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Mar 25, 2020 · 1. Research your subject—a lot. 2. Create questions that linger. 3. Let your subject to do 90 percent of the talking. 4. Record your interviews. 5. Develop your angle. 6. Find pull quotes that move the story. 7. Tell the story. 8. Check your facts (and check them again) Here’s how to write a profile story, in eight easy-to-follow steps. 1.
- Choose a Subject. You need a person to write about before you can write the first paragraph of your winning profile story. Though a skilled writer can make a story about just about anyone using the right questions and their overall writing skill, finding an interesting profile subject will make your job easier.
- Research. You can’t write a great profile story if you don’t have sufficient research. Remember, your subject gives their valuable time when they agree to an interview for your profile story.
- Conduct Interviews. In most cases, a good profile will require an interview to get direct quotes that aren’t already shared elsewhere. The interview doesn’t have to be in person; you could conduct it via email.
- Organize Your Thoughts and Information. Any time you write, having organization to your writing is important. From starting with an angle to creating and relying on an outline, you will want to get and stay organized, and organization starts with your thoughts and information.
- One of Texas’s Greatest Artists Lives Quietly in East Texas, by John Baxter. This article about the little-known artist and professor Lee Baxter Davis works because it tells an unexpected story.
- She’s Inheriting Millions. She Wants Her Wealth Taxed Away, by Emma Bubola. This piece tackles weighty issues like taxation and economic policy through the eyes of a young heiress who believes that her inheritance should be taxed to create a more just society.
- How a Blind Surfer Got Over His Fear of Surfing (and You Can Too), by Jackie Snow. Pete Gustin’s popular TikTok account gives his more than 680,000 followers an intimate look at everyday life as a blind person.
- Brad Pitt Opens Up About His Dream World, by Ottessa Moshfegh. You can’t get much more famous than Brad Pitt. Countless words have been written about this Hollywood darling, yet this personal profile story is fresh and engaging because it portrays an icon as a relatable human being.
A profile story is a portrait of a person in words. Like the best painted portraits, the best profiles capture the character, spirit and style of their subjects. They delve beneath the surface to look at what motivates people, what excites them, what makes them interesting.
- Get access. Profile articles are more than just transcripts of entire interviews. But detailed, wide-ranging conversations with your subject will often make up the backbone of a profile story.
- Choose an angle. Remember when I said that people are interested in people? Well, it’s true. But they still need a little help. Most people will not be interested in an explanation of how a company director sits at their desk, answers emails, and approves expense reports.
- Create visual assets. Digital publishing means that you can do even more with your profile story. Huge, glossy images; embedded video and sound; interactive illustrations; these are all things that will make your digital features more engaging.
- Go deep and wide on research. The best profiles are based on more research than just interviews. What’s more, deep research can help you ask more valuable questions during the interview itself.
Sep 3, 2021 · When you write a profile, you’ll meet with your subject and interview them at least once but usually several times for a big feature story. Be prepared with your questions but also be ready to follow the natural flow of the conversation.
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Jul 21, 2022 · 1. Research the subject. Before you can get started writing a profile, first thoroughly research the person, group or company you're writing the profile for. It's important that you clearly understand the other party's view so that you can thoroughly convey that throughout the profile.
