Cover art for podcast Awkward Silences

Awkward Silences

146 EpisodesProduced by User InterviewsWebsite

Welcome to Awkward Silences by User Interviews, where we interview the people who interview people. Listen as we geek out on all things UX research, qualitative data, and the craft of understanding people to build better products and businesses. Hosted by Erin May and Carol Guest, VPs of growth/mark… read more

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Farewell

February 22nd, 2024

0:39

An important message from RadioPublic

144 - The Craft of Sample Sizes with Lauren Stern of WHOOP

March 25th, 2024

46:46

In this episode, Carol and Erin dive into all things research sample sizes with Lauren Stern. No matter your experience with user research, you'll …

#143 - Harnessing AI For Better Insights with George Whitfield of MIT and FindOurView

March 18th, 2024

40:40

Carol and Erin welcome George Whitfield, an expert in applying AI to the analysis of qualitative data. George discusses the intricate challenges of …

#142 - Quantifying Research Impact with Ruby Pryor of Rex

March 4th, 2024

47:44

In this episode Carol and Erin are joined by Ruby Pryor, founder of Rex, a consulting firm specializing in UX research and strategic design.

They …

#141 - The Chaos Theory of Event Networking with Bryan Dosono of eBay

February 21st, 2024

41:10

In this episode of Awkward Silences, Carol and Erin dive into the world of conference networking and planning with Bryan Dosono, a staff UX research …

#140 - Should You Leave Academia? Advice for Researchers with Joe Stubenrauch

November 30th, 2023

47:00

The decision to leave academia can be difficult. Often, it involves giving up a stable career path and a lifetime commitment to a particular field of …

#139 - Content Design and the Power of Simple Language with Erica Jorgensen

November 8th, 2023

43:56

How often do you think about content design? The answer, most likely, is: “not enough”.

The work of a Content Designer involves fitting the right …

#138 - Designers as Change Agents with Maria Giudice

October 18th, 2023

43:26
“I realized that design is about helping people make sense of the world. And I looked at the world differently then… treating everything like a …

#137 - Practical Strategies to Foster Customer Obsession with Prayag Narula, CEO and Co-Founder of Marvin

September 27th, 2023

41:23

What company isn’t “customer obsessed”? Well, a lot, as it turns out. 

That’s not for lack of caring—but building a customer-centric culture is easier …

#136 - Designing Generative AI at Notion with Linus Lee

September 19th, 2023

45:29

AI is a big part of Notion's strategy for the future of knowledge work, and they're exploring ways to use AI to make people's lives easier.


Linus Lee, a Research Engineer at Notion, spends his time researching and …

#135 - How to Influence Stakeholders with Strategic Research with Andrea Amorós, Associate Principal Researcher at ADP

August 30th, 2023

45:26
“I think people really connect when you are just genuine and not transactional. I think it's much more easy to get to those kind of opportunities because they just feel genuine.”

According to Andrea Amorós, Associate …

#134 - The End of an Era: A Fond Farewell to JH

August 23rd, 2023

22:53

134 episodes. 

That’s how long Awkward Silences has been going with Erin and JH as hosts.

But now it’s time for something new.

JH says goodbye to Awkward Silences as he kicks off a new chapter in his career. Today, he and …

#133 - Driving Actionable Decisions from Insights with Pejman Mirza-Babaei, UX Research Consultant

August 16th, 2023

47:35

As a researcher, you know the value of using research to drive business decisions—but other stakeholders might not. In order to drive action from …

#132 - Unveiling UX Insights with Competitive Research with Rachel Miles, Research Lead at IBM

August 2nd, 2023

41:55

Competition can be scary. But in UX, competitive research is insightful.

You don’t want to chase your competitors, but you need to know what they are …

#131 - Designing Beyond the Product: Systems Thinking with Sheryl Cababa, Chief Strategy Officer at Substantial

July 19th, 2023

48:24

In design and UX research, context is king. 

Your work doesn’t exist in a vacuum; it’s a part of a wider ecosystem of stakeholders, beneficiaries, and …

#130 - The Art of Great Facilitation for Better Collaboration with Marsha Acker, Founder and CEO of TeamCatapult

July 5th, 2023

51:55

There are 6 key qualities for great facilitation:

  • Starting with your core beliefs
  • Maintaining neutrality
  • Standing in the storm
  • Honoring the wisdom of the …

#129 - How to Upskill Product Teams in UX Research with Helen Devine, UX Research Manager at The Economist

June 21st, 2023

43:46

How can UX researchers enable other teams to do research? Show, don’t tell.

According to Helen Devine, UX Research Manager at The Economist, upskilling product people to do research means letting them observe, sit in, …

#128 - The Value of “Scrappy” Research with Varun Murugesan, Co-Founder of Apple and Banana

June 7th, 2023

40:28

What does good “scrappy” user research look like?

