Methods for Creating a Profile

The purpose of this paper is to leave your audience with a sense of who the subject of your profile is.  Show the reader what makes them interesting to you (if you succeed they'll be interesting to your reader also).

Choose someone who isn't well-known.   Profile the cashier at the covenience store where you always fill your car up with gas, the waiter at your favorite restaurant, the attendant at a fast food ' drive-thru window, the cashier at the local grocery store where you shop, a salesperson at a department store, the mechanic that works on your car, someone who attends your place of worship, your mail or newspaper carrier,a nurse at a hospital or doctor's office.  Everyday people often have the most interesting stories.  Avoid choosing friends and family members to profile.  They often make for the most difficult interviews because they sometimes don't feel comfortable answering the difficult, probling questions that will aid you in writing an interesting profile.

Find a time that is convenient for both you and your subject.  You should schedule an hour for your interview.  This should give you adequate time to get a feel for who your subject is.

Try to learn a little about your subject before the interview.  For instance, if your subject is the director of a funeral home, learn as much as possible about that field of endeavor as possible to aid you in composing interesting and relevant questions for your interview.  If possible, speak with others who know your subject personally as well.

Have 20-30 questions prepared ahead of time.  Make as many of them as possible "open-ended" to avoid simple one word responses.  You want questions that encourage your subject to think and openly discuss their experiences, not simply answer "yes" or "no."  You own silence is important at times.  If your subject is speaking, then remain silent and let them speak.  If you see are talking "in circles" and getting nowhere, then nudge them in another direction with a new question.  If at all possible, interview your subject on their turf and in their own surroundings.  They'll be more comfortable (and more willing to talk) and you'll also get a better sense of what "makes them tick."

Ask permission to audio-record the interview. This will free you from note-taking and allow you to focus fully on your subject, which will be less distracting and put youboth more at ease. Be careful, however, to keep the interview on track. Use your pre-written questions to regain control if the topic begins to wander.  Don't feel as if you have to ask your questions in any specific order and don't feel like you can only ask questions on your list.  Respond to what your subject is relating by asking follow up questions.  If something related is unclear to you, don't be afraid to ask for clarification.
Even when recording, however, it is still a good idea to take notes in the event that your recording is unclear.  You also want to take note of sensory observations made during the interview.

Typically this is a word for word transcription of the interview and can often take 3-4 times as long as the interview (Your transcription doesn't have to be word for word, but you do need to include what you think are the most important responses.  It should be in Q and A format:

Q:
A:

After completing your interview you should rush to a computer and record your observations while they are fresh in your mind as well.

There are no hard and fast rules about writing the draft, but make the writing as clear as possible, using the following techniques:


This is the aspect of your subject's personality that you want to emphasize for your readers.  Do they come across as "proud," "strong," "determined," etc.?
Once you have this focus, you want to choose sensory details and direct quotations from your interview that best illustrate points you want to make to capture the dynamics of the conversation, including the subject's body language.

Giving sensory details (sight, sound, smells, touch, and taste).   One of the most important methods for writing about observations, sensory elements provide the crucial details and necessary layers of meaning needed to recreate an experience for a reader by placing them in the narrator’s position, experiencing what they saw, felt, heard, tasted, and smelled.  A writer should also include actual dialogue and names of things, but only where appropriate.  Remember, however, not to get “bogged down” in the details.  One can provide “too many”.  In order for your writing to be effective, you should only provide those descriptions that are necessary to communicate the importance of the memory, while at the same time recreating the experience for your reader.  Think of this as you might a camera with a zoom lens.  Sometimes you might want to “zoom in” to give the necessary extra detail, but at times you might need to “zoom out” and look at things from a distance.  IT"S IMPORTANT TO NOTE YOUR SUBJECT"S BODY LANGUAGE DURING THE INTERVIEW AND CHANGES THAT OCCUR IN BODY LANGUAGE AS WELL.