She has a cool class project where each student has to record a 7 to 10 minute interview with someone they know pretty well. It's similar to the NPR StoryCorps project. However, she realized high schoolers weren't the best questioners. So she brought in the calvary.
Surprisingly, her class was very quiet. I don't think any of my high school classes were that quite - even A.P. physics. If they weren't willing to answer a few simple questions from their teacher or me, it makes sense they would have a hard time keeping a conversation going for 7 to 10 minutes.
A few quick interviewing tips:
1) Ask open-ended questions that start with who, what, where, when, how and why.
2) Don't ask questions where the answer can be a yes or no. These questions typically start with did, is and can.
3) Prepare questions ahead of time.
4) Only ask one question at a time. Not being prepared may lead you to ask three questions in one breath.
5) Silence is your friend. You don't need to ask a question right after they finish answering the last one. Most likely they will break the awkward silence first, and many times those are great soundbites.
6) Don't interrupt.
7) Don't ask leading questions. A leading question has a bias or may put words in the person's mouth. "This is the most mouthwatering cheese burger ever. Wouldn't you agree?" Instead ask, "How would you describe the cheeseburger?"
8) Always end with something along the lines, "Those are all my questions. What did I miss that you'd like to add?" This also leads to many good soundbites.
Who knows if the great and powerful wisdom I passed on will help, but if one thing I said resonated with one kid, I'll call that a win.