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---
name: conducting-interviews
description: Conducts structured interviews with progressive questioning, extracting insights from responses to formulate follow-up questions. Use when interviewing users, customers, stakeholders, or conducting research conversations.
---

Conducting Professional Interviews

Start with an open question, listen actively, then drill down:

Q1: "Can you walk me through your typical day using [product/service]?"
→ Listen for pain points, workflows, emotions
Q2: "You mentioned [specific detail] - what makes that particularly challenging?"
→ Extract root causes
Q3: "How do you currently handle that challenge?"
→ Understand workarounds and impact

Interview Structure

1. Opening (5 min)

   • Thank participant
   • Explain purpose and format
   • Get consent to record/take notes
   • Start with easy background question

2. Main Interview (20-40 min)

   • Ask primary questions
   • Listen for unexpected insights
   • Probe deeper with follow-ups
   • Document responses in real-time

3. Closing (5 min)

   • "Is there anything important I haven't asked about?"
   • Next steps
   • Thank participant

Progressive Questioning Technique

Progress:

• Ask broad, open-ended question
• Listen for specific details, emotions, or unexpected elements
• Identify 2-3 interesting threads to explore
• Ask "Tell me more about..." for highest-priority thread
• Continue drilling down until you reach root insights
• Move to next thread or topic

Example 1: User Research Input: Interviewing about mobile banking app usage

Q: "How do you typically handle your banking needs?"
A: "I mostly use the app, but sometimes I get frustrated and call the bank."
Q: "What specifically frustrates you about the app?"
A: "The transfer process takes forever - so many screens."
Q: "Can you show me exactly what you do when making a transfer?"
A: [User demonstrates] "See, I have to confirm three times!"
Q: "What would make this process feel right to you?"

Example 2: Stakeholder Interview Input: Understanding business requirements

Q: "What's your biggest challenge with the current system?"
A: "Our reports are always late, and clients complain."
Q: "How late are we talking, and what causes the delays?"
A: "Usually 2-3 days late. The data comes from multiple sources..."
Q: "Walk me through how you currently pull that data together."

Question Types:

• Behavioral: "Tell me about the last time you..."
• Hypothetical: "What would you do if...?"
• Comparison: "How does this compare to...?"
• Emotion: "How did that make you feel?"

Active Listening:

• Repeat back key points: "So what I'm hearing is..."
• Use their exact words in follow-ups
• Notice what they don't say
• Pay attention to tone and body language

Real-time Documentation:

Q1: Background/context question
A1: [Key points, exact quotes in "quotes", emotions in (parentheses)]

Q2: Follow-up based on [specific detail from A1]
A2: [New insights, contradictions, pain points]

Insights: [Patterns, surprises, hypotheses to test]

Probing Techniques:

• "Can you give me a specific example?"
• "What did you do next?"
• "How did others react to that?"
• "What would have to change for this to work better?"

• Leading questions: "Don't you think X is better?" → "How do you compare X and Y?"
• Multiple questions at once: Confuses participants
• Interrupting: Let them finish completely before responding
• Assuming context: Ask for definitions of their terminology
• Rushing to solutions: Focus on understanding the problem first
• Not documenting: Memory fades quickly - write during the conversation
• Ignoring emotions: Feelings reveal true motivations and pain points
• Staying surface-level: Always ask "Why?" or "Tell me more about that"