Process
How to build rapport in a research interview
Rapport is built across the whole participant journey, not only in the opening
A three-stage timeline for building rapport with research participants. Before the interview, personalise outreach, brief people on what to expect and remove friction from joining. In the first five minutes, use real small talk, explain your role and frame the session as a conversation. During the interview, show active listening, follow emotional cues and let silence do some work. Useful for moderated interviews, and as groundwork for AI-moderated ones in Koji.
Where this appears
What's in this process
- Before the interview: Personalise the invite, brief people on length, recording and topics, and make joining the call effortless.
- The first five minutes: Genuine small talk, explain you are not defending the product, frame it as a conversation and ask to record.
- During the interview: Show you are listening, probe emotional words, match their energy and wait three to five seconds before moving on.
Use this image
Free to use in your docs, decks and posts under CC BY 4.0, as long as you credit Koji with a link to this page. To embed it, paste this into your page:
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<a href="https://www.koji.so/visuals/rapport-building-timeline-research-interviews"><img src="https://www.koji.so/visuals/rapport-building-timeline-research-interviews/rapport-building-timeline-research-interviews.png" alt="Process showing three stages of building rapport in a research interview: before the session, the first five minutes and during the interview." width="1200" height="630" /></a>
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.koji.so/visuals/rapport-building-timeline-research-interviews">How to build rapport in a research interview</a>, Koji</p>
