Having gotten my first reporting job prior to attending college, my early interviewing techniques were shaky, if not embarrassing.

Covering the a Southern California minor-league baseball team, the High Desert Mavericks, the first person I ever interviewed was Carl Everett, who has gone on to fame and fortune in the Major Leagues. He had star quality then even, and was kind enough to handle my mumbling, incoherent questions with the pat answers that baseball players are likely taught in the second grade.

That was more than 10 years ago. Following a stint in college and six years at daily newspapers, my interviewing skills became, while not polished, competent and effective. Since that humiliating first interview, I've spoken with governors, mayors and dozens of professional athletes and artists. I even had the opportunity to interview basketball coaching legend John Wooden.

So, what have I learned about how to interview someone?

Be Yourself

OK, that's annoyingly simple but true. After you get a few interviews under your belt, you'll lose that initial trepidation and walk up to anyone comfortably. You don't have to put on a "reporter" persona. Be yourself, it's an interview but also a conversation. When an interview subject falls into a conversation with you, that’s when you can get worthwhile quotes and information.

Be Prepared

This should go without saying, but is often missed by writers in a hurry. Being organized and prepared will give the interviewer confidence going in to the interview. It will also keep the interviewer from being thrown off or force his or her subject to explain things that could have been researched prior.

Have the important questions ready. A mistake I made a few times was to forget to ask the simple questions: age, name, etc. You don't need to have a list of 100 questions ready, but try to have a checklist of questions you need that are pertinent to the story.

When interviewing someone with any amount of fame, make sure to research the person fully. They have likely answered certain, simple questions hundreds of times, so it’s your job to know these questions.