Customer interview notes template: write less, then ask the next question

The best customer interview notes template is three lines on a mostly blank page. When you interview someone alone, jot down what they did and your next question, then expand the fragments right after the call.

The template is three lines

At the top, write the date, the person's role and the main question you want to answer. GOV.UK's note-taking guidance allows brief interviewer notes and recommends recording what you hear or see separately from your interpretation.

1. Let a short note prompt the next question

Here is a made-up exchange about a warehouse shift handover.

The person says: "I left a note in the order record, then messaged the next shift lead."

You jot down: Order note, then message to next shift lead. Why the message?

You ask: "What were you trying to do with that message?"

They answer: "Just giving them a heads-up before their shift. I wasn't asking them to confirm anything."

You add: Heads-up, not a request for confirmation.

After the call, the fragments become:

The person reported leaving a note in the order record, then messaging the next shift lead. They described the message as a heads-up before the shift, not a request for confirmation. We did not discuss what the next shift did afterward.

The actions match the fragments, and now you know why they sent the message. Writing "the order system is unreliable" would hand you a product problem the person never described.

2. When your notes fall behind, stop writing

Write enough to remember the point, then look back at the person. Mark an unfinished thought with a question mark instead of solving it while they talk. (Some pages end up mostly question marks.) If you miss something important, ask: "Could you repeat what happened after you sent the message?"

3. Keep the words that change the meaning

"Sometimes" is different from "every shift." Use quotation marks only for wording you captured exactly, and paraphrase the rest.

4. Finish the note before you open anything else

Expand the fragments while the conversation is fresh. Leave unanswered questions visible, and don't supply a missing reason because it now seems obvious. GOV.UK's analysis guidance separates what was seen or heard from what it means; keep that line in the finished note.

For your next paid interview, prepare a few questions about a real event with space under each. To compare several conversations, use the interview analysis guide.