How do we interview experts for thought leadership?

Learn enough about the subject to help an expert explain it accessibly without reducing its substance. An engaging explanation is not a less knowledgeable one: pitching a subject appropriately can require more understanding, not less. Do your homework before the interview so you can consider how the expert's knowledge might be explained to people with different levels of experience. A Wired series in which experts explain subjects to audiences of different ages and experience illustrates the principle: knowing a subject thoroughly helps people find different ways to explain it. Preparation should support that translation, rather than strip out complexity.

Ask the reader's questions by preparing a list of what someone approaching the subject for the first time would find interesting. Think like a journalist: the interview needs to explore why the reader should want to learn more, not simply what the expert knows. Use that reader perspective to guide your key questions, then follow the list during the conversation. The purpose is to help an expert open up a specialist subject to an audience that may not yet understand its appeal. Keep the reader's reason for caring at the centre of the interview.

Follow the expert's enthusiasm when a detail or nuance prompts a particularly engaged response. A prepared question list gives the interview direction, but it should not prevent you from breaking off to explore something more deeply. If an expert becomes enthusiastic about a point, stay with it and ask further questions rather than moving straight to the next prepared topic. The aim is to get to the heart of that passion. Understanding what makes a subject compelling to the person who knows it well can help you find a way to make readers care about it too.