{"id":9332,"date":"2020-03-25T11:07:00","date_gmt":"2020-03-25T15:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thewritelife.com\/?p=9332"},"modified":"2023-10-17T11:27:59","modified_gmt":"2023-10-17T15:27:59","slug":"writing-a-profile-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thewritelife.com\/?p=9332","title":{"rendered":"How to Write a Profile Story: 8 Tips for a Compelling Piece"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From about us pages to blogs, feature profiles are used to communicate a business\u2019 brand, but also to put a human face on a business. By creating a compelling story, good profile writers can benefit from this high-need area of freelance writing.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Profile writing involves disparate parts of the brain in order to produce an emotionally involving piece. An effective profile comes from thorough research, thoughtful interview questions and an ability to organize large amounts of information into a concise story.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rank-math-toc-block\" id=\"rank-math-toc\"><h2>How to Write a Profile of a Person<\/h2><nav><ul><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#1-research-your-subject-a-lot\">1. Research your subject\u2014a lot<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#2-create-questions-that-linger\">2. Create questions that linger<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#3-let-your-subject-to-do-90-percent-of-the-talking\">3. Let\u00a0your subject to do 90 percent of the talking<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#4-record-your-interviews\">4. Record your interviews<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#5-develop-your-angle\">5. Develop your angle<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#6-find-pull-quotes-that-move-the-story\">6. Find pull quotes that move the story<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#7-tell-the-story\">7. Tell the story<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#8-check-your-facts-and-check-them-again\">8. Check your facts (and check them again)<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here&#8217;s how to write a profile story, in eight easy-to-follow steps.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"1-research-your-subject-a-lot\"><strong>1. Research your subject\u2014a lot<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For my first profile assignment, I interviewed a jazz great who enjoyed a five-decade career in music. Being young and unaware of his music, I asked him how long he&#8217;d been playing. The musician playfully laughed at me and replied that he had been playing most of his life. He then asked me if I knew anything about him. The feeling of embarrassment sunk the rest of my interview. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But from this defeat, I learned the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/thewritelife.com\/7-tips-for-conducting-efficient-interviews\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">importance of researching my subject<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your goal should be to understand your subject\u2019s point of view <em>before the interview begins<\/em> if you hope to capture that person&#8217;s journey. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Start by thoroughly reading their website. If the business or individual maintains a blog, you will want to read their posts to understand their identity. This will clue you into what&#8217;s important to your subject.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Then explore articles written about your subject in other publications. What&#8217;s the general angle of these articles? Is there any information that&#8217;s repeated again and again? This will help differentiate yourself from previous material written about the same subject.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"2-create-questions-that-linger\"><strong>2. Create questions that linger<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When interviewing, the worst thing you can hear from a response is \u201cyes\u201d or \u201cno.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Try to focus your questions on material your subject is passionate about, and don&#8217;t ask questions that can be answered with a simple &#8220;yes&#8221; or &#8220;no.&#8221; Start phases with: &#8220;Can you tell me about?&#8221; or &#8220;Why did you&#8230;?&#8221; <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This gives your subject the opportunity to go \u201coff script\u201d and share unique details about their story in a way that makes them feel comfortable.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"3-let-your-subject-to-do-90-percent-of-the-talking\"><strong>3. Let&nbsp;your subject to do 90 percent of the talking<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It may be tempting to interrupt your subject with your own commentary, but resist this at all costs. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Interrupting cuts into your subject\u2019s flow, which will result in glossing over important information. Through digressions, subjects will often provide entertaining stories. These stories can further illustrate your subject\u2019s unique personality.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/thewritelife.com\/conduct-better-phone-interviews-freelance-writers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Do not be afraid of pauses<\/span><\/a> and silence<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Sometimes this means your subject is thinking about your question, and giving them time will elicit more detailed answers. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For others, silence creates a bit of awkwardness, which they might be eager to fill by sharing a story they might not have otherwise shared.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"4-record-your-interviews\"><strong>4. Record your interviews<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Handwritten notes are great, but it can be difficult to record every word a subject says. Mistakes in note-taking can be costly when it comes time to write the profile.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And you certainly don&#8217;t want to rely on your memory. Get comfortable with a<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&nbsp;<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/thewritelife.com\/9-tools-to-help-you-record-and-transcribe-interviews\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">recording app<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in advance to ensure you capture your entire interview.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"5-develop-your-angle\"><strong>5. Develop your angle<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Profiles need an angle, or a specific focus to sustain the reader\u2019s attention. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A unique angle will set your profile apart from the other material written on the same subject. Use an angle that&#8217;s newsworthy or contains the essence of the business\u2019 philosophy. Profiles that are simply a list of things that happened are rarely interesting.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When reviewing your interview and notes, find a theme that links together the material. For example, if your subject talks about failures that led to their success, the theme of persistence in the face of failure can serve as a good angle. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"6-find-pull-quotes-that-move-the-story\"><strong>6. Find pull quotes that move the story<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Don&#8217;t use quotes just to fill space.<\/span> Instead, lean on<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> quotes to help tell the story. Using the subject\u2019s words can be the most effective way to develop the profile&#8217;s main points.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not sure how many quotes to use? Here&#8217;s a good rule of thumb: Each section of a profile should contain at least one quote that ties the material together. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Find pithy, meaningful quotes to provide maximum effect. Reserve the best quote that best encapsulates your angle and use this for your concluding paragraph. This leaves the reader with a clear picture of the main theme and takeaway.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"7-tell-the-story\"><strong>7. Tell the story<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Remember you are telling a story, so it needs a beginning, middle and end. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A scattershot piece with no clear timeline will confuse the reader.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Create an outline or storyboard so you can keep track of the direction of your story. In your outline, include quotes you plan to add to the story, so that you can shape your piece around your subject\u2019s words.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"8-check-your-facts-and-check-them-again\"><strong>8. Check your facts (and check them again)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Getting information wrong is an embarrassing moment for a writer, especially if you hear about it from your subject. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You&#8217;re responsible for presenting facts as truthfully as possible. If you are unsure of certain information, contact your subject and ask. They will appreciate the effort. Don\u2019t throw away your credibility by failing to fact-check your piece.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Profile writing is a great way to flex all of your writer muscles in one assignment. Over time, you&#8217;ll develop a knack for interviewing, which is helpful for lots of writing work. With the right amount of preparation, organization, detail and practice, you&#8217;ll paint the perfect picture of your subject.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<p>[sps_reusable_block post_id=43050]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>This is an updated version of a story that was previously published. We update our posts as often as possible to ensure they\u2019re useful for our readers.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Photo via GuadiLab \/&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/photos\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/photos&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1585235100311000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEZ9NTDZunfgRJZteegpEFXxraMyA\">Shutterstock<\/a>&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You&#8217;ve got your first profile assignment, but you&#8217;re not sure how to write a profile essay. Here are eight tips to telling a compelling story.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":295,"featured_media":39061,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[893,891,892,890],"class_list":["post-9332","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-freelancing","tag-how-to-write-a-profile","tag-profile-piece","tag-profile-story","tag-writing-a-profile"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewritelife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9332","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewritelife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewritelife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewritelife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/295"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewritelife.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9332"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thewritelife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9332\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewritelife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/39061"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewritelife.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9332"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewritelife.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9332"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewritelife.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9332"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}