According to Varun Murugesan, Co-founder of Apple and Banana,

“You could throw anything at Jason …

#127 - The Power of Failure with Kevin Kelly, Publisher and Founding Editor of Wired

May 24th, 2023

45:22
“There’s a certain amount of forgetting that we need to do in order to learn something new.”

– Kevin Kelly, Founding Editor of Wired magazine


Whether you are designing a research project, prototyping a product, or carving …

#126 - AI Anxiety: The Dangers (and Opportunities) of AI in Research with Mike Adams of Grain

May 10th, 2023

39:49

AI has recently become hugely popular with the likes of ChatGPT becoming a staple in day to day life, and it looks like it is here to stay. Could it …

#125 - What is UX Business Coaching? with Sylvana Rochet of Elan Vital Coaching

April 26th, 2023

42:40

Sylvana Rochet, Founder and Principal Coach at Elan Vital Coaching, visits the show to discuss what UX business coaching entails and how to maximize your professional growth opportunities with business coaching. Sylvana …

#124 - Defining a Research Strategy with Devin Harold of Capital One

April 19th, 2023

55:58

A solid UX research strategy serves as the compass that guides research ops and helps ensure repeatable success. But how do you envision, create, and …

#123 - The Power of Atomic Research with Daniel Pidcock of Glean.ly

April 12th, 2023

43:36

Maintaining a huge insights repository can be overwhelming. It’s even more difficult to extract the right insights from research findings. Atomic …

#122- Exploring UX Research Career Options with Marieke McCloskey of LinkedIn

March 29th, 2023

42:51

What are the best UX career options? How do you vet a potential employer to ensure it’s the right fit? Should you join a smaller firm that offers …

#121 - The UX files: Top Moments from YouX 2023

March 22nd, 2023

35:06

YouX 2023 is a wrap! No big deal, just us and 3500 other UX-obsessed friends. The half-day virtual event featured breakout sessions and presentations conducted by some of the brightest minds in UX, who covered a number …

#120- Building a Healthy Research Culture with Mike Oren of Klaviyo

March 15th, 2023

41:20

Whether you are a team of one or one hundred, cultivating a healthy research culture starts with strong leadership. Strong leadership encourages UXR …

#119 - It’s Not Research, It’s You! with Holly Hester-Reilly of H2R Product Science

March 8th, 2023

53:34

In this episode of Awkward Silences, Erin May and John-Henry Forster are joined by Holly Hester-Reilly, CEO and Founder of H2R Product Science. They …

#118- The Product Launch Playbook with Derek Osgood

March 1st, 2023

46:47

According to Derek Osgood, it takes a "great product and product marketing collaboration" to get people to adopt products. But with such a small …

#117 - Understanding Growth Research with Carlos Tellez of Nubank

February 15th, 2023

41:24

Erin May, John Henry Forster, and Carlos Tellez, Growth Research Manager at Nubank, get to the bottom of growth research. This episode is focused on two of Erin's favorite things – optimization and research. They …

#116 - Emerging Trends in UX and CX with Alfonso de la Nuez and Dana Bishop of UserZoom

February 1st, 2023

40:47

UX is exploding! It's tremendously exciting. But much of the technology pushing the state-of-the-art has been around for over a decade. What are the …

#115 - Optimizing In-Product Research with Ryan Glasgow of Sprig

January 18th, 2023

32:47

In this episode of Awkward Silences, hosts Erin May and John Henry Forster welcome Ryan Glasgow, CEO of Sprig, to discuss the importance of in-product research. They dive into Sprig’s generative and evaluative research …

#114 - What Does a UX Research Chief of Staff Do?

January 5th, 2023

35:46

The rise of UX research was a game changer in software design and development. As UX continues to grow in nearly every industry, research ops experts with strong leadership skills are critical for companies working at …

#113 - Tacos and Tidepods: A Very Awkward Goodbye with Roberta Dombrowski of User Interviews

December 27th, 2022

23:10

Thomas Aquinas once said, “Tacos cannot exist without tide pods”. 

In this bittersweet edition of Tacos and Tidepods—Erin and JH say their goodbyes to Roberta and reflect back at her time at User Interviews. Roberta …

#112 - Finding Your Best Customers with Andrew Michael, CEO at Avrio

December 21st, 2022

35:17

Finding your dream customers can be tricky, and knowing which customers aren’t a good fit is important. That’s where customer profiles come in handy. In this episode of Awkward Silences, Andrew Michael, CEO of Avrio, …

#111 - The 2022 UX Research Tools Map with Roberta Dombrowski

December 14th, 2022

17:19

If you ask Roberta Dombrowski why it's her favorite time of year, she'll probably mention the UX Research Tools Map. Why? Because it’s one of User …

#110 - Experience Design Research in Healthcare with Tiffany Mura and Erica Devine

December 7th, 2022

44:10

Healthcare organizations are responding to the UX design boom by focusing on the patient experience. What is driving this shift? Why did it take so long? How does quantitative research align with qualitative research?

