Module 2 · Lesson 2.4

Use AI as an Interviewer, Not an Author

3 min read · Updated

The usual way to use AI for writing is to ask it to write. This lesson flips that. You ask it to interview you first. It asks questions, you answer in your own words, and only then does it draft, using what you said.

Journalists have worked this way for a century. The good quotes come from the person, not the reporter.

Why it works so well

A brain-dump depends on you remembering what's worth saying. An interview prompts your memory. A decent question like "what went wrong the first time?" pulls out the story you'd never think to write down.

It also fixes the biggest weakness in AI drafts, the lack of specific details. The model can't invent your experience, but it's very good at asking about it.

The interview prompt

I need to write [what: e.g. a 600-word blog post about switching our bakery to a four-day week] for [who: e.g. other small business owners]. Before writing anything, interview me. Ask one question at a time and wait for my answer. Ask for specifics: numbers, dates, names, examples, what went wrong, what I'd do differently, what I disagree with. If an answer is vague, ask a follow-up. After 8 questions, or when I say "draft", write the piece using only my answers. Keep my own phrasing where you can. Don't add facts I didn't give you.

How to answer

Answer the way you'd talk. Don't polish. Short, messy, honest answers make the best raw material. A few tips:

  • Use voice typing. Most phones and many AI apps let you speak your answers. Spoken answers are looser and more natural than typed ones, and the model will pick up your phrasing.
  • Give examples, not summaries. "Customers liked it" is a summary. "Mrs. Patel started ordering her Saturday cake on Wednesday so we'd have it ready" is an example.
  • Say what you actually think. If the honest answer is "I'm not sure it was worth it", say that. Lesson 4.3 shows why opinions are what readers trust most.
  • Push back on bad questions. If a question doesn't fit, say so and tell it what it should be asking about.

What a good exchange looks like

AI: What made you consider a four-day week in the first place?
You: Honestly, I couldn't hire. Two bakers quit in June and the ads got nothing.
AI: How many applications did the job ads get before and after you offered four days?
You: Before, maybe 3 in a month. After, 19 in two weeks. Some were from bakers at the big chain in town.

Two questions in and you already have a hook, a number and a local detail. No amount of prompt engineering would have produced "19 in two weeks".

After the draft

The draft will be much closer to your voice than a cold prompt, but still give it the 10-minute edit. Check one thing in particular: did the model keep your words, or did it "improve" them? If it turned "I couldn't hire" into "recruitment challenges emerged", change it back.

Save the interview. Your answers are reusable. The same eight answers can become a blog post, a LinkedIn post, a talk outline and a newsletter item.
Try this

Use the interview prompt for something you've been putting off writing. Answer at least six questions by voice. Before it drafts, read back your own answers. Highlight the two most interesting lines. Make sure both appear, in your words, in the final piece.