Hilarious Quotes from Research Interviews
I use a dedicated tab in Notepad* to capture funny quotes that come up in research interviews. If I hear something that makes me silently (or not so silently) laugh and/or draws a reaction from the backroom…into Notepad it goes.
I thought it would be fun, and entertaining, to share a few recent fun quotes:
🍝 An extremely frustrated social media manager was discussing about a very specific technical problem, and suddenly exclaimed “That problem makes me upsetti spaghetti!”
🚬 Before the interview started, the very early in their career youngster asked, “Is it ok if I vape?” It was ok - the interview was online, it was the end of his day and clearly, he needed something to get through the next hour.
🪐 I asked ITDMs for their predictions of how a specific technology would evolve. One happily explained “The future will be like ‘help me Obi-Wan Kenobi’”. While wrapping up, I thanked him for providing my first ever Star Wars reference in an interview. Jokes on me: subsequent interviews (n=20) for the same study yielded one more Star Wars reference, plus a Star Trek reference!
🐶 I almost always mention before officially kicking off the interview that my dogs may bark in the background because "FedEx trucks are dangerous and the house needs protection." Frequently, it leads to a brief conversation about our respective puppies (which I love 💕 ), plus, subtly reminds the participant that we are human and it's a conversation, not a test. Once, I heard this gem: “I don’t mind, I have six dogs. But they are little, so if you squash them together, they are the size of a normal dog.” (As a side note, this participant was fabulous and I truly wanted a new BFF when the session ended).
💻 A security engineer described his job as “I pretty much, I would say, I do have all the hacks, like, you know, based on the situation.” I paused and replied, “let me make sure, you said ‘I do all the hacks?’” “Yes,” he replied, “you got that correct.” Perfect.
☕ A cybersecurity director, clearly fed up with AI, said “I tell people, you need to treat AI like an overcaffeinated teenager.” I could “hear” the backroom laughing.
Researchers, what have been some of your favorite quotes from research interviews? Drop them in the comments or reach out and let's talk https://lnkd.in/gyB4nyMu!!
* Don’t judge - I’ve been a Windows user since 1990 and Notepad is surprisingly durable and easy.
