Ask staff about a specific job, decision or customer question rather than asking them to describe how good the business is. Follow up on the detail: what happened, why they chose that approach and what somebody else could learn. The aim is useful source material, not a rehearsed endorsement.
Choose a subject small enough to remember
“Tell us about your work” is a large request. “Talk me through the decision you made on that fitting this morning” gives someone a place to start.
Pick a recent task while the details are still clear. Ask the person what they are comfortable discussing and explain where the material might appear. They should know whether you are taking notes, recording audio or filming.
Do not promise that everything they say will be published. The interview is a source-gathering conversation. Facts, permissions and wording still need checking afterwards.
Questions that produce useful detail
- What did the customer need to decide before this work could start?
- What did you check before choosing this approach?
- Which detail would someone outside the trade probably miss?
- What question do customers ask about this most often?
- What information helps you prepare a useful answer?
- Was there a constraint that changed how you worked?
- What could go wrong if that step were skipped?
- What should a customer do before the next stage?
Use these as prompts, not a script to finish at speed. If an answer contains a concrete detail, follow it. “What do you mean by that?” can be more useful than moving to the next prepared question.
The GOV.UK interviewing guidance recommends open, neutral questions and real examples. Those principles also help with business content: they leave room for an answer you did not already write.
Avoid putting praise into the question
“Why is our service so much better?” asks somebody to agree with a claim. It often produces the same vague words you were trying to avoid.
Ask what actually differs in the work. “What do we inspect before giving that advice?” can reveal a process you can explain. If no meaningful difference emerges, do not invent one in the caption.
Likewise, avoid asking someone to state a saving or result from memory. Record the possible claim and check the underlying evidence before using it. A confident estimate is still an estimate.
Turn an answer into a post
Take a fictional example from a joinery business. A fitter explains that a hallway measurement needs to account for a door opening, not just the empty floor area. That could become a short post about what to photograph and measure before discussing fitted storage.
The post does not need to announce that the fitter is passionate or highly skilled. The explanation gives the reader something they can use and shows the nature of the work.
Keep the person’s meaning intact when editing. Remove repetition and explain jargon, but do not turn “this can help” into “this always works”. If the wording changes a technical point, ask them to check it.
Collect a matching visual
Ask what would make the explanation easier to understand. A close-up of the relevant detail may be more useful than a portrait or a wide photograph of the whole job.
Check what is visible before taking or sharing the image. Customer documents, screens, access details and private areas should not appear accidentally. Confirm permission for identifiable people and the planned use of the material.
If no suitable photograph exists, the idea can still work as a written answer or a simple diagram. Do not use an unrelated stock image in a way that implies it shows the actual project.
Keep a source note
For each usable idea, record the subject, interview date, factual owner, supporting material and any limits on publication. Mark which details are confirmed and which need checking.
A quote needs a clear record of what was said. A paraphrase should be presented as a paraphrase, not placed inside quotation marks to make it look more personal.
Store recordings and notes where only the people who need them can access them. Agree how long they are useful rather than keeping every raw interview indefinitely by default.
Make participation easy to repeat
Offer a choice between speaking, writing a few notes or demonstrating a task. Not everybody enjoys a camera, and useful knowledge should not depend on being comfortable on film.
Share the finished draft with the contributor for factual checking. Tell them what made the material useful. A specific explanation is better feedback than asking them to be more natural next time.
Build future questions from actual customer enquiries and repeated misunderstandings. That keeps the interview connected to what people need to know rather than filling a content slot for its own sake.
Our social media management turns real business material into useful posts. The guide to writing photo captions covers the next editing step, while the approval process guide helps keep facts and permissions clear.