In …

#109 - The Challenges of Hybrid Work with Eduardo Gomez Ruiz of Miro

November 30th, 2022

40:49

As teams look for effective ways to collaborate between in-person and remote work, hybrid meetings are a flexible solution to meet both needs. But …

#108- Perfecting the UX of UX testing with Nicholas Aramouni of Userlytics

November 23rd, 2022

33:43

The dual nature of research on research is exciting in itself, especially for Senior UX Researcher Nicholas Aramouni. In this episode, things get …

#107 - Making Research Ops Visible with Benson Low of REA Group

November 17th, 2022

43:03

Most people have no idea what UX researchers do. Even less known is what Research Ops Specialists do, which is why one of the Research Ops community’s main priorities is to shine a light on the people, mechanisms, and …

#106 - Navigating gender, religion, and politics in UX research – with Zoë Glas

October 26th, 2022

42:10

In this episode, we discuss:

  • Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging
  • Why religion is an overlooked topic in UX research
  • Attitudes and behaviors …

#105 - Tacos and Tide Pods: Big plans, a product relaunch, and healthy organizational tension

October 19th, 2022

19:51

Our VP of User Research, Roberta Dombrowski, talks about the fast-paced work behind the scenes of UX research and the excitement when things fall into place. We also examine how deeper insight drives strategy and …

#104 - User Research Incentives with Nick Baum of Tremendous

October 6th, 2022

30:26

Incentives do more than just attract quality participants to your study. Ultimately, offering great incentives helps you collect great data.

But if …

#103 - Ethical Design and Respectful UX Research with Kat Zhou of Epidemic Sound

September 22nd, 2022

42:40

‘Ethical design’ is a term that encompasses a process of designing useful, empowering, and accessible products that do not harm, manipulate, or …

#102 - Tacos and Tide Pods: Authenticity, Exciting Milestones, and LinkedIn

September 15th, 2022

12:04

Tacos = the great. Tide Pods = the not-so-great. An honest chat about the (mostly really great) state of User Interviews.


Roberta Dombrowski, VP of UX Research at User Interviews, is back for our third installment of …

#101 - Onboarding UX: How to Research and Design a Great First Impression with Pulkit Agrawal of Chameleon

August 30th, 2022

34:21

Onboarding is a customer’s first impression of your product. The way you research, design, and implement user onboarding can make or break the overall experience. So how do you refine this important aspect of your …

#100 - UXR Productivity Hacks with Michele Ronsen of Curiosity Tank

August 17th, 2022

41:39

Work smarter, not harder with the right UXR productivity hacks. Michele Ronsen, founder of Curiosity Tank and our first repeat guest, joins us for our landmark 100th episode to tell us about the best user research hacks …

#99 - Leading UX Research for Healthcare Apps with Wendy Johansson of MiSalud Health

August 3rd, 2022

47:55

Healthcare in the U.S. is expensive—and as a result, some communities struggle to afford medical services. This inequity has become increasingly …

#98 - Customer-Centricity in Practice with Ferdinand Goetzen of Reveall

July 21st, 2022

35:36

Let’s face it… most companies these days say they are customer-centric, but the reality just doesn’t bear that out. Because in order to be truly …

#97 - Tacos and Tide Pods: House Cats, Research Repositories, and the Economy

July 13th, 2022

15:45

Roberta Dombrowski, VP of UX Research at User Interviews, is back for the second instalment of Tacos and Tide Pods with Erin and JH. In this episode, they discuss the importance of an effective personal productivity …

#96 - Your UX Career Is a Product with Sarah Doody

June 30th, 2022

50:42

Most people—including product people—don't think of their career as a product. And even the best researchers often neglect to do the research to …

#95 - UX Writing and Content Design with Yuval Keshtcher of UX Writing Hub

June 17th, 2022

39:44

In the world of product design, wordsmiths go by many names—UX writers, content strategists, product writers, and so on. But whatever you call them, …

#94 - Tacos and Tide Pods: A New Series from Awkward Silences

June 2nd, 2022

21:07

We’re changing things up a bit! Introducing a brand new series: Tacos and Tide Pods! Every month or so, Erin and JH will chat with User Interviews’s VP of Research, Roberta Dombrowski. They’ll talk about what’s going on …

#93 - Digital Ethnography and Real-World Context in UXR with Megan McLean of Spotify

May 18th, 2022

43:26

Context acts as the bridge between an abstract idea (’a comfortable user experience’) and a tangible design (‘cushioned, breathable running shoes’). Although gaining context through remote research can be tricky, our …

#92 - What Librarians Can Teach UXRs about Insights Repositories with Nada Alnakeeb of DoorDash and Joanna Perez of Netflix

May 5th, 2022

45:35

Public libraries have been using insights repositories for decades—and it’s time user research teams catch up. This week, we’re joined by Nada Alnakeeb, Head of Design and Research Operations at DoorDash, and Joanna …

#91 - Design Psychology with Thomas Watkins of 3Leaf

April 20th, 2022

30:18

What is design psychology? Thomas Watkins of 3Leaf compares it to ergonomics—both fields aim to make products feel as comfortable as possible for …

#90 - The State of User Research 2022 with Roberta Dombrowski

April 5th, 2022

40:12

The State of User Research 2022 Report unpacks the data from our international survey of UX researchers and people who do research as part of their jobs. 

