12 Interview Best Practices

PDF version available here: Interview Best Practices.

Interview Checklist

• ❏ Introduce yourself, explain why you chose your interviewee (a little flattery always helps break the ice), and your overall goal in interviewing
• ❏ Provide an estimate of interview duration and ask if there is a hard cut off time
• ❏ Explain who will have access to the information obtained in the interview.
• ❏ Review and provide consent form for signature
• ❏ Ask if it’s ok to record the interview
• ❏ Let your interviewee know they can break or stop at any time, and there are no wrong answers.
• ❏ Ask how they feel about everything and if there are any questions before beginning

Interview Best Practices/ Helpful Hints

• Ask for show and tell or bring photographs/objects that can aid the conversation
• Come prepared with questions, but listen to your interviewee – engage their responses, and try to make the discussion conversational whenever possible
• Take Notes!
• If a response is abrupt or unclear, inquire: “Can you tell me more about that?”
• Show interest
• Gain context with questions like: ‘How typical do you think that was?