Speaking · Free lesson
UX interview English: ask without suggesting the answer
A participant has just completed a checkout step. You want to understand their experience, not hear them agree with your design opinion.
Professor Scott MendozaThe short answer
Instead of “That step was easy, right?”, ask “How did you find that step?” The first supplies a positive judgment; the second lets the participant describe the experience.
Remove the judgment from the question.
Words such as easy, confusing or better can plant an evaluation before the participant gives one. Ask what happened, what they expected or how they experienced the step. An open question can still lead: “What did you love about it?” assumes they loved something.
Compare the examples
That step was easy, right?
How did you find that step?
What did you expect to happen when you selected Continue?
Neutral wording helps, but it does not make an entire interview unbiased. This lesson focuses on the language of one question.
Build the meaning step by step
Spot the supplied opinion
easy, right?
Invite their description
How did you find that step?
Try it now
Remove the leading wording
Read all answers and explanations
After a participant completes a step, which question avoids giving your evaluation?
How did you find that step?How did you find invites their evaluation instead of supplying yours.
Why can “What did you love about the form?” still lead the answer?
It assumes there was something the participant loved.An open form does not remove the positive assumption in love.
You want to know what the participant expected after selecting Continue. Choose a neutral prompt.
What did you expect to happen next?It asks for the expectation without supplying a screen or judging it wrong.
Put it into practice
Rewrite a leading interview question
The participant has just completed the form. Invite their description without assuming it was easy or difficult.
The form was much easier this time, right?
See a model answer
How was your experience completing the form?
Neutral does not mean vague: the completed form remains the specific topic.
A little more clarity
Common questions
A few useful details before you move on.
Are all yes-or-no questions bad?
No. They can confirm a fact, such as whether someone used a feature before. For a fuller experience description, an open neutral question often gives more room.
Have you used this form before?
Why avoid putting an emotion into the question?
Calling an experience frustrating before the participant describes it can suggest the answer you expect. Ask what happened, then follow up on what the participant actually says.
What happened when you tried to find the settings?
Take it into your day
Ask for the experience before offering an evaluation.
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