# Prepare questions to get great stories from a subject-matter expert

An interview plan that pulls specific stories, numbers, and opinions out of an expert for an article.

- Topic: Content & Social Media
- Framework: Few-Shot
- Level: Standard
- Tags: Writing, Write, Fill-in Template
- Source: https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/prompts/prepare-questions-to-get-great-stories-from-a-subject-matter-expert

## Prompt

```text
Help me prepare for an interview with a subject-matter expert (SME) that I will turn into content.

**Expert and their role:** [NAME/TITLE - e.g. "our head of engineering"]
**Content piece I'm writing:** [FORMAT AND TOPIC - e.g. "a blog post on reducing cloud costs"]
**Audience:** [WHO WILL READ IT and what they already know]
**Angle or thesis (if I have one):** [YOUR WORKING ANGLE]
**Time available:** [e.g. 30 minutes]
**What I already know or have drafted:** [NOTES]

Build:
1. A one-paragraph pre-read I can send the expert so they know what to expect (topic, time, how quotes will be used and approved).
2. 10-14 questions in order: warm-up, core story questions, "how exactly" process questions, contrarian or opinion questions, and proof questions (numbers, examples, before/after).
3. Follow-up probes for each core question ("Can you give me a specific time that happened?", "What would most people get wrong here?").
4. A must-get checklist: one memorable quote, one concrete example, one number or result, one mistake to avoid.
5. If time runs short: the 5 questions to keep.

Rules: open questions only, no yes/no. Avoid questions the expert would answer with generic advice. Flag anything that may need legal or PR approval before publishing.
```

## What to fill in

- NAME/TITLE - e.g. "our head of engineering"
- FORMAT AND TOPIC - e.g. "a blog post on reducing cloud costs"
- WHO WILL READ IT and what they already know
- YOUR WORKING ANGLE
- e.g. 30 minutes
- NOTES

Free to copy and use. From ThinkWithPrompt (https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/), a library of 2,663 curated AI prompts.