The Importance of Empathy in the Recruitment Process

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The sofa we sat on smelled of cat piss and the living room offered up no pretense of ever having been cleaned. I was inspired by this story and many other stories in here at that level of empathy, of being willing to do that. You have to be just willing to absorb their environment and who they are as kind of unpleasant as it may be. That's the humanity that's at the core of doing research.

Steve Portigal challenges us to enjoy the silence when interviewing people. He teaches us the importance of rapport-building, and offers sage advice on how to do it. He shows us how sticking with an interview even when it’s not going well can sometimes bring forth the best data. He also reveals how a little empathy can go a long way in field research.

Secret Identity (8:08)
Origin Story (12:19)
What drives your curiosity? (24:53)
Roberta 'call me Bert's war story (29:28)
What's Ethnography (the "E-word") (38:32)
Rapport-building tips (46:51)
Brian's war story (55:21)
UX Superhero Name (66:28)
Habit of Success (75:06)
Steve's Corset War Story (78:39)
Best Advice (84:53)
Contact Info (88:33)

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