- Artwork by Eli Jorgensen
Steve Portigal challenges us to enjoy the silence when interviewing people. He teaches us the importance of rapport-building, and offers sage advice on how to do it. He shows us how sticking with an interview even when it’s not going well can sometimes bring forth the best data. He also reveals how a little empathy can go a long way in field research.
Steve Portigal helps companies to think and act strategically when innovating with user insights. Based outside of San Francisco, he is principal of Portigal Consulting, and the author of two books: The classic Interviewing Users: How To Uncover Compelling Insights and the new, Doorbells, Danger, and Dead Batteries: User Research War Stories. He’s also the host of the Dollars to Donuts podcast, where he interviews people who lead user research in their organizations. Steve is an accomplished presenter who speaks about culture, innovation, and design at companies and conferences across the globe. Steve hated Cats (the musical) – he’s okay with cats the animal, and he’s never seen Forrest Gump.
- Secret Identity (8:08)
- Origin Story (12:19)
- What drives your curiosity? (24:53)
- Roberta ‘call me Bert’s war story (29:28)
- What’s Ethnography (the “E-word”) (38:32)
- Rapport-building tips (46:51)
- Brian’s war story (55:21)
- UX Superhero Name (66:28)
- Habit of Success (75:06)
- Steve’s Corset War Story (78:39)
- Best Advice (84:53)
- Contact Info (88:33)
Continue reading 049: User Research War Stories with Steve Portigal
