10 Things You Should Never Do During A Research Interview
The questions you ask and the things you do can either make or break your interview. Plan your actions carefully and make sure that you ask thoughtful questions. To help you with this we asked one of our top UX researchers to share 10 things you should never do during a research interview. Keep that list in mind next time you plan your interviews.
1. Avoid asking leading questions
You might ask a question in a way that will prove your hypothesis, but it will not be what the respondent actually thinks. This will spoil the results, no matter that it will be more pleasant to report that you were right in your hypothesis. Aim for neutral questions where the person won’t feel any pressure to answer in a certain way, and will be able to express his/her own thoughts freely.
2. Don’t ask complex questions that could be misinterpreted
Asking two, or three questions as one single question but in a very long form is never a good idea. Try to simplify your questions as much as possible during the preparation. If unsure, test your questions on your colleagues/friends before the interviews. If they are unclear to them, there is a need to re-write and simplify.
3. Close-ended questions are no-go
They usually give very short and limited answers. Also, you will rarely get unexpected insights because respondents will be answering your strict question, not telling a story where you might learn something you haven’t thought about before. Open-ended questions will make your interview results much richer. And you can always softly stir a conversation in the right direction if the respondent starts describing completely irrelevant things.
4. Hypothetical questions should be avoided
Ask about the past, not about the future. We tend to please people we barely know in uncomfortable situations. We also want to seem better than we are in reality, especially when it comes to sensitive topics. So when the respondent didn’t have some situation in the past but has to speak about it, there is a high chance of coming up with fantasies instead of reality.
5. Not clarifying when people use vague words without further explanation
'Convenient', 'Nice-looking' etc can mean very different things to different people. Your task is to clarify those terms and receive a maximum description of what is meant. If a person finds it difficult to explain, you can ask 'What products do you use that you find convenient?' and then 'What is convenient about the product X for you?'. Usually, people find it much easier to answer such questions. And you can check those products after the interview.
6. Avoid questions to describe how great the work you've done is
Telling ‘Look how great this feature is’ and giving a lot of details about it before asking further questions will make respondents uncomfortable to criticize. Also, having a lot of information before trying to use the feature produces unrealistic results as nobody gives users such help in the real life.
7. Assuming that you understood what a person is saying instead of asking for more details directly
Your perspective will definitely affect the interpretation of the results. But if this could be lowered to a minimum by asking a person directly, that is worth doing.
8. Assuming that people have the need for your product or feature when they might not
Asking 'How have you solved problem X?' that your product solves might uncover that people don't see this as a critical issue, and won't be willing to pay money for the solution for it. If they haven't spent a lot of time or effort on it in the past, it's unlikely they will be using a separate product for it.
9. Not having a pre-screening
Not all the respondents are equally useful. Some of them can try to fit into the topic in order to receive an incentive. Those people don’t have the real experience you need which means spoiled interview results and hypothetical answers.
10. Not test the current assumptions company has
As you already have some time to talk to the potential or current users of the product, you might ask a couple of questions to check whether the current company’s beliefs are true. If those were simply assumptions not proved with any research, it’s better to replace them with the true information sooner rather than later.
Interviews and surveys are extremely powerful tools to understand your customers` journey, investigate problems and validate your ideas. They are one of the most cost-effective ways to improve your overall business performance when done the right way.
