Interviewing and Scriptwriting
I draw upon my background as a journalist, two decades of corporate interviewing experience, expertise as a storytelling and persuasive writing instructor, and creative writing skills to generate ideas, ask the right questions, write compelling scripts and stories, and bring YOUR vision, mission, goals, personality, value, and impact to life.
Interviewing and Scriptwriting Services
Scriptwriting and interviewing services include the following:
- Create or support production schedule timelines for video, content, and other creative projects.
- Research interviewees (LinkedIn and other sources) and then create interview questions, video storyboards, and video scripts.
- Interview individuals and groups, maintaining on-camera and off-camera best practices to improve interviewee comfort level, presence, and delivery.
- Pinpoint key scenes and important questions and collaborate with production team members to identify cuts and transitions.
- Create content for use in videos, voice recordings, PowerPoint presentations, social media campaigns, and marketing collateral.
- Draw upon journalism skills, interviewing skills, a creative storytelling background, and creative and business writing skills to generate ideas, write compelling stories, and bring the organization’s vision,mission, business goals, and community impact to life.
How to Tell Powerful Stories
What do Luke Skywalker, Katniss Everdeen, and Cinderella have to do with gaining stakeholder buy-in?
Everything.
Most real-world persuasive arguments are structured in much the same way that fairy tales like Star Wars, The Hunger Games, and Cinderella are structured. The status quo is destabilized, the stakes are high, and the audience is psychologically invested in gaining a greater understanding of what’s happening, why it’s happening, why it matters, and what’s next.
The best stories:
- Use proven models based on the structure of fairy tales.
- Include a tightly crafted narrative arc that follows the hero’s journey.
- Capture attention, get people thinking, and win heartand minds.
Storytelling Strategies
The most successful video content, written content, and other creative efforts communicate empathy for and benefits to a target audience. Key interviewing and scriptwriting strategies:
- Know your audience and build creative strategies that connect with them where they live and breathe
- Focus messaging on audience needs and wants, and structure all information the way your audience needs to see or hear it.
- Use a storytelling-based problem statement structure that introduces a stable context and destabilizes that context with a clear, targeted vision.
- Capture attention from the very start. Keep the story flowing, eliminating the “saggy middle.” End in a memorable way that reinforces the brand, the story, and why that story matters to those reading or listening.
- Create and write without fear and edit without mercy.
- Ensure all content does triple duty – site, social, and SEO. Turn the most compelling stories into cornerstone content and downloadable assets.
Let’s Put My Expertise to Work for You
I have interviewed hundreds of people at businesses, nonprofit organizations, and the U.S. Department of Defense in order to write business plans, proposals, website content, press releases, marketing collateral, scripts for speeches and videos, and published articles. I work closely with interviewees to improve their on-camera comfort level, presence, and delivery.
I teach proprietary, daylong Persuasive Writing Engine courses for the U.S. Department of Defense at the Pentagon, the U.S. Air Force at bases around the country, and businesses and non-profit organizations nationwide. U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Air Force, and corporate attendees often earn continuing education credits for taking this course.
I teach teams the art and science of storytelling and the power and vast potential of persuasive writing. Teams learn how to:
- Build business cases and hone their critical thinking skills.
- Tell compelling stories using proven models.
- Craft written arguments that win hearts, minds, deals, and dollars.
Let’s talk about how I can put my interviewing and scriptwriting skills to work for your team to position you to achieve your business goals.