Recording devices make people more self-conscious. Some participants are concerned about sounding stupid, and others fear the recordings could make their way to a more public place like the Internet. In the case of the treatment center project, this was an important issue because the participants were talking about very personal experiences. It’s more efficient and cheaper to bring a person who can type fast notes straight into a spreadsheet or any text document than spending the time transcribing them after the fact. When conducting an interview, it’s better to be in the moment and fully engaged in the conversation as opposed to playing around with recording devices or notes. I pay far more attention to what participants are saying and doing when I know that I won’t have a second chance to listen to the interviews. When you debrief with the stakeholder and your team immediately after the interview, you can instantly make decisions and take action on whether to abandon, refine, or move forward with your solution. Step 4: Advertising for participants In certain cases, researchers recommend finding unpaid volunteers because they believe money influences the participants’ answers. Still, you can’t stop people from lying, whether they are paid or not. There is a fine balance between compensating people fairly for their time and extracting the right information from the right people. I recommend compensating participants, because at this point during your strategic endeavor, they are helping us. Payment amounts also depend on whom you are targeting and how much they value their own time. Seemingly, if you need to speak with busy professionals, you’ll have to pay a lot more then you might to other customer segments. Make your payment high enough to recruit worthwhile participants but low enough to keep your study affordable. Always mention in the advertisement that participants will be paid in cash at the interview. If you’re not sure where to start, try a payment of as little as $20 for 30 minutes. During the initial screening calls with participants, you can probe them to ensure that they have the insights you want so you only end up paying the people who will really help your team. For the treatment center operation, my team initially advertised for participants on Craig’s List. Here are some other ways: Facebook friends (if you have a lot, ask your network for introductions to their friends). LinkedIn Special Interest Groups (post to specific relevant groups). Meetup Groups (attend meet-up groups in your area or post to them). Twitter (use # [hashtags] for casting a wide net or @ profiles for hopefully gaining a retweet among a specific group of followers). Get referrals of friends of friends who fit your customer segment. Canvas an area where there is a high concentration of your target customer