GETTING TO KNOW PLNU’S DEAN NELSON

Dean Nelson may be an expert on asking great questions, but he has plenty of stories to tell when the tables are turned.

His latest book, “Talk to Me: How to Ask Better Questions, Get Better Answers, and Interview Anyone Like A Pro,” is filled with great stories, from visiting former Mexico President Vicente Fox at his ranch in the state of Guanajuato to spending an entire day with jazz legend Dizzy Gillespie in central Missouri. In the book, Nelson illustrates how interviewing is a learned skill, and how anyone can get better at it.

As director of the journalism program at Point Loma Nazarene University since 1984, Nelson has conducted interviews all over the world to write stories for news outlets, magazines and books — and conducted many more right here in San Diego, where he founded the annual Writer’s Symposium by the Sea. His list of guests includes Ray Bradbury, Nikki Giovanni, Amy Tan and many more.

The 26th annual Writer’s Symposium begins March 23, and Nelson joined the Name Drop San Diego podcast to take a turn as the interviewee. The following are excerpts from the conversation. Search “Name Drop San Diego” in your favorite listening app to find this episode or visit sandiegouniontribune.com/ namedropsd.

On why he writes: When Ray Bradbury said, “Our job is to bear witness to the miraculous,” I just thought, that’s it. That’s why I do what I do. Not the interviewing part but the writing part. There are certain stories I’m drawn to that I just feel like, if I see it, I need to tell about it. It may be something that the world will never see, but I still need to hang some language on it. I want to know what this is and until I’ve written it, I don’t really know what I think about it or feel about it. And then if I can include an audience perhaps, I can share it and do that kind of bearing witness. I just feel like story is how we function in the world and I get to be one of the storytellers. It’s actually a privilege.

On this year’s Writer’s Symposium:

We had to pivot a little bit because we had this amazing lineup of speakers for 2021, and last year we had to make a decision as to whether to risk it and try to do the in-person event or try to put that off for a year and do something else. So rather than cancel it, we just said, there are a lot of really, really good writers right on our own campus at Point Loma Nazarene University, faculty and students alike. We created a student film festival and did a competition . ... We’ve got some people who have written some very, very important books in the world of theology . ... I interviewed some of our local poets on campus and I found that illuminating. We’re doing a poetry workshop . ... And then I agreed to be interviewed . ... I’m usually the one asking the questions and this time, we thought, hey, we’re turning inward, we’re looking at the writing that’s going on on our campus by our campus people, so that interview is with me. We’ve got the theme that says, “writing that illuminates.” I think it’s all illuminating. It’s a lot of fun. I think people will enjoy it even if they’re not part of the Point Loma campus.

His dream Writer’s Symposium guest:

Bono from U2 or Bob Dylan

The “Jeopardy” category he would excel in:

I know a lot about ice hockey, I know a lot about journalism and I know a lot about jazz, so probably those three areas.