Interviews are one-on-one conversations that help you hear personal stories, emotions, and insights in people’s own words.
They’re especially helpful for understanding complex experiences or learning from people with lived experience. Interviews can build trust, reveal things surveys miss, and offer rich context for better design decision.
Best Practices
Keep the team small. Just a facilitator and note taker.
Ask for consent to record. If granted, it enables a full transcript for detailed analysis.
Use reflective listening to build trust and gain deeper insights by:
- Repeating key points for clarity.
- Reflect emotions or experiences.
- Notice underlying beliefs or values.
Basic Steps
1. Make a plan. Define your goals, draft your questions, and decide how the session will run.
2. Choose participants. Select people with relevant experiences or perspectives.
3. Make it easy to join. Offer options like interpreters, virtual access, or incentives.
4. Write clear questions. Keep questions short and use everyday language. Use open ended prompts.
5. Facilitate the conversation. One person guides the session; another can take notes or record (with permission).
6. Review what you heard. Look for key themes, patterns, and insights. Debrief with your team to check understanding.
Benefits
- Builds trust and uncovers deeper, more personal insights
- Captures tone, emotion and body language that surveys miss
- Let’s you follow-up in real time to clarify or dig deeper
- Helps test early ideas and understand how people think through tasks or decisions
Our Recommended Resources
Use interviews when you’re exploring complex or sensitive topics, especially with people who have lived experience. They’re valuable when surveys aren’t giving you the full picture or when you need deeper context. Interviews are also useful for getting early feedback on ideas or understanding how someone thinks through a process.