This week, we met with Roberta Dombrowski, VP of User Research at …

#89 - UX Agencies: Setting Clients Up for Success with Karen VanHouten

March 30th, 2022

39:57

Doing user research in an agency setting comes with its own set of challenges—from context switching to stubborn clients to less-than-optimal tool …

#88 - Research Operations for Democratization at Scale with Garrett Tsukada

March 2nd, 2022

36:07

The democratization of research continues to grow—and with it, the complexities of research operations. This week, we chatted with Garrett Tsukada, Head of Customer Connect UX Research Operations at Intuit about how …

#87 - User Interviews 201: Leveling Up Your Interviews with Therese Fessenden of NN/g

February 15th, 2022

41:33

You’ve mastered the basics, but now it’s time to take your interviews to the next level. This week, we chatted with Therese Fessenden, Senior User Experience Specialist at NN/g about how to get even better at …

#86 - Research is Everyone’s Job: The Democratization of Research with Jonathan Widawski, CEO of Maze

February 1st, 2022

26:43

Should everyone do research? It’s a tricky question. Yes, research is a craft that takes years to master. But on the other hand, if we want research …

#85 - So Meta: Doing User Research at UXR Company with Roberta Dombrowski of User Interviews

January 18th, 2022

39:37

It’s our most meta episode yet. Today, we chatted with Roberta Dombrowski, VP of User Research at User Interviews, about doing user research about user researchers at a user research company. Listen in to learn about …

#84 - B2B Recruiting with Matthew Morrison of Braze

January 4th, 2022

41:22

Recruiting participants for user research is hard. Recruiting participants from a pool of your own customers? Somehow even harder. There’s client …

#83 - Being Black in UX Research with Dr. Lisanne Norman of Gusto

December 20th, 2021

43:11

What’s it like to be black in UX right now? Are companies sticking by their plans for diversity and inclusion? How do researchers ensure their work is as inclusive as possible? This week on the podcast, Dr. Lisanne …

#82 - Games User Research — with Steve Bromley

December 8th, 2021

45:48

Creating a video game requires more than just development time and coding—to make sure the experience is enjoyable, you have to test it. In this episode, User Researcher Steve Bromley joins us to discuss the nuances of …

#81 - Establishing Sustainable Research Practices with Gregg Bernstein of Condé Nast

November 23rd, 2021

44:13

How do you build a long lasting research practice? Aim for a healthy one. Gregg Bernstein you how. 

This week on the podcast, Gregg talked to us about how to contribute to a healthy research practice every day and what a …

#80 - UX Research and Arab Cultures – with Norah Abokhodair of Microsoft

November 9th, 2021

37:18

Doing research with users from different cultures is (very, very) important. It can also be complicated. In this episode, we are joined by Norah …

#79 - Participatory Research – with Alexis McNutt Unis of Better

October 27th, 2021

41:49

What is participatory research? And how do you include it in your UXR practice? Alexis McNutt Unis, Lead UX Researcher, Homeowner Experience at …

#78 - Accessible UXR: Recruiting and Researching Participants with Disabilities – with Samuel Proulx of Fable

October 12th, 2021

49:54

We learned so much in this week’s episode of Awkward Silences. Samuel Proulx, Accessibility Evangelist at Fable, joined us to talk to us about …

#77 - Breaking Into User Research – with Eniola Abioye

September 29th, 2021

51:37

Eniola Abioye—user research career coach—joined us for a special live episode of Awkward Silences. She answered audience questions and shared some of …

#76 - UXRs Need to Care About the Business, Too – with Zack Naylor of Aurelius

September 21st, 2021

35:48

This week we’re joined by Zack Naylor, CEO and co-founder of UX research tool Aurelius. We spoke about what researchers need to know about their …

#75 - Debunking UX Research Myths with Zach Schendel of DoorDash

September 8th, 2021

47:42

As a seasoned researcher who has led teams at Unilever, Netflix, and DoorDash,  Zach Schendel has come up against every type of skeptical stakeholder …

#74 - Building a Product Vision with Rajesh Nerlikar of Prodify

August 24th, 2021

40:25

Rajesh Nerlikar works with companies to help them build great products. As the CEO of Prodify, he and his team advise startups on how to build …

#73 - Getting Stakeholder Buy-In at a Large Organization with Meg Pullis Roebling of BNY Mellon

August 10th, 2021

33:39

Meg Pullis Roebling, Head of CX Research, Data & Analytics Solutions at BNY Mellon, talks us through her approach to building relationships with …

