How to Build Openness in User Interviews

Three things I'm working on to improve my interview moderation skills: 1. No elipsis questions ❓ I'm working on leaving questions at the question without giving examples (these often trail off with an elipsis): "How do you communicate with your co-workers? Do you use texting, email, Zoom, a chat app...?" It's often instinctive to ask questions like this in everyday life (especially for over-explainers like myself 👋 ), but they can get in the way of what you're really trying to accomplish in a user interview. To paraphrase Steve Portigal on the Design Better podcast: When we give suggestions of possible answers in the question, it can limit the participant's ability to reflect, unintentionally train them how they should respond, and get in the way of deep & authentic responses. We often have really good intentions for asking elipsis questions. We want to build rapport, scaffold, connect, and support participants, but these questions can actually have the opposite effect. 2. Allow silence 🤫 We've all heard this one before, but it's much easier said than done. Allowing silence during an interview gives the participant time to think and reflect, often leading to deeper and more insightful responses. It can also make the interviewee feel more comfortable and less rushed, encouraging them to share more candidly and thoroughly. I've noticed that when I'm taking notes during an interview, sometimes I'll need an extra beat to finish up a note after a participant answers a question. That unintentional moment of silence while I'm typing after I think they're done responding often leads to participants' adding an even more deep or reflective response that I wouldn't have gotten if I had rushed on to the next question. I'm working on doing this much more intentionally. 3. Redirect if participants start talking about others ↪️ I'm working on redirecting when people say things like: "Well, I could see some people using this feature, maybe if they need to communicate with external and internal team members..." or "Maybe this would work for iPhone users..." When a participant starts talking about what other people might want rather than their own opinions, you can gently guide the conversation back to their personal perspective. Remind them that you’re interested in their personal experiences and use probing questions to bring the discussion back to their own needs & opinions. Acknowledge their points about others, but reframe and redirect the conversation to highlight their individual perspective. “You mentioned that others might find this useful. How about you? How would you use it?” “I can see why that might be important to some. How do you feel about it? How would it impact your experience?” “That’s interesting. Can you tell me more about what you personally would like or need in this product?” 🤔 What are things you're working on to improve your interview moderation skills? #UserInterviews #UXResearch #UserExperience #UsabilityTesting

In the first company we founded (and exited), we talked to thousands of users. Here at Pivot (YC S22), we just crossed our first 100. We are obsessed about speaking to users. But how do we talk to users effectively? Here are the top 4 tactics that have helped us gain valuable insights: 1/ Spend the first 5 minutes just talking about their lives. Don’t approach user conversations like a sales pitch. I know that it’s tempting to push the call towards your goals, or perhaps you are worried about wasting the other person’s time. But resist that urge! Instead, focus on genuinely getting to know them as if you’re making a new friend. First, this provides valuable context about who they are and what matters to them, helping you better make sense of their insights. Second, this deeper connection fosters genuine care for each user, which is key to building a successful company. 2/ Look for Lightbulb Moments. These rare moments provide unique insights that bring us closer to achieving Product Market Fit. For instance, Brian Chesky went down to Airbnb hosts just to realise that they needed help with photography, and Brian Armstrong phoned up all early Coinbase users just to learn from one guy the importance of a "Buy Bitcoin" button. By staying patient and attentive, a single comment from a user can spark a breakthrough idea. Even if 100 conversations don't yield Lightbulb Moments, the next one just might. It is our job to look out for them. 3/ “Huh! That’s interesting. Tell me more.” This is the go-to statement whenever a user shares something unexpected or unusual. Ask it, then pause and let them respond. While it may catch users off guard initially, it prompts them to reflect on their feelings, often resulting in a more detailed and nuanced explanation. This could just lead to a valuable Lightbulb Moment (as mentioned earlier). 4/ 5 consecutive “whys” when seeking an explanation. The 1st “why” might uncover something interesting, but it’s not until you get to the 5th “why” that you start to unearth their deepest motivations and underlying pain points. These are often things that the user themselves may not even be aware of. This technique helps us move past surface-level feedback to gain deeper insights, guiding our product development and UX from first principles. Ultimately, this helps us create something users truly want. The best founders continue to talk directly to their users even after they've reached $100M+ in ARR. It's crucial that we start making this our superpower today. I’d love to learn about other tactics that have worked for you as well, feel free to drop them in the comments below 👇

What I’ve Learned from 32 Customer Interviews: 1️⃣ Listen first, don’t pitch – Focus on their needs, goals, and challenges. It's better for the first conversation if they don’t know about your startup idea at all. 2️⃣ Ask open-ended questions, then follow up – Start broad, then narrow down with follow-up questions like, "Can you give me a specific example?" or "When did that last happen?" 3️⃣ Understand their daily tools – Ask what tools they use and why. You’ll uncover what’s working—and what’s not—without assuming anything. 4️⃣ Avoid leading questions – Focus on real experiences. Instead of asking "Would you use this?" ask, "How do you currently solve this problem?" 5️⃣ Seek learning, not validation – The goal isn’t to hear what you want to hear; it’s to see if your solution actually fits their world. 6️⃣ Embrace uncomfortable answers – If you’re not hearing hard truths, you’re not digging deep enough. Honest feedback is gold. 7️⃣ Keep it casual, don’t over-formalize – Keep the conversation relaxed and natural. If it feels like a formal interview, people may not be honest about their thoughts. The more we focus on them, the better we can align our ideas to their real needs. Let’s keep learning and building better solutions 🙌