Interviewing the user one on one never grows old. But it is an art difficult to truly master and fully capitalise on. In this talk, I would like to share and discuss experiences and best practices. Also, I will look at some unconventional ways of improving our skills as an interviewer.

1. Quality Time with the User
Hamburg (UX Camp), 29.07.2017
How to make interviews count
Shared under Creative Commons (CC-BY-ND).

2. I am a
shy
person
2
Foto Foto

3. 3
Foto
I am also
curious
&
empathetic
Foto

4. Interesting combination.
4
Social anxiety
Strong interest
in people

5. My survival script*
5
Violent
Outbursts
Helpless
Desperation
Social
Anxiety
Emphatic
Curiosity
Experiencing
as a child
in my family.
*= See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transactional_analysis

6. My survival script has set me up
6
User
Researcher
Life
Coach
Teacher
Trainer

7. Empathy and a strong drive to please
They define what comes natural to me and what are fields of growth
My STRENGTHs
§Active Listening
§Reading expressions
§Curious / non-judgemental
My CHALLENGEs
§Neutral/non-supportive
attitude
§Silence
§Making people „suffer“
§Resolutely taking control
7

8. 8That brings to my first piece of advice:
https://flic.kr/p/LoMXs

9. Know yourself,
before you know others

10. 10
Probably your most important research project:
What kind of person are you?
https://flic.kr/p/3gtnCj
What is your “UX”?
§ Receive feedback (a lot!) from
colleagues, participants,
friends and strangers
§ Watch yourself while interviewing
§ Watch yourself while watching
yourself interviewing ;-)
§ What are your scripts, drivers,
triggers (transactional analysis)?

11. Learn something profoundly new
„Uncovering a new way of looking at the
world, of understanding the beliefs and
desires of a group of people represents a
change in ourselves.
Being changed, we advocate for that
understanding, ... so that they [the team]
can bring new things into the world that
will better support others.“
From „Doorbells, Danger, and Dead Batteries – User Research War
Stories“, New York 2016
The value of user interviews
Steve Portigal

12. Quality Time with the user?
§ 30–60 min.
§ Ideally in “context”
§ Semi-structured
https://www.shutterstock.com/de/image-photo/young-man-categorically-against-giving-interview-606511394

13. Value the obvious
not so
obvious
Your obvious is totally wrong.

14. Be humble!
14
§Your are attempting to
enter somebody else‘s
world.
§They are the masters of
their world.
§Don’t assume, don’t judge.
§Ask obvious questions!
Bildnachweis: https://flic.kr/p/4WtVKR
Nothing is your
obvious here!

15. 15

16. Calm? – Interviews are a strain!
16
Listening
My next Question?
Time left?
Remaining Topics?
Overall Interview
Structure!
My notes?
Did I start
the recording?
My posture?

17. Yes, calm. (Deliberately control your cognitive strain*)
17
Listening
Watching
Feeling
Time left?
My notes?
Overall Interview Structure!
* = Practice will make this easier ;-)

18. You can practice “Knowing nothing“
18
Mindfulness through
Meditation
§Better control of thoughts
and feelings.
§Practices an open, non-
judging attitude.

19. 19
Every day when I get up …
Humans are not well suited for
averaging their lives.
https://www.reddit.com/r/gifs/comments/2mr1xo/every_morning/ (from the movie „Groundhog Day“, Columbia Pictures 1993)

20. Stories, not
generalizations
There is no every day.

21. Aim for concrete experiences
21
When you wake up in the morning, how do you start your day?
Please remember waking up today (yesterday, last Sunday):
What were your first thoughts and actions?
§When was the last time, that you ...?
§Can you remember a concrete situation where you ...?
§What was your happiest/worst experience with ...?

22. Work towards the tipping point*
22* = Again, Steve Portigal’s words (and model).
Question
StoryQuestion
Answer
Question
Answer
Tipping
Point

23. 23
When as a researcher entering somebody else ‘s world,
it normally starts out awkward.
https://flic.kr/p/6rxa3H

24. Admit the awkwardness
Be O.K. with being not O.K.

25. This is not love
§An “awkward” start is
completely normal
§Do not compensate by
over-comforting the
participant.
§Relax:
If you are not at ease,
they are not at ease.
https://flic.kr/p/SJdeBz
Aim for trust
not for love.

26. A proper invitation
Always practice your
„Rahmungskompetenz“
§ Who are you?
§ Why are you doing this?
§ Brief overview of what is to
expect
§ How long will it take?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Astaire,_Fred_-_Never_Get_Rich.jpg

27. Of course, there is awkward.
And then there is

28. When you are
called from a
young woman’s
bedroom.

29. Use every opportunity to
Sharpen the saw
Life is research

30. The easy stuff
§You can meditate § Interviewing Users,
Steve Portigal
§ Validating Product
Ideas, Tomer Sharon
§ Just enough research,
Erika Hall
Read BooksPractice Mindfulness
More books on research:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/created/68146420-hans-
joachim-belz (WORK IN PROGRESS)
https://flic.kr/p/aht7Wt

31. Slightly more challenging:
Practice deep listening
in real life
31

32. 32
Earth is strangely gripping.
Explore! – Nano, nano! :-)
Mork and Mindy: Putting the Ork back in Mork, ABC 1980

33. You still got questions?
33
@minutefforts / @Anstrengungslos
hans-joachim.belz@anstrengungslos.de
www.anstrengungslos.de

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