Recording the interview But if a respondent does not agree for the interview to be recorded, you can take notes or ask an observer to do that for you.

Assembling an interviewing team The team can be augmented by an observer who acts as the second pilot. When an interviewer becomes hesitant, an observer can help. Observers can also take notes, which is extremely helpful if the respondent does not consent to record the interview.

Stop worrying and help respondents do the same Whenever you feel nervous during an interview, acknowledge the feeling and be open about it. This won't take away the stress, but it will ease it. If a respondent appears to be anxious, ask if the interview questions are making them feel that way.

--------------------------------------------- Performing a retrospective You can fix any mistakes you made and improve your approach if you did an interview by yourself. If it's a team effort, then the retrospective should be done in iterations after one or two interviews. Share the recording with someone more skilled and ask for their feedback.

Training before an interview If you can't run a trial, discuss your approach with your team members after the interview to get feedback and make adjustments to your approach.

Instructing respondents Practice shows it's worth reminding users about the upcoming interview. Calendly lets us reschedule with ease - a respondent simply follows a link from the invite and chooses another time.

Preparing the questions It is a good idea to prepare eight to ten questions, considering that almost everyone will have some clarifying or follow-up questions. In general, avoid asking for compliments or taking an aggressive position.

Asking again Use a close-ended question to clarify what someone meant (e.g., I just want to make sure, did it happen last night?).

Identifying the right respondents To recruit and retain the right candidates, many organizations use the services of companies like Perelson's Utah County staffing agency. The most important thing to keep in mind is that sometimes you have to look around to see who else may be able to provide the information you need.