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What to Avoid

1:30 with Hope Armstrong

While there's no exact way to conduct a user interview, there are definite questions and styles you should avoid so you can encourage honest and helpful answers.

What to Avoid in a User Interview

  • Don't intimidate. Standing while your interviewee is sitting is not a good idea. You're intimidating them.
  • Don't ask sensitive, personal questions. They make your participants uncomfortable.
  • Don't ask yes/no questions without asking why.
  • Don't ask long questions. By the time you finish, they forget what you asked.
  • Don't use jargon because they don't understand it.
  • Don't talk too much.
  • Don't explain your questions.
  • Don't ignore body language. While they might say one thing, their body language might be saying something else.
  • Don't ask for product feedback. You don't want feedback, you want to observe behavior.
  • Don't ask to predict the future. We talked about that.
  • Don't pitch your product. This is not a sales call. This is an interview.
  • *Don't analyze the answers in your mind. * You'll have time for that later.
  • 0:00

    The following are things you should definitely avoid during user interviews.

  • 0:04

    Don't confuse your interviewee, mess up your data, and

  • 0:09

    result in invalid unreliable conclusions.

  • 0:12

    Don't intimidate.

  • 0:14

    Standing while your interviewee is sitting is not a good idea.

  • 0:18

    You're intimidating them.

  • 0:20

    Don't ask sensitive personal, questions, they make your participants uncomfortable.

  • 0:27

    Don't ask yes or no questions without asking why.

  • 0:32

    Don't ask long questions.

  • 0:35

    By the time you finish, they forgot what you asked.

  • 0:39

    Don't use jargon because they don't understand it.

  • 0:43

    Don't talk too much.

  • 0:45

    Don't explain your questions.

  • 0:48

    Don't ignore body language.

  • 0:50

    While they might say one thing, their body language might be saying something else.

  • 0:56

    Don't ask for a product feedback.

  • 0:59

    You don't want feedback, you wanna observe behavior.

  • 1:04

    Don't ask to predict the future.

  • 1:06

    We talked about that.

  • 1:09

    Don't pitch your product.

  • 1:10

    This is not a sales call, this is an interview.

  • 1:15

    Don't analyze the answers in your mind.

  • 1:18

    You'll have time for that later.

  • 1:21

    That's a lot to remember, but practice makes perfect.

  • 1:25

    In the next step, I'll walk you through a transcript of a user interview.

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