Writing the interview script — Examples

Example 1 — An opening that starts before the product

A team is studying how people reorder supplies. Their draft plan opens by describing the new feature. Rewrite the opening so it starts from the last time the task came up and keeps the hypothesis out.

Opening: "We've built a reorder button we think will save you time.
How often do you reorder supplies?"

Solution

Welcome: "Thanks for the time. I want to understand how you handle
supplies. There are no right answers, and no product to look at yet."

Warm-up, in order:
1. "Tell me about the last time supplies ran out."
2. "What was going on that day?"
3. "What did you do first?"

The original reveals the hypothesis and asks a frequency question, so the participant confirms the product and never reaches a story. The rewrite opens on a concrete occasion and leaves the product out. The usual mistake is reading the script like a questionnaire, in a fixed order, while the participant’s own account is still in progress.

Example 2 — Narrowing to one walkthrough

The same plan moves from the warm-up straight into opinions about reordering. Rewrite the middle so it funnels from the participant’s own story to one detailed instance, and add the close.

Middle:
- What do you think of the current reorder process?
- Would a reminder help you?
- Anything else?

Solution

Middle, after their story:
- You said it ran out on a Friday. Walk me through that Friday.
- What did you touch first, and who else was involved?
- What almost stopped you finishing it?

Close: "What should I have asked you?" / "Anything you want to add?"

The original asks for opinions and hypotheticals before any instance has been described, which anchors the session on your own assumptions. The funnel follows the thread the participant supplied and lands on one episode, with the things they touched and the people involved. The usual mistake is skipping the close, where the two best sentences of a session tend to arrive.