Questions are more powerful than answers. - Erika Hall
Because UX is a user-centric process, you'll be talking to a lot of people. Interviews are a great way to learn about your target audience, as well as about their worldview. Learning to ask the right questions will help you unlock critical insights and information to help inform your design decisions.
Before starting an interview, remember to check your biases at the door.
It can be helpful to go into an interview with a script, but don't be afraid to diverge from it in order to dive deeper into a topic or issue that comes up during the conversation.
The important thing is not to stop questioning; curiosity has its own reason for existing. — Albert Einstein
You never know when you may get the best responses, so be open-minded and keep asking questions to uncover the unknown.
Frame Questions to Receive Helpful Answers
Believe it or not, even a few words can make a difference in what kind of responses you'll receive. Therefore, it's essential to be aware of these different situations to be sure to ask the best questions.
❌ Avoid closed questions:
Do you prefer red or green? It's a dead-end question that doesn't offer much room for elaboration.
✔️ Ask open-end questions:
Can you walk me through a typical day? This also happens to be a great question for kicking off interviews to get a better sense of the context and environment.
❌ Don't ask if somebody liked something.
"Did you like the experience?" "Yes" is a boring answer.
✔️ Ask questions that will get you more information.
"What did you learn from the experience or situation?" Chances are you'll unlock a door to information you didn't even know you were looking for.
❌ Watch out for leading questions:
If you say, "What did you think of our new app? It's great, isn't it?" you're not really opening yourself to honest feedback. Chances are the person responding will just nod and smile even if they thought it was terrible because they can tell you're not actually open to feedback.
✔️ Invite your respondent to show you how they do something:
Can you walk me me through how you make a cup of tea in the morning? Can you show me how you swaddle your baby? Can you break down how your desk is organized? Hmmm, that's interesting what you said about XYZ, do you mind sketching what it looks like [and then explain it].
You get the point. Learn by seeing and doing.
Helpful advice from Steve Portigal on framing questions and the power of silence. [5:08 min]
Getting an Interview
Interviewing is something that you'll get better at the more you do it. Here are some key things to keep in mind:
Make some small talk. It's pretty awkward to dive right in. You may even get some insights. Even a simple question such as, "What do you do for a living?" helps show your interest in the person and gets them talking.
Tell the informant what your research is about. You can keep it vague: "We're researching technology habits" will suffice (even if that's not exactly what you're researching). You don't want their mindset to shift or think they need to answer questions in a certain way.
Reassure your informant that they are the expert. There are no right or wrong answers, and you're there to learn from them.
Start with a general question such as "Can you walk me through a typical day?" It will get the informant talking and you listening. Listen for pain points (frustrations in their day) and things that may prove to be opportunities.
While listening, also pay attention to the kind of words and language they're using. It can be important later in the design process to ensure you're talking to the right audience.
Consult your script to ensure you've addressed all the critical interview questions.
Build on or refer back to responses by saying something like, "Earlier you mentioned XYZ, I was hoping you could tell me a bit more about that...". It will not only get you more information, but it also proves you were listening.
End with a question that invites them to share more information, such as "Based on what we've talked about, is there anything else you'd like to add?"
Thank them for their time.
Additional Resources
Helpful advice from Sarah Doody on Questions to ask when you conduct a user research interview. [11:43 min].
Interviewing Humans [article] by Erika Hall.
Let's recap!
The ultimate goal of the interviewer is to spend more time listening than talking
Learning to ask the right questions will help you unlock key insights and information to help inform your design decisions.
Avoid closed questions. Instead ask open-ended questions as you will gather more insight and personal thoughts. Watch out for leading questions as they might prevent honest feedback
Now that you are all set with participants and interview questions, we’ll look at how to conduct the research successfully in the next chapter!