#72 - How to Ask Great UX Research Questions with Amy Chess of Amazon

July 27th, 2021

40:00

Your research question is where it all begins. It’s what drives your research forward, informs when you’re ready to wrap up your project, and it’s …

#71 - Running a Blended Research Team with Dave Chen of Flipp

July 13th, 2021

28:38

Insights can come from a lot of different places. Support tickets, sales calls, market research studies, and of course, dedicated user research are all a part of an organization's insights funnel. But how do you …

#70 - Radical Listening and Practical Empathy with Babz J.R. Hall

June 29th, 2021

31:16

Researchers talk a lot about the importance of empathy. But what the heck does ‘empathy’ actually mean? What does empathy really look like in …

#69 - Thinking Styles and "Average" Users with Indi Young

June 18th, 2021

48:23

Indi Young has been researching people (not users), coaching, writing, and teaching about inclusive product strategy for over 25 years. Earlier this week, she joined Erin and JH for a live podcast episode to explain why …

#68 - Actionable Generative Research with Lucy Denton of Dovetail

June 1st, 2021

30:42

Shortly after Lucy Denton joined Dovetail as Product Design Lead, she was tasked with running a large-scale opportunity research project—and then making sense of all the insights. And the stakes were high; after all, …

#67 - Growing a UX Research Startup with Basel Fakhoury of User Interviews and Benjamin Humphrey of Dovetail

May 18th, 2021

37:23

In this special episode, two UXR CEOs geek out about their work, the challenges of building tools for user researchers, and the future of UX research …

#66 - Agile Research Ops with Joey Encarnacion of Slack

May 4th, 2021

40:19

How do you measure success in a still-evolving field? 


Joey Encarnacion has been working in research ops since 2017. He joined Erin and JH on the pod …

#65 - The Best of Awkward Silences (So Far)

April 30th, 2021

7:57

To celebrate our launch on Product Hunt, we're taking some time to reflect on what Awkward Silences is all about. 


Guests featured in this episode, in order:

Jon Macdonald, Founder of the Good

Cat Noone, CEO of Stark

Roy …

#64 - Civic Tech with Cyd Harrell

April 20th, 2021

42:50

Whether you’re paying a parking ticket or getting a divorce, chances are high that you’ll go through some (if not all) of that process online. Chances are also good that the UX of that process will be… not great. Cyd …

#63 - Information Architecture in UX with Page Laubheimer of NN/g

April 6th, 2021

43:05

Information architecture is everywhere. Page Laubheimer, Senior User Experience Specialist at Nielsen Norman Group, joins our hosts to shed some light on the complicated topic of IA and how the way we organize data …

#62 - The State of User Research with Katryna Balboni

March 23rd, 2021

35:43

Our third annual State of User Research survey gathered insights from 525 people who do research around the world. Katryna Balboni, our Content Director, joined the hosts of Awkward Silences to talk about how the 2021 …

#61 - The Role of Research in CX Transformation with Kim Salazar of Nielsen Norman Group

March 9th, 2021

48:21

Is your company truly customer-centric? Are your systems actually helping you create better experiences for your customers?

Last week, Kim Salazar, …

#60 - Discovery Research and Interview Skills with Maria Rosala of Nielsen Norman Group

February 18th, 2021

47:01

Are your research discoveries really discoveries? Or are you collecting validation for your own assumptions?

That’s just one of the big questions …

#59 - Ethical Hacking, Information Security, and UX with Ted Harrington of ISE

February 1st, 2021

28:12

Building great products is hard. Building great, secure, products is even harder. This week on Awkward Silences, we talked to Ted Harrington about the intersection between security and UX. He outlined what exactly …

#58 - The Lone UXR: Being a UX Research Team of One with Izzy Nichols

January 19th, 2021

27:41

Being a research team of one isn’t easy. When you’re the only researcher at a company, you have to do every type of research, recruiting, planning, and analysis by yourself—all without the resources of a large team. 

But …

#57 - Research Amid Sudden Change: Working on Google Classroom During COVID with Amanda Rosenburg

January 5th, 2021

35:11

In March 2020, Google Classroom’s user base grew from 30 million to hundreds of millions almost overnight.

As schools closed, teachers needed new ways …

#56 - 2020, UXR Year In Review

December 22nd, 2020

35:44

The year is wrapping up and it’s finally time to say bye forever to 2020 👋. The hosts of Awkward Silences, Erin May and JH Forster, took this opportunity to reflect on some of the things that happened in research this …

#55 - So You Want to Be In Research Ops? How Roy Olende of Zapier Made The Switch

December 8th, 2020

39:27

There is a growing need for research operations.

