The Delicate Art of User Interviewing
If you know anything about user research interviewing you’ll be familiar with the standard interview advice like: don’t asking leading questions, allow for silent moments, answer questions with a question, and record everything. However, I want to explore some lesser known techniques to increase the quality of your research data. Here are five simple tricks I have picked up over my decade of conducting user interviews.
1. Engage with their world.
In my career, I’ve tested users of all kinds including those who geek out over video games, TV shows, travel, running, and anime. Learning about those hobbies and passions can reveal the underlying desires, fears and ambitions of the individuals who love them. It’s remarkably easier to probe on a topic you have some understanding of. Watch a few episodes of “My Little Pony” before you ask a Bronie what they love about it. Play a video game for an hour before asking players about what makes the game so addictive. Break a leg before asking about knee pain. (Just kidding!) Think of it as interview prep.
At Crunchyroll, we have found that many of our users like to engage with other fans at conventions like CRX and Anime Expo. Before we begin talking with event attendees, our research team starts by wandering around the convention ourselves. Anime conventions are exhilarating sensory experiences full to the brim with elaborate costumes, celebrity panels, exclusive screenings, and showcases for artists from around the world. That’s when we can interview people who are fully engaged, sometimes in full cosplay, and have them describe the experience while the memories are still fresh and their passion is in full bloom.
2. Decide what communication style best fits the user within the first 5 min of an interview.
Adapt your communication style to fit your user, not yourself. Spend the first few minutes building rapport and gauging what type of communication style they are most comfortable in. Building rapport is simple if you begin by asking questions they already know the answer to. Questions like, “what type of movies do you like” and “tell me about the place you grew up” and “do you come here often?” are easy icebreakers.
Asses your interviewee’s emotional state and meet them there. It’s okay to smile when a user describes falling in love with baby goat yoga (yes, it’s real). However, this can cut both ways. When I conducted clinical interviews with patients at UCSF, I learned first-hand how challenging it could be to talk to a stranger about physical problems. Patients often had a hard time maintaining eye contact when describing certain medical issues and their discomfort was obvious. I adapted my style to include more note taking, not as a way to capture the conversation (which I always record), but as a way to offer them a short cognitive rest. Breaking eye contact can provide nervous interviewees a small respite from feeling exposed, and a little privacy during intimate discussions.
3. Pay attention to what they say, but EVEN MORE attention to what they do.
Now, you might assume this one belongs on that list of standards but there is some nuance to doing it well. This is pretty much the crux of UX testing: going beyond what people say they want, to how they actually interact with the product. YouTube understands this and built their algorithm to recognize that even though someone says they love documentaries, 90% of their viewership suggests that they love endless 5-second videos of cats in boxes.
Learning to be observant is like a muscle: the more you use it the better you will become. You’ll get better data from your user and a more complete picture overall if you combine their words with nonverbal cues. For example, insecurity and fear can be displayed through posture (slouching and clenched jaw) — watch out for and read into these moments. It’s important to recognize and pay attention to these physical signals so you can appropriately alter your line of questioning. For example, ease off if your subject is uncomfortable; this is not the Jerry Springer Show and you do not get points for making your interviewee throw a chair. Crossed legs or arms may mean they are feeling defensive so you need to pivot the conversation or reframe what you are asking in a gentler way. Mirroring is an involuntary physical syncing that happens automatically when two people are vibing and comfortable. If you do not notice this, you may want to adjust the cadence and type of questions you are asking. It can be very beneficial to pause for a moment to observe, reflect and redirect.
4. Figure out what you want to know but take an indirect path there.
Before you ever begin the interview or write a single question, have a broad idea of what you want to learn. You can have concrete research questions that ultimately need to be answered, but the questions you ask the user may need to be slightly different.
Learning the why behind a user’s actions and behaviors is important: knowing a user logs onto Pinterest twice a day is great; but it’s even more crucial to dig into the feelings and motivations behind that action. Perhaps the user logs onto pinterest twice a day because they are searching for images to add to their collection of 18th century butter churns. With that information, you could then follow up with “looking back, what inspired your interest in historical kitchenware? or “help me understand how churning butter by hand makes you feel?”
Another example of a very general indirect question is asking who their mentor is. The person who they admire is likely representative of their values, desires, and ambitions. Talking about why they look up to their mentor will get you a more sincere answer than asking a straightforward question like “what are the top three guiding principles in your life?” Keeping it open and conversational can prevent the interview from feeling like a police interrogation.
5. Be genuinely curious.
The last is something that’s easy to forget in the moment but is absolutely essential to being a great interviewer. If you’re not genuinely engaged with the person you’re talking to, they won’t be engaged with your questions either. Stay present and stay interested and you’ll get better answers every time.
