer (if they’re good) is controlling the direction of the interview. Seeing if an interviewee is relaxed or talking openly about vulnerable topics speaks a lot to how the interviewer is conducting the interview.

The most important takeaways from this book are seemingly obvious and simple but if you don’t get them right, your interview may be doomed. Those takeaways are:

1) Knowing your why. Why are you talking to this person? Without an answer to that question, you are aimlessly talking to someone and won’t get anything important or interesting out of it.
2) Prepare, prepare, prepare. Never ask an interviewee something you could have googled beforehand. You should know the answer to most of the questions you plan on asking. In addition to researching the topic of your interview, make sure to create a structure of where you want the interview to go. As Nelson explains, “Interviewing isn’t just asking a bunch of random questions to random people. It’s a guided conversation.”
3) Be willing and ready to improvise. Structure is nice to have but most things don’t go as planned and sometimes that can be a good thing. You may stumble upon information you didn’t expect to if you hadn’t gone with the flow.

This book was really well written as it appeals to people like me who are merely curious and not trying to be journalists as well as works as a teaching guide for people who are. There are a lot of great anecdotes (both personal and not) that Nelson uses to drive home his points. He tactfully navigates using anecdotes as a teaching tool and never comes off as braggy or disparaging towards others. It is humbling to hear him teach others through his own mistakes and it encourages readers to do the same.

[Steve Dragon · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are two layers to why I think this book is good.

On one level is the actual content and intent of the book. It is a fascinating insight into the process of conducting interviews. The instructions are clear and actionable, and the reasoning and principles are clearly explained. I know more today about conducting interviews than I did before I started, and I could list the things I would’ve done wrong had I not read this book.

On another level, it is a brilliant window. Dean Nelson uses famous interviews, his own experiences and other anecdotes to create a look into the world of interviewing and journalism that is enjoyable to engage with. In that aspect, it reads like a non-fiction memoir almost sometimes. It’s well-written, which helps, and the stories themselves are quite interesting.

The only thing I will say is that the book lacks in some information I had hoped to glean from it. That may well be my fault, but I had hoped to find information on how to write up an interview as well. The book focuses entirely on how to conduct one. It is extensive in that. However, there is little to no information on how to convert notes into a finished piece, what form that finished piece may take and other such questions. Converting these notes to a story is a difficult process, and the book wasn’t much help at that.

That said, I can’t fault the book too much. The book never claimed it would contain such information, it just feels to me that the information about conducting interviews needs to be paired with the complementary information about writing articles.

Overall, an engaging read on multiple levels.

[Cameron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Talk to Me is an easily approachable book, chock-full of anecdotes and advice from a great professor and journalist. I listened to it on audible and the voice acting is top-notch.

I came across the book a long time ago since
Dean Nelson was a professor at my university; he published it when I was either a Junior or Senior. I had met him briefly a couple of times in a group setting (though he wouldn't remember me), knew a few people from his student newspaper, wrote two Pope eds for the same paper, and saw a few of his live Writer's Symposium interviews. He was a celebrity of sorts for our small college (at least for the writing/interview nerds like me). It's grasping at straws; I know. But he always had a kind of magnetic personality and I always admired him (long before the book). Having now read the book, I think it captures his approachable, supportive personality. It reads (or listens? like you've been grabbing coffee with a mentor, soaking up his anecdotes and gold nuggets of advice.

3 or 4 years after the book was published, I finally decided to pick it up after taking on a part-time gig writing news stories for my law school. I'm no career journalist; I haven't taken a journalism course in my life (Sorry to Dean Nelson; I dropped his department's journalism seminar 2 weeks in...
Scheduling conflicts). I do have some experience interviewing though. I managed my student radio station and hosted a couple of interview-style shows. For that level of experience, this book was perfect.

[Zoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up partly because listening to podcasts got me into radio journalism, which is starting to get me into written journalism, and also partly because the art of asking good questions has always interested me. I really enjoyed this behind-the-scenes look into how journalists do it.

A lot of the book was anecdotes about his reporting escapades, which got a little rambly at times but they weren't uninteresting. The conversational, slightly humorous tone actually reminds me of the way a lot of pastors write — I think he does have a Christian background so maybe that isn't a coincidence. There were also three case studies of interviews, where he dissected what went right and what went wrong, that I found pretty fascinating. He saw so many things that I would have entirely missed.

He mentions throughout the book that interviewing/asking good questions is a skill needed in any profession, which I think is true, but I wish he'd given more concrete examples. He tended to stick with the same list of examples (nurses, social workers, therapists, lawyers, etc.) of professions that naturally involve a lot of questions.

Overall this was a fairly easy and interesting read, with more than a few helpful tips about asking good questions and getting good answers.

[Sonja Huege · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like I was tricked into reading this book, but I’m not upset about it. This book started out saying that it was directed towards all kinds of professionals - from lawyers to social workers to doctors to therapists - and then it turned out to be a technical manual for journalists with an occasional paragraph thrown in saying, “Oh, this applies to social workers too.”

Now, I don’t feel like I learned a great deal that would be useful to me as a therapist. Generally I don’t “want control” of the conversation or need to record my sessions to prevent being sued. In fact, it’s quite the opposite!

