7 Steps for Conducting a Successful Expert Interview
Tags: User Research, Best Practices, Expert Networks, Interview Tips, Expert Interview

You’ve been tasked with interviewing experts for your latest project — while this may seem like a daunting task, we gathered tips from the best of the best, to equip you for making the most of each interview.

We asked analysts and researchers from Big 3 consulting firms, investment funds, and top design groups for their best practices, and distilled the following list. These tips also culminated in a comprehensive 20-page guidebook, and the 7 key steps are summarized below.

Expert interviews help inform important decisions. How can you make the most of them? [Photo @rawpixel]

“Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.” — Alexander Graham Bell

Preparing Questions

Before the interview, spend time getting to know your subject area to ensure you are caught up to speed on the basics. Articulate to yourself and to your team the one or two overarching questions for which you are speaking with this advisor to clarify. You’ll frame the interview in a way that can challenge your currently held thesis. Create an expanded list of specific questions and order them by priority. Communicating before the Conversation

Consider sharing a list of questions or agenda with the advisor beforehand, so the advisor is primed on the topics you’d like to run through. Seeing some questions beforehand can allow advisors to be more prepared to answer them and make the interview as efficient as possible. Logistics

Are you taking notes on your own? On paper? On an online document?Prepare a way to take notes beforehand, and also book a quiet conference room. In whichever location you choose, ensure that there will be minimal interruptions and noise, and that you can continue to be in the space past the end of the call time in case it runs over. Finally, be sure you are familiar with any regulations regarding potential conflicts of interest, compliance if applicable, and other rules regarding the interview discussion. Starting off on the Right Foot

Building rapport and trust as you set the tone for the conversation can go a long way, and best equip the conversation to be as insightful and open as possible. You can provide additional context or an outline of how you plan to use the conversation’s time, and also confirm recording or transcripts if you planned to do so. Though the advisor has passed an initial background review and screening responses, you should also use your introductory time as a final check to make sure the expert is indeed a good fit for your research. Finding Insights

Steer the conversation, while maintaining flexibility. Guide the conversation by asking broader questions, and then focus on the details as you progress. As you continue in the conversation, dig deeper by asking ‘why’ to opinions that the interviewee provides. Also seek to understand the advisor’s perspective and what informs their thinking to better contextualize their opinions. Be sure to ask more open-ended or interesting questions that can further encourage the discovery of any unexpected insights. Wrapping Up

Let the advisor know when you have 5–10 minutes left, so you can mutually prepare to wrap up. Consider highlighting your conclusions and takeaways for the advisor, such as 2–3 broad themes, just to re-affirm that you understood the expert advisor correctly. This also allows the advisor to correct anything you may have misheard. Consolidating Findings

Make sure to debrief after each conversation. Especially if doing multiple interviews with different advisors consecutively, it’s helpful to allow for breaks in-between conversations to process information and digest insights. Write down the essence of the conversation, and clean up any unclear notes while the conversation is still fresh in your mind. Before you conduct another expert interview for the project, refine any questions or note any new ones you’d like to ask.

There you have it — you should be more than prepared for conducting a stellar expert interview, discovering incredible insights, and impressing clients and partners at your firm.

Want to dig deeper into these best practices? Get the full content in our free guidebook here. Our mission at DeepBench is to make knowledge more accessible — and we hope you found these comprehensive tips helpful!

If you also need experts to interview for your next project, we can help you find the right people. Just let us know who you’re looking to connect with, and we can launch a search within 24 hours.