When Paul McCartney and Rick Rubin set about recording their conversations for the documentary McCartney 3,2,1, they wanted it to feel like there was no one in the room but them.
The cameras were hidden. The studio was all black. Everyone working in the studio (around 20 people) was dressed in black.
And no one was allowed to wear shoes.
Because they wanted to feel as if they were on their own, unobserved, not performing.
Rick told this story on the Lex Fridman podcast. (Hat tip to Jonathan Stark for pointing me toward that episode.)
It was part of a bigger conversation about capturing the essence of a moment vs. being conscious of performing.
And it struck me that this is the same reason it’s best to have someone other than you do customer interviews for your company.
It’s the best way to encourage true, non-performative feedback.
If the owner (or regular point of contact) is on the call, the interviewee is going to be conscious of not hurting feelings.
They won’t want to misremember things, they’ll be looking for the positive, etc.
When you hire a pro (ahem) to gather voice of customer data for you – someone they’ve never met before, whose superpower is making people feel comfortable – it’s like they’re the only person in the room.
They’re not saying what they think I want to hear because they don’t even know me.
It’s like I’m not there.
Shoeless,
James
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