As more companies embrace the importance of user research and scale their UXR efforts, a dedicated …

#54 - End-to-End Experience Teams with Danielle Smith of Express Scripts

November 24th, 2020

26:48

Understanding your product from start to finish is easier said than done. The same goes for integrating research into every stage of a project. …

#53 - Everything in Context: Anthropology and User Research with Vanessa Whatley

November 10th, 2020

41:23

User research and anthropology have more in common that you may realize. Both involve studying the way people interact with their surroundings and …

#52 - The Missing Ingredient: How Storytelling Makes User Research More Impactful with Harrison Wheeler of LinkedIn

October 28th, 2020

31:31

People are 22% more likely to remember something when it’s presented as a story, rather than a cut and dry fact. So if you’re struggling to get …

#51 - Uncharted Territory: AI & User Research with Hana Nagel

October 14th, 2020

34:36

AI is becoming a part of everything we do. With voice-activated smart homes, ad targeting algorithms, and increasingly smart cars, AI is more and more a part of the fabric of daily life. But how do we make sure AI is …

#50 - To Manage or Not to Manage? UX Research Careers with Amber Davis, UXR Director at Audible

September 30th, 2020

40:28

It's time to take the next step in your research career, but is management right for you?

Erin & JH chatted with Amber Davis, UXR Director at Audible, about her journey as a research manager, how to evaluate what …

#49 - The Magic of Diary Studies with Tony Turner

September 16th, 2020

28:47

Looking to add a new research method to your stack? Diary studies are a great way to get to know what your users are thinking in context, plus they can be run remotely! We chatted with Tony Turner, Lead UX Researcher at …

#48 - Rising to the Moment: UXR, Diversity, & Inclusion with Randy Duke

September 2nd, 2020

41:47

This week on the podcast, Erin and JH chatted with Randy Duke, Senior Research & Design Strategist at Cantina. They covered a topic that's on many people's minds right now, systemic racism and inequality, and how UX …

#47 - Up and to the Right: How Research Improves Conversion Rates with Jon MacDonald of The Good 📈

August 4th, 2020

40:23

We've been more and more curious about how user research can be used by more than just researchers. This week, Erin and JH chatted with Jon MacDonald, founder of The Good, about how marketers can use research to improve …

#46 - Creating Better Help Content with Andrew Sandler, Director of Innovation at Adobe

July 15th, 2020

44:36

When Andrew joined Adobe back in November, he faced an interesting design challenge. How do you manage a vast library of help content, spanning tons of different products in different industries, so that users can …

#45 - How Alignment Can Speed Up Your Work with Jonathon Hensley of Emerge Interactive

July 2nd, 2020

44:28

Jonathon Hensley spends a lot of time creating strategies for businesses. So Erin and JH chatted with him about what's changed since COVID-19 and why alignment matters more than ever right now.  

The takeaway? Everyone …

#44 - Being Data-Driven vs. Data-Informed with Hannah Shamji, Consumer Psychologist

June 12th, 2020

31:36

There's a lot of data out there. Keeping track of Google Analytics, NPS scores, site metrics, usability test results, industry data, and everything …

#43 - UX Benchmarking: Demonstrate Design ROI with Kate Moran of NN/g

May 29th, 2020

50:20

UX benchmarking may seem like a lot of work, but Kate Moran is here to show you how to do it effectively. She's VP of Research & Content at Neilsen Norman Group and leads UX teams to better benchmarking, teaches …

#42 - 2 for 1: Combining Customer Research & Sales Demos with Jane Portman of UI Breakfast

May 20th, 2020

35:21

Sales demos are a great opportunity to get to know your customers. The person on the other end is interested in your product, looking for a solution …

#41 - 10x: User Research for Growth with Aazar Shad of Userpilot

May 7th, 2020

33:30

We’ve heard from a lot of designers and user researchers on the show, but we’re always looking for fresh perspectives on how research can help your business. So this week, Erin and JH chatted with Aazar Shad, Head of …

#40 - Dream Stack: ROI-Driving Research Toolsets with Daniel Loewus-Deitch and Leo Smith

April 30th, 2020

49:21

With so many research tools on the market, it can be hard to nail down exactly which ones are right for your team. This week on the pod, Erin and JH …

#39 - Interviewing Users Every Day for A Year with Jonathan Anderson of Candu

April 17th, 2020

31:18

After three failed MVPs, Jonathan Anderson and the team at Candu realized they needed a better strategy for understanding how users interact with their product. So they started doing some user interviews. And they kept …

#38 - Accessibility, User Research, and Inclusive Design with Cat Noone, CEO of Stark

April 10th, 2020

34:48

This week on the pod, Erin and JH talk to Cat Noone, CEO of Stark, a suite of tools designed to help teams ship accessible work. They chatted about …

#37 - Using Research to Write Next Level Copy with Joel Klettke of Case Study Buddy

March 25th, 2020

47:01

This week on Awkward Silences, Erin and JH chatted with Joel Klettke, who has 6+ years of experience writing killer conversion copy for clients like Hubspot, Scott's Cheap Flights, and WP Engine. His first piece of …

#36 - User Research as a Growth Engine at Early Stage Startups with Loic Alix-Brown

