The essence of the product is to serve the needs of users.
As the user of the product, when designing the product, we must consider their experience while ensuring the function.
So where does the user experience come from? Common channels include: customer service, user groups, user interviews, app market comments, open platform discussions, WeChat background responses, product internal user feedback modules, and so on.
Among them, the most effective way is user interviews. Today, I will share with you an article about user interview techniques written by Joshua Matthews.
I feel that when conducting product user testing with customers, whether it is face-to-face interviews or video conferences, the process is completely unpredictable, even if I prepare in advance, because some unexpected situations will eventually make me at a loss. 
So, here I want to share some secrets of user interviews that no one has ever told you before. Of course, I hope you will never use them, but who can think of these things?
1. Angry user
What do you do when you find yourself in a conversation with an angry user ?
This situation is more difficult. You may get caught up in asking a few questions, and then fall into an embarrassing situation, not knowing how to proceed.
In this case, let users vent first.
Our job is to create a way for users to safely share their frustrations, regardless of whether they are using the product or not, these feedbacks are also what we need to hear from users. As long as the questions they raise can effectively target and optimize products, they must be remembered!
Under the anger and frustration, the answer to how to solve the customer's biggest problem is hidden. You can better understand user behavior, find improvements in product features, and improve business relationships with users.
2. Users who ask hidden questions
When the user accepts your interview invitation, but raises other pain points during the conversation, what should you do?
Perhaps you will encounter that users are more concerned with solving other problems than the question you are preparing to interview?
How do you say this situation? It also happens very often. Although I am very grateful to them for mentioning other pain points encountered in the use of the product, it makes my situation a bit awkward; it is not that we can communicate more problems in one communication, so that you not only Losing precious time also failed to solve your main problem.
Therefore, focusing on solving one or two questions at a time will make the interview more meaningful.
If you encounter this situation, you can try these methods:
1. Set aside extra time during the interview to solve user problems in a targeted manner. Rather than throw the user's questions aside, it is better to arrange extra time to discuss the user's questions at the beginning or end of the interview.
2. Arrange follow-up interviews. During the interview and dialogue, there is not always time to solve other pain points. In this case, another time can be arranged to specifically solve the user's pain point.
3. Temporarily change your plan to solve the core pain points of users. Although this method is not effective for everyone, after all, the plan cannot keep up with the changes. If you have received a lot of feedback on this point, please change your plan and improve the functions that users first require.
3. If nervous users encounter users who are nervous
throughout the process, the following methods can be adopted to relax them.
We can imagine from the perspective of the customer, it is like being an investigator at a crime scene analyzing their every move, which will definitely make people very nervous. And the word "test" makes people nervous.
As a leader, we should pay attention to this. Only by letting users feel at ease to conduct interviews can they get quality feedback.
These methods can be tried:
1. Establish a connection with users-let them not feel that they are the subject of the test, and spend time to understand each other in a deeper level before the interview, so that the meeting is not only asking questions about us, but also includes some daily questions in life , To create a chat relationship between friends.
2. Provide clear expectations-specify what you want from users. Provide clear instructions and attach a small script (if possible) explaining what is expected of them and the topics you will cover. This way users have time to prepare in advance.
3. Eliminate test anxiety-remind users that there is no right or wrong answer. The point of the test is to understand the users' thoughts and behaviors on the product. It's not to see if they can pass the exam.
4. Give your users a sense of ownership-this works well before the test starts. Tell your users to be honest in product feedback. This sounds silly, I know. However, users need to understand the power they have in product decisions. Once they understand this, they will provide better insight and know the impact they can have
Fourth, make good use of prototype tools.
Another user testing technique is that if you are targeting a new product or a new feature of the product, you can use the prototype to let users use it and observe their reaction.
When the prototype is tested, there are many advantages, such as: real sense of use, reduced development costs, and so on.
Knife friends can make good use of the ink knife to complete this step, and create a real high-fidelity prototype, allowing you to easily interview without pressure.
5. Summary
No matter how much you prepare for the user test session, you will face situations where you are not prepared. The key is to stay flexible, focus on the user, have fun, and be ready to adapt to the curve ball you throw.
本文译自Joshua Matthews的User testing: 3 common users types you’ll face and how to deal with them.
Original link: https://uxdesign.cc/user-testing-three-common-users-types-youll-face-and-how-to-deal-with-them-5e23d659a1e1