Engaging Blog Content: Part 4 - It's A Conversation

I learned this one from my days in radio. How do you create an interview everyone will want to listen to, without punching your guest (we'll get to controversy later)? Don't talk. Listen.

This unfortunately requires that the guest is talking. How do you make your guest talk? Ask leading questions. What are leading questions?

In this case a leading question is simply a question that leads the respondent to answer with more than yes or no. Think about the last time you were trying to talk to someone and they just answered with one word responses, how did that affect your ability to get to know them? If the goal of you blog is to get feedback and create a community, a conversational and open atmosphere is needed.

Bad radio question: Is it true that you released five albums in four years?
Better radio question: Five records in four years, what is the secret behind this constant stream of music?

Why is it better?
If your fact (5 albums in 4 years) is wrong the person still has the ability to say so. Like thinking about the scope of the question(blog link) the idea is to direct the mind to an easy answer. Unlike scope though, here the focus is ensuring more than a one word answer.

Now your being verbally illustrative, putting your questions in scope, and ensuring your leading the reader to think in more than a one to two word reply. That all works great, but how do you find the content to write about? We'll start that next time.