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Those doing user research often wonder: How should I start out my research sessions? What should I say to participants to prepare them?
(If you’d like the one I use, you can skip this article to grab it.)
While there isn’t a one-size-fits-all script and there is definitely room for adjustments so it sounds natural and fits your personality, there are 4 key things you’ll want to cover during your user research session introduction. Include 5 minutes in your session for this as part of “getting settled.”
1. BUILD RAPPORT
Rapport building is an important aspect of any user research session. You want to make sure the participant knows you are a human being, not a robot, and feels comfortable sharing their thoughts and feelings with you. There are many options for doing this; it just involves having a friendly quick chat and sharing a common understanding. But I sometimes see researchers skip this, probably because they are pressed for time or don’t understand its importance.
Participants want to be treated like people, not research subjects. Start out by introducing yourself with a smile and telling them your role as a researcher. Thank them for their valuable time and let them know you appreciate their participation.
A quick and easy way to build rapport is simply asking a question, it can be the same for each person (How is the weather where you are?) or made up on the fly (I like your shirt, where did you get it?). Let that lead to a little chat. The topic is not important, spending a minute or two chatting and smiling with them is.
(Continue to insert little moments of rapport building throughout the session, such as laughing here and there, making a quick comment about their life or yours, anything to remind them you are both real people and help them feel comfortable.)
2. Inform
From rapport building, transition into giving them information they should have about the session. Let them know how long the session will last. Give them a high level topic for the study that provides context but doesn’t give too much away, such as “sharing photos on social media.” Also, give them a high-level overview of the structure of the session. “I’ll be asking you some questions and having you use a version of an application that is a work in progress.” If it isn’t a blind study, you may want to tell them who it’s for. All of this sets expectations which helps them feel more comfortable and gets their mind in the right place.
3. INSTRUCT
This is where you tell them what you need them to do. This includes things like how to use a prototype “not all parts of it will work, but that’s ok, just do your best.” How to think-aloud: “as you do things, try to verbalize why you are doing something, what might be confusing or missing, questions that pop into your head, or anything else.”
Let them know you are not evaluating them in any way, there are no right or wrong answers, and they are not going to hurt anyone’s feelings. If you didn’t design what they are looking at, let them know that as well.
4. Disclaim
(Let me start with my disclaimer: I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice.) Depending on the laws and guidelines in your country, state, industry or company, you’ll want to provide participants with some information or reminders. The easiest thing is have participants sign NDA, Informed Consent, Privacy and any other forms before starting the session. Depending on what those include, remind them of the most relevant points:
Per the NDA, tell them not to share what they see or discuss with anyone.
Per their rights of Informed Consent (which means they are consenting to participate willingly and are being informed of their rights) remind them of their right to ask questions, take breaks, and stop the session at any time.
Per their Privacy agreement, remind them how their personal information will be used. For example for research purposes only and not marketing.
Let them know that people may be observing the session and ask them if it’s OK to record. You can tell them the purpose of the recording (note-taking and research reporting) and that their privacy agreement protects them from it being used for other things.
would you like the introduction I use?
I’ve taken everything explained in this article and created a user research session introduction you can grab and customize for your own needs. It makes introducing a research session simple and easy.