March 19th, 2020

32:05

One of the key tenets of the Lean Startup approach is ensuring you have product-market fit. To find it, you'll need to talk to potential users, and get them to confirm your product is something they really need, and are …

#35 - Democratizing Research in Large Enterprise Companies with Luke Fraser of Stepwise Innovation

March 12th, 2020

31:32

This week on the pod, Erin and JH chatted with Luke Fraser, Founder & CEO of Stepwise Innovation (formerly Paper Ventures). They work with insurance innovation and product development teams to get products to market …

#34 - Self Care As A UX Researcher with Vivianne Castillo

February 14th, 2020

39:17

Vivianne Castillo’s career has always been human-centered. She started off as a counselor, helping people navigate through complex issues, but eventually found her way to UX research, helping companies better understand …

#33 - Using Session Replay Tools to Supercharge Your User Research with Elyse Bogacz

January 31st, 2020

33:33

This week on the pod, we chatted with Elyse Bogacz, who has worked on product on Drift, Runkeeper, and now NDVR. She walked us through how she uses …

#32 - 7 Reasons Not To Do User Research with Michele Ronsen

January 7th, 2020

42:34

Erin and JH chat with Michele Ronsen, founder of Curiosity Tank and General Assembly instructor. Michele talks to a lot of different people about user research, and she's found there are some situations where user …

#31 - Why No One Listens to Your Research Reports with Caitria O’Neill of Google

December 6th, 2019

46:48

If you’ve ever presented research to a crowd of glazed over eyes, or sent around a detailed report only to hear back crickets, this episode is for you. After reading Caitria O’Neill’s article UX Research is Boring and …

#30 - How 3 Mailchimp Researchers Landed Their Dream Jobs with Jud Vaughan, Khalida Nicole Sebree, and Christianne Elliott

November 7th, 2019

49:16

There are many ways to become a UX Researcher. To learn more about the winding career paths many researchers take, Erin and JH talked to Jud Vaughan, …

#29 - Researching Your Own Users with Chad Aldous of Rentable

October 23rd, 2019

26:44

Researching with your own users means you have to make some special considerations. When was the last time they used your product? Where are they in the funnel? When was the last time they participated in a research …

# 28 - The Three Tiers of Culturalization with Chui Chui Tan of Beyō Global

October 17th, 2019

33:03

This is the third episode in our three part series on cross-cultural research. In this episode, Erin and JH chat with Chui Chui Tan, author of …

# 27 - International Markets and Anthropology with Leia Atkinson of Shopify

October 17th, 2019

24:24

This is the second episode in our three part series on cross-cultural research. In this episode, Erin and JH chat with Leia Atkinson, Staff …

# 26 - Cross Cultural Research in Action with Elsa Ho

October 17th, 2019

22:45

This is the first episode in our three part series on cross-cultural research. In this episode, Erin and JH chat with Elsa Ho, a Senior UX Researcher …

# 25 - Why Participants Participate in User Research with Brittany Rutherford of User Interviews

October 1st, 2019

28:34

We’ve talked a lot about how researchers do research, now it’s time to hear from the participants. We invited our Participant Marketing Lead, Brittany Rutherford, and had some recent participants leave voicemails about …

#24 - What's in a Name? Building Custom Research Programs that Stick with Vicki Tollemache

September 23rd, 2019

39:56

How do you get everyone on board with research? Vicki Tollemache has found that building a branded research practice that's fun, engaging, and …

#23 - How to Interview Customers Continuously with Teresa Torres of Product Talk

August 20th, 2019

42:26

Teresa Torres is a master of continuous interviewing. As a product discovery coach and founder of Product Talk, she works with teams of all shapes and sizes to help them build better stuff. Part of that is talking to …

#22 - Stop Freaking Out About the Evils of Personas with Andy Budd of Clearleft

August 8th, 2019

28:58

Personas are polarizing, some love them, but many love to hate them. This week, Erin and JH talk to Andy Budd, co-founder of Clearleft about why the …

#21 - Why Surveys [Almost Always] Suck with Erika Hall of Mule Design

July 23rd, 2019

43:35

Surveys are everywhere. They bombard us at every turn, and most of them aren't even helping teams learn what they need to know. We chatted with Erika …

#20 - Why Being Wrong is Right with Alec Levin of Learners

July 10th, 2019

28:34

This week on the pod, we talked to Alec Levin, founder of the The UXR Collective and Learners. He chatted with us about something he thinks UX …

#19 - What UX Researchers Can Learn From Children with Noam Segal of Wealthfront

June 28th, 2019

45:25

This week on the podcast, Erin and JH talk to Noam Segal who recently gave a talk at the UXR Strive conference in Toronto, and after hearing all the buzz we had to chat with him about it ourselves. He shared some …

#18 - Juggling Hardware and Software (and Service Design) Research with Susan Rice of Toast

