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by User Interviews
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- 1 weeks agoconversational47 min5-min read
#189 - Throwback: Quantifying Research Impact with Ruby Pryor of Rex
In this episode of Awkward Silences, hosts Erin May and Carol Guest speak with Ruby Pryor, founder of Rex, a UXR and strategic design consulting firm, about how user experience researchers can measure and demonstrate their impact across different organizational levels. The conversation centers on a four-level framework for research impact—insights, optimization, prioritization, and strategy—and explores both qualitative and quantitative methods for proving value, with a strong emphasis on economic justification, stakeholder collaboration, and cultural intelligence in global research.
- 3 weeks agointerview49 min8-min read
#188 - Why AI Can't Replace Qualitative Research with Sam Ladner of Workday
Qualitative research is undergoing a transformation with AI, but the core of the work — cognitive sense-making, emotional insight, and human intuition — remains irreplaceable. While AI excels at labor-intensive tasks like transcription and coding, it cannot replicate the human capacity for empathy, imagination, or abductive reasoning. The real value of AI lies not in replacing researchers, but in freeing them from repetitive tasks so they can focus on the deeper, more human aspects of inquiry: unriddling complexity, interpreting outliers, and telling emotionally resonant stories.
- Apr 14, 2026conversational40 min6-min read
#187 - Throwback: Harnessing AI For Better Insights with George Whitfield of MIT and Google
In this episode of Awkward Silences, hosts Erin May and Carol Guest speak with George Whitfield, founder of Finder View and lecturer at MIT, about using AI to enhance qualitative research analysis. The conversation centers on how AI can act as a collaborative partner in synthesizing interview data, especially when guided by human hypotheses and intent. Rather than replacing researchers, AI serves as a force multiplier—accelerating synthesis, validating assumptions, and surfacing evidence—while still requiring human oversight to ensure accuracy and strategic relevance.
- Mar 31, 2026interview42 min5-min read
#186 - Positioning Your Portfolio for AI Skills with Aneta Kmiecik of Be Your Own Design Team
AI is rapidly transforming design and research roles, but its adoption remains low; candidates must strategically position their AI skills by understanding their audience, focusing on high-quality judgment, and differentiating themselves through storytelling and critical thinking rather than generic outputs.
- Mar 17, 2026conversational52 min6-min read
#185 - How to Use AI Without Losing Your Research Soul with Nikki Anderson of Drop in Research
In this episode of Awkward Silences, host Ben Wiedmaier interviews longtime collaborator Nikki Anderson, a UX research strategist and founder of Drop in Research, about the evolving role of user researchers amid tightening budgets, rising AI hype, and stakeholder urgency. The conversation centers on how researchers can maintain rigor while staying agile, using mixed methods, facilitation, and strategic stakeholder management to stay relevant and impactful.
- Mar 3, 2026interview39 min6-min read
#184 - Use Context For More Influence with Kristen DeLap of Econify
A designer's craft remains essential, but influence in today’s tight business climate comes from understanding organizational context, decision-making dynamics, and storytelling that connects product roadmaps to real user emotions. Kristen DeLap emphasizes that designers must move beyond artifacts and insights to drive action by speaking the language of stakeholders and embedding themselves in decision processes.
- Feb 17, 2026conversational48 min7-min read
#183 - The Best Ways to Use AI in UX Research with Laura Klein of NN/g
Laura Klein, a principal experience specialist at Nielsen Norman Group, shares a skeptical yet pragmatic view of AI in user research, emphasizing that while AI excels at automating tedious tasks like transcription and note-taking, it fails at generating true insights or replacing human judgment. The conversation centers on using AI as a supportive tool rather than a replacement for expertise, with a strong emphasis on maintaining research integrity, team collaboration, and contextual understanding.
- Feb 3, 202640 min
#182 - The Future of Research (In a Moment of Change)
Ben sits down with Basel Fakhoury, CEO and Co-founder of User Interviews, and Baran Erkel, Chief Strategy Officer at UserTesting, for a conversation about the research industry's evolution. With AI reshaping customer behaviors and business decisions, both executives emphasize how the need for customer insights has never been greater, even as budget pressures mount across organizations.Basek and Baran share frameworks for executive decision making, explore how AI tools are moving beyond simply replacing human moderators toward creating entirely new research methodologies, and stress that as AI transforms products and experiences over the next few years, customer insights will be fundamental to shaping organizational cultures that keep customers at the center.Highlights05:15 How research influences corporate strategy12:25 Building effective decision making cultures19:07 Data formats that drive executive decisions26:28 AI everywhere in research tooling landscape29:30 Consolidating insights across teams and tools36:45 Customer centric approach during acquisition integrationResourcesRead more about the acquisitionThe State of User Research ReportVisual Design for Research Workshop
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About Awkward Silences
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/marketing and product at User Interviews. Take this survey and let us know what topics you want to hear next! userinterviews.com/awkwardsurvey
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