All of that said, this was an incredibly fun listen. The case studies were lively, the narration was excellent, and the stories illustrating the points in each chapter were engaging enough that I finished the book easily and came to quite like and respect the author. While I wish that the marketing had been more clear, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It helped me appreciate the craft of interviewing in a new way which I’m certain will make my life richer in years to come.

[Cheng Bogdani · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book promised me it would teach me how to interview people. Until I started this book, I didn't know who Dean Nelson is - but you're not far into this before he tells you about his exploits as a well paid journalist for prestigious papers and magazines. And he keeps on going over his anecdotes. The actual skills could have been covered in a pamphlet, and they got lost as he regales us with tales of interviews gone by.

I doublechecked the cover after a couple of sessions to see if this was supposed to be an autobiography, but the cover promises a skillset transfer. I guess it's in there, but it gets lost in supporting stories that go on for too long and stretch too far to make a point.

DNF'd at some unspecified percentage.


Reading Level: easy adult
Romance: N/A
Smut: N/A
Violence: N/A
TW: None

I listened to the audiobook via Overdrive from my local library. I listened to it while swimming so I missed about every seventh word and my recollection of the other six is even worse than normal.

[Joe Iovino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part textbook, part memoir, Talk to Me is an amazing work for writers, podcasters, doctors, lawyers, and anyone else who wants to become better at learning from others.
As a writer, podcast host and introvert, I continue to seek to grow as an interviewer. No work has done more for me in this area than Dean Nelson's Talk to Me. Not only does he offer best practices from a lifetime of journalism, but he shares anecdotes about what worked for him, and why.
He talks about some great questions, techniques for organizing an interview, and other "nuts and bolts" helps for those who want to improve.
Additionally, Nelson highlights the connection that can be made between a subject and an interviewer. I loved reading about the respect he has for those he has the privilege to speak with--those who are trusting him to share their story with the world.
This is a wonderful book that is informing my work on a weekly basis since reading it.

[Ivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is meant to be for journalism / reporters students. However. The principles on how to interact with people can easily be applied to any communication strategy. Either you are asking questions to a customer, debating with friends, influencing decision-makers, selling something, etc. The ideas inside the book will hone your skills.
How to deal when someone turn the roles and start questioning you ? How to talk to important and busy people? How to talk to silly idiot public people? One of the (embarrassing) examples is when he interviewed Vicente Fox that after he invited him to come to his ranch, he then told him he didn’t actually invited him to interview him.

It was an interesting book bur keep in mind is focused on preparing journalists. You need to go through the weeds and find the gems that you can apply in other domains.

[Joseph Connor Hurt]

Nelson does that weird thing that some writers do now where they assign a gender to a specific role when giving off the cuff examples. IE - doctors are women, interns are men, interview subjects are women, etc. Not to be a stickler, but what's the point of this? If you're not speaking about an actual person, just be gender neutral.

As a textbook - it feels comprehensive enough and covers the main beats - but I was hoping to pick up more little tips and tricks of the trade. Things like when he says to never do an interview in someone's living room (which I don't necessarily agree with as a hard and fast rule, but I still appreciate his insight). Specific little nuggets that only a veteran interviewer would be able to provide.

[Veronika Perkova · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been doing interviews for 7 years but after reading Dean's wonderful book I realized there's still so much for me to learn. Namely,

1) You should know the answers to most questions before the interview.
2) You must ask hard questions so that people respect you.
3) You absolutely must take notes.

I'm very grateful to Dean for writing this book because it provides a lot of tips, insights and helpful examples. His stories are also so interesting. One feels like journalism is the most interesting profession in the world. :-) After reading this book, I am motivated to become a better interviewer!

[Sydney | sydneys.books]

Used this as a training manual for my writers. I found many chapters to be very useful, especially the introduction to interviewing, getting the interview, questions and structure, and interviewing tactics sections. I didn't find the case study examples to be particularly helpful, but I also did not watch them at the link provided, I just skimmed.

The writing is very approachable and applies outside of the journalism field too. I recommend this to anyone conducting any sort of interview, even if it's just for professional or informational purposes.

[Mateus Levi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have never had to interview anyone and don't really work in a career that has anything to do with interviewing but I bought this book on a whim and ended up really liking it. The stories the author tells of his own experiences as a reporter/journalist/writer make this an interesting read even if you're not into or don't want to learn anything about how to interview someone. I agree with a few other reviews I've read that reading this really does make you feel like you should change careers... seriously feeling like interviewing my friends just to try out everything the author suggests!

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book to be engaging and interesting. The author, an experienced journalist, gives real-life examples to illustrate his tips. He goes in-depth into some famously fabulous interviews (Mike Wallace interviewed by Barbara Walters, Bill Clinton interviewed by Chris Wallace) and highlights the great and not-so-great moments. This should be among the class materials for any journalism students.

[Jason Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel like I just finished a semester of schooling on interviewing within the few days it took to read this book! The interviews I conduct in my profession (internal audits and investigations) are not the journalistic type of interviews described by Nelson, but I learned invaluable techniques and insights. He makes the case for the application of these skills in many types of interview settings and I know from experience that he is right. I can’t wait to try out the many nuggets I gleaned!

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book because others have said it's an interesting and helpful read not just for interviewers but for people that want more meaningful conversations in general.

I suppose that was true - a learned a little. But what I learned could have easily been in 1 or 2 chapters. 10 chapters was a lot; the last few chapters I just skimmed because it seemed very specific for interviewers.