How to Master User Interviews To Build More Lovable Products (with Steve Portigal)
Jan 24, 2024
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In this episode, Hannah Clark is joined by Steve Portigal, User Research Consultant & Author of Interviewing Users: How to Uncover Compelling Insights (2nd Edition), to discuss the nuance involved in conducting user interviews, how to ask follow-up questions, and tips to manage unexpected responses.
Asking follow-up questions during user interviews helps uncover underlying motivations and thought processes.
Crafting effective questions that focus on open-endedness and comparisons leads to more insightful user interview responses.
Deep dives
Importance of Asking Follow-up Questions
Asking follow-up questions is key to extracting valuable insights during user interviews. By asking for specific examples or seeking clarification, you can delve deeper into the interviewee's experiences or opinions. This technique helps build rapport, encourages reflection, and uncovers underlying motivations or thought processes. It is essential to resist the temptation to provide possible answers or biases in the questions and instead allow for moments of silence, signaling that their responses are valued and allowing for long-form answers.
Crafting Effective Questions
Crafting effective questions is crucial for insightful user interviews. Instead of suggesting possible answers, focus on open-ended questions that encourage respondents to provide their own insights. It can be beneficial to ask for comparisons, whether across time, people, or contexts, to gain a deeper understanding. Additionally, requesting specific examples or asking how something relates to their past or future experiences can elicit more thoughtful responses. The goal is to navigate the interview, adapting your questions to follow the natural flow while avoiding leading responses or multiple-choice scenarios.
Navigating Bias in User Interviews
Addressing bias in user interviews is essential for obtaining unbiased insights. Cognitive biases, such as confirmation bias, can influence our perception and interpretation of responses. Combatting this requires self-awareness and setting explicit expectations within the research team. Actively acknowledging assumptions and expectations can help identify potential biases and foster a more open mindset. By recognizing and challenging our biases, we can create a more inclusive and effective research environment.
The Power of Silence in User Interviews
Silence plays a critical role in user interviews. Allowing for moments of silence after posing a question provides the interviewee space to consider and share more insightful responses. The discomfort that accompanies silence often arises from fear and the unknown, but managing that discomfort and embracing the silence can lead to more thoughtful and reflective answers. By resisting the urge to fill the silence and instead using non-verbal cues, such as nodding or attentive body language, interviewers can create an environment that encourages interviewees to share their thoughts and experiences more deeply.
Ever wondered what it takes to unearth the most compelling insights from a user interview?
In this episode, Hannah Clark is joined by Steve Portigal—User Research Consultant & Author of Interviewing Users: How to Uncover Compelling Insights (2nd Edition)—to discuss the nuance involved in conducting user interviews, how to ask follow-up questions, and tips to manage unexpected responses.
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