5-Minute User Interview

• Build muscle memory for open-ended questions under time pressure.


• Learn to listen actively without jumping to solutions.


• Identify the difference between good and bad questions through practice.


• Get comfortable with silence and follow-up questions.

• Participants gain practical interviewing skills.


• Teams develop a shared understanding of effective user research questions.


• Organizations build a culture of curiosity and user-centered inquiry.

Choosing Topics

Pick specific, recent, and behavioral topics. "Tell me about your last vacation" works better than "What do you think about travel?" Stories beat opinions. Recent events have better detail. Make topics relevant to learning needs. If you're building fintech, use finance-related topics.

Enforcing the Time Limit

Five minutes feels short at first. People will want more time. Say no. The constraint is the lesson. The first interview may be wasted on pleasantries. That's okay. The second round will be better.

Managing Poor Interviews

You'll see bad questions: "Don't you think...?" "Wouldn't it be better if...?" "Did you like it?" That's the point. Don't fix it during the interview. Let them experience the dead ends. Address it in feedback rounds. Show the contrast between closed and open questions with examples.

Handling Silence

Interviewers will rush to fill silence. Participants will want to help. Tell observers to note when interviewers ask a question, get an answer, and then immediately ask another question instead of probing deeper. "Tell me more about that" or silence is often the best follow-up.

Observer Role

Observers learn a lot. They see patterns without pressure. Give them something specific to watch: open vs. closed questions, interruptions, leading questions, follow-ups. Tallying works well: "You asked 8 questions, 6 were closed."

Common Problems

Interviewers will solve instead of explore. They'll suggest solutions instead of understanding the problem. Call this out. Interviewers will lead: "So you found it frustrating?" instead of "How did that feel?" Call this out too. Some interviewers will barely ask anything because they're uncomfortable. That's useful feedback.

Progression

The first round is often a disaster. That's fine. The second round is noticeably better because people learned from watching others. Rapid iteration with feedback makes this work.