Interview Question Generator

Knowledge Base

How to Use the Interview Question Generator

The Interview Question Generator creates natural, engaging interview questions based on your guest's background and expertise. Input guest name, title, and topic area, the tool generates 15-20 questions ranging from ice-breakers to deep dives.

Question Hierarchy

• Icebreakers (2-3 questions): Personal, warm. Sets tone. Example: "How did you get into [field]?"
• Background (2-3): Credibility and context. "Walk us through your journey to [position]."
• Core Topics (8-10): Substantive questions. "What's the biggest misconception about [topic]?"
• Provocative (2-3): Pushback or disagreement. "Some argue X, you say Y, help us understand the difference."
• Personal (2-3): Reflective, story-based. "Tell us about a failure that shaped you."
• Forward-Looking (1-2): Future, trends, advice. "What excites you about the next 5 years?"

Preparing for the Interview

Share questions with guests 24 hours before. This lets them prepare thoughtful answers without sounding scripted. Open-ended questions (how, why, tell us about) generate better stories than yes/no questions.

Interview Flow

Start warm and personal (they relax). Move into meat of topic (your core questions). Throw in unexpected questions to refresh energy. End on inspiring or forward-looking note (good final impression).

FAQ

Q: Should I stick to the script or go off-book?
A: Have questions but don't read robotically. Listen closely and follow-up with curiosity-driven questions based on their answers.

Q: What if they go off-topic?
A: Let them (2-3 minutes). If truly off-track, gently redirect: "That's interesting, let's come back to X. You mentioned Y earlier..."

Questions that produce answers worth using

The best question in most interviews is the one that was not written down. A prepared list gets you into the subject, and the material worth keeping usually comes from following what the guest actually said rather than moving to question four. Prepare thoroughly and then be willing to abandon the order entirely.

Ask one thing at a time. A compound question, asking about someone's background and their current work and where the field is going, gets answered in whichever part the guest found easiest, and the rest quietly disappears. Splitting it into three gets three answers, and the second and third are usually better than the first.

Avoid questions answerable with yes. Did you find that difficult invites a single word, and what made it difficult invites the story. This is the single highest-yield habit in interviewing, and it is entirely mechanical, so it can be checked while writing rather than relied on in the moment.

Leave silence alone. A guest who stops talking is often still thinking, and the interviewer filling the gap interrupts the more considered thing arriving behind the first answer. Two seconds feels much longer to the person holding the microphone than to anybody listening later.

Plan the opening and closing more carefully than the middle. The first question sets whether the guest relaxes, so make it easy and specific rather than broad and profound. The closing question is the one most likely to be quoted, and asking something predictable there wastes the moment the guest is most warmed up.

Vocabulary

Open question. A question that cannot be answered with yes, no or a single fact, usually starting with how or what. Produces the extended answers an interview needs, in contrast to closed questions that produce confirmations.

Compound question. Two or more questions asked in one breath. The guest answers whichever part is easiest and the rest is lost, so splitting them apart before recording reliably produces more material.

Follow-up. A question responding to what the guest just said rather than to the prepared list. Usually where the most useful material comes from, because it pursues something specific the guest raised themselves.

Pre-interview. A short conversation before recording to find out what a guest knows and agree the ground to cover. Lets you write better questions and warns you off subjects the guest will not discuss.