710 - Improving User Research and Asking the Right Question with Michele Ronsen

Live In The Feast

Today’s co-host is Michele Ronsen. Michele has been teaching design and user research for more than 20 years, and is the founder of Curiosity Tank, a design and user research firm in San Francisco.

Michele partners with companies and individuals to improve and grow businesses using a data-driven, consumer-centric approach. She’s worked with companies like Slack and Zillow, and she’s a regular instructor at General Assembly.

One of the primary ways she does this is by helping people ask better questions. It’s not rocket science. But there is an art to asking the right questions, and setting them up in a way where your customers will answer honestly.

In today’s episode, we talk about how you can apply these principles in your own business. Michele also helps us better understand the fine art of digging deeper in a meaningful and effective way.

In this episode Michele talked about:

• The differences between working with solo entrepreneurs and more mature companies with established user experience knowledge.
• Figuring out what you want to learn, understanding where you are in the learning process, and applying that knowledge.
• The core follow-up phrases she teaches in her The Art Of The Interview class.

"User research to me is part art, part science and part improv. And that improv to me is a lot of acting, getting into that beginner’s mindset, and exploring and mining these areas with that mindset". ~ Michele Ronsen

Main Takeaways

• There are two ways to gather information: listening and observation. Listening helps us understand the “why”. Observation helps us understand habits, behaviors, and actions.
• Talk to customers and get their feedback. It can be scary to reach out, but it’s worth it.
• Don’t shy away from criticism. Even critical feedback can help us understand how we can improve our customer experience.
• Be fully present in all of your interactions with people. Be engaged and make observations about things like body language. There is a difference between what people say and what people do, and if you’re distracted during interactions, you might end up missing these nuances.
• Practice and get comfortable with essential follow-up phrases.

Important Mentions in this Episode

• Curiosity Tank
• Curiosity Tank classes - Use promo code FEAST15 for 15% off any class
• Curiosity Tank Newsletter
• Sales Call Role Play
• Michele on LinkedIn