May 30th, 2019

28:27
At the end of the day, we’re really just lucky to be in this field. You get to learn all the time every day. And you can’t ever assume you know all the things because you just don’t. That’s just a human thing. To learn …

#17 - Is It Ok To Recline Your Seat On An Airplane? with Bob Saris of User Interviews

May 16th, 2019

22:02

This week, we’re doing something a little bit different. We’re talking to the CTO of User Interviews, Bob Saris, and a bunch of random strangers about one of the biggest questions out there—is it ok to recline your seat …

#16 - How to Facilitate User Research in Any Team with Nicola Rushton

May 8th, 2019

28:13

This week on Awkward Silences, we talked to pro UX designer and researcher Nicola Rushton. She's worked with teams large and small to facilitate …

#15 - Starting a ResearchOps Practice with Kate Towsey

May 1st, 2019

44:24

This week on Awkward Silences, we talked to Kate Towsey, a ResearchOps thought leader and advisor and founder of the Cha Cha Club—a members' club for ResearchOps professionals. Previously Research Operations Manager at …

#14 - How to Make a Potentially Awkward User Interview Less Awkward with Adam Sigel of Hometap

April 24th, 2019

27:02

65% of homeowners have experienced anxiety related to their home. Adam Sigel wants to figure out how to get that number down. As the VP of Product at

#13 - Make Qualitative Research Your Competitive Marketing Advantage with Katelyn Bourgoin

April 18th, 2019

36:59

Talking to customers is pretty powerful stuff. This week Erin & JH talked to Katelyn Bourgoin, 3x startup founder and growth geek, about how …

#12 - Essential Times for Qualitative Research With Shipra Kayan

April 11th, 2019

30:37

This week on the podcast, Erin and JH talk to Shipra Kayan. After 10 years of working in UX design and research at Upwork, she's launched her own …

#11 - Integrating Research Faster with John Cutler

March 27th, 2019

36:53

John Cutler is a man of many talents. He’s a product development champion, team whisperer, and now, podcast guest on Awkward Silences! Erin and JH talked to John about just-in-time research, promoting healthy team …

#10 - Give Us Your Feedback and Reviews (Retro #1) - with Erin & JH

March 22nd, 2019

35:08

In this special edition episode, we're talking about what we think about the podcast so far and where we hope to go. We want your feedback to help us decide what to do next! Let us know what you think here:

#9 - Running Amazing Remote UX Research Sessions with Sonya Badigian

March 13th, 2019

29:48

Erin and JH talk to Sonya Badigian. As a researcher at a fully-remote company, Sonya is a big fan of remote research. She walks us through how remote …

#8 - Continuously Delivering and Discovering with James Aylward of Pluralsight

February 27th, 2019

31:12

Pluralsight is built on continuous discovery and continuous delivery, which means they are constantly building and shipping code, while constantly digging in to how customers feel about their product. We talked to James …

#7 - Making User Testing Fast, Fun, and Accessible with Laura Powell

February 13th, 2019

32:39
Try to think of each user as a new friend, and you want to learn about them. Don’t get nervous — relax! It’s just nice to create the sense that you’re having a conversation with someone. You’re listening to what they’re …

#6 - Building Products That Don't Cause Emotional Trauma with Laura Klein

January 30th, 2019

41:31

Algorithms don’t always handle “edge cases” well, and the people who design them can have too broad a definition of edge case—stillbirths, miscarriages, and other life tragedies are actually relatively common.

So how do …

#5 - Collaboration Between UXR and Stakeholders with Holly Hester-Reilly

January 16th, 2019

30:20

If there’s anyone who can link stakeholders to the awesome power of user research, it’s Holly Hester-Reilly

Holly is a champion of research that is …

#4 - Conversational Research with Maggie Crowley of Drift

January 2nd, 2019

30:40

This week on the pod, Erin and JH talk to Maggie Crowley, Director of Product Management at Drift, about research as a product manager at a rapidly growing startup. They talk about how to do great research in a …

#3 - Quant and Qual Flow with Cat Anderson

December 12th, 2018

29:04

Some people think you have to choose between qual and quant research when you start your study. Not Cat Anderson. At AP Intego, she works with a fairly small and scrappy team (just like us!), but that doesn’t mean she’s …

#2 - When Research Doesn't Go As Planned with Jaclyn Perrone

December 4th, 2018

27:35

What do you do when your user research session doesn’t go according to plan? It happens all the time, in a lot of ways, for a lot of reasons. Fortunately we have Jaclyn Perrone, Design Director at thoughtbot, on the pod …

#1 - Why are we here? with your co-hosts, JH and Erin

November 28th, 2018

18:25

Listen as JH and Erin wrestle with the biggest question there is: why are we here anyway? We'll dive into what we think the podcast should (and …

#0 - Trailer

November 26th, 2018

6:28

What's this Awkward Silences podcast all about anyway? As a place to start, it's about embracing the awkward beauty of talking to people to learn and build better stuff. Get a sneak peek and meet our hosts, JH Forster …

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