Listening, Asking, and Understanding: Lessons on Interviewing

Insights on Interviewing from Pinterest’s Chris Schaefbauer

Recently, we learned from Chris Schaefbauer, the Director of Product Research at Pinterest, who came to talk about his career and share lessons on interviewing and learning from people. Hearing about his path and how he worked across healthcare, personal health, and community health gave me a better sense of how broad research can be and how it connects to real problems people face.

One of the biggest things I learned was about the different types of interviews. I had never thought about how structured, semi-structured, or unstructured conversations could each serve different purposes, and it made me realize that interviewing is a lot more flexible than I thought. Chris also explained different ways of sampling, like purposive or snowball sampling, and that opened my eyes to how important it is to be intentional about who you talk to. It is not just about getting answers but about making sure you are learning from the right people.

What really stuck with me was the idea that a good interview is not just about the questions themselves but about creating an environment where people feel comfortable. He reminded us that silence can be valuable and that sometimes the best insights come when you give people room to share openly. I also liked his point about avoiding leading or jargon-filled questions, because that made me think about how easily we can accidentally influence responses without realizing it.

I feel like I can apply what I learned to my own projects by being more thoughtful in how I ask questions, paying closer attention to how people answer, and making sure I focus on their actual experiences instead of what I expect to hear. This is important because it means the work I do will be based on real needs and perspectives, which makes it more meaningful and useful.