Interview preparation steps 101

1. No more than three research team members should attend any single interview so as to not overwhelm the interviewee or crowd the location. Each team member should have a clear role (i.e. interviewer, recorder, note-taker, observer).
2. Prepare the interview goal, set the schedule with your interviewee, and prepare the interview script.
3. Come prepared with a set of open-ended questions you’d like to ask. Start by asking broad questions about the person’s life, values, and habits, before asking more specific questions that relate directly to your challenge.
4. Prepare for the recording and notes. Make sure to write down exactly what the person says (verbatim), not what you think they might mean. This process is all about hearing exactly what people are saying.
5. What the person says is only one data point. Be sure to observe your interviewee’s body language and the context in which you’re talking.

<aside> 💡 Be genuinely curious. Everyone you meet knows something you don’t.

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Ethics and tips for conducting interviews

• Being present (no assumptions/prejudice). Don’t multitask like texting or thinking about your next plan.
• Build your empathy for your interviewee. Doing this will help you to understand their perspective, feelings, thoughts, or motivation. Prompt: "How it's like for you?", "How do you feel about it?"
• Zip your lips and listen. You never learn something when you speak. You can speak up to 250 syllables per minute while your ears can listen to 500 syllables per minute. Our body is designed to have more ability to listen than to speak. Without listening to each other, the conversation is only 2 people that shout at each other.
• Be neutral and encouraging.
• Pay attention to the details, inconsistencies, and nonverbal cues from your interviewee.
• Practice, practice, practice.

Interview guidelines:

1. Introduction
   • Smile, and be polite.
   • Introduce yourself and your team
   • Tells the interviewee the purpose of the interview. (Example: to gain insight about batik industry, or to gain insight about problems in hospitals, or to understand how earth produces to go from field to table)
   • Brief the estimated duration of the interview to the interviewee
2. Build rapport, and make them feel comfortable. Start with friendly small talk before transitioning into your interview. Start slow and easy with simple, easy-to-answer questions before delving deeper into personal experiences or more involved tasks. Then, as you approach the end of a session, make an effort to surface gradually. (Example: how was your day?)
3. Important to note about privacy
   • Ask permission for recording
   • Notify the interviewee that the data will be used for research purposes only (not for public usage)
   • State that there's no right or wrong answer
4. Give open-ended questions. A simple question might lead to a deep answer while a complex question might lead to a yes or no answer.