The mechanics matter more than people expect. A well-run thirty minutes produces more than a rambling hour, and most of the skill is restraint.
The shape
- Two minutes: thank them, explain there is nothing to sell, ask to take notes.
- Twenty minutes: their story, in their order, with your follow-ups.
- Five minutes: the specific things you needed to cover but did not come up.
- Three minutes: "what should I have asked?" and "who else should I speak to?"
That last question is how five interviews become fifteen without any more cold outreach.
Talk about a fifth of the time
Silence is the tool. When someone finishes a thought, wait — the second half of the answer is usually the honest half. Most interviewers fill that gap with a new question and never hear it.
Write down their exact words
Do not paraphrase into your own vocabulary. The specific nouns and verbs customers use are the most valuable output of the whole exercise, because they belong on your site and in your emails later. "It is a nightmare at month end" is copy; "customers desire improved reporting efficiency" is nothing.
Record if they let you
Ask permission, and record. Notes taken while listening are notes taken badly, and you will miss the phrasing that mattered.
Try it
Run one interview this week using this shape. Afterwards, count how many minutes you spoke. If it is more than a third, that is the first thing to fix.