Recently, I've shared some tricks related to user interviews. I was on the fence about including the topic of today's article in the previous one, but then I figured it deserves a separate but shorter post.
After I have asked a question.
Sounds deceivingly simple, but I have fucked up all too many questions by adding another one, and another one, and another one at the end of the original question. For example:
Is there something that you don't like about what you see on this screen? Is there something that maybe seems off? Or maybe something that confuses you?
Just like that, one question has turned into three, and the poor user doesn't know which one to answer.
Another one of my favorite ways to mess things up is immediately suggesting an option for an answer:
What is the most challenging thing about creating content in the CMS? You've mentioned navigation issues earlier...
Two reasons why I still do it if I don't pay attention:
Heard a question, don't ask another one. Similarly to how I trained my brain to react to words said by others, I'm trying to do the same when I'm the one speaking. It's a one-question rule now: if I've asked one, I can't ask more in the same sentence.
Have a script. Scripts are a problem when they turn what was supposed to be a conversation into a rapid-fire round. But they can be helpful too because if you write down the questions you want to ask, it's relatively easy to just read them and don't add anything else at the end.
Empathize with the user. I know how I hate it when someone asks me four questions at the same time because I immediately get confused and don't know which one to answer. This helps in knowing that if I ask a bunch of whats and hows in one go, the other person will hate me more than if I force them into a few seconds of awkward silence.
To make it easier for the user to share the information I'm asking for. I've noticed the direct relationship between the simplicity and shortness of a question and the quality of the information I receive. It's not always the case and you obviously need to make sure that the user knows what's required of them, but certainly not more than that. I'd even say that asking a short question that a user might follow up with a clarifying one is much better than asking two long questions which will receive a long, fluffy and absolutely worthless answer (because the user got confused, couldn't come up with a clarifying question to my barrage, and simply wanted to get me off their back and move on with the conversation).
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P.S. I, of course, don't always do everything described above. Moreover, if I manage to avoid the triplets of questions and answer suggestions during one whole interview, I acknowledge this achievement and happily pat myself on the back. I don't imagine ever arriving at a point where I've completely eradicated everything human in me and become a perfect user conversation machine. I wouldn't mind it at all though, so if you know more hacks and tricks, and want to share them, please leave a comment on LinkedIn or Telegram and teach me. Thank you.