Why are we afraid to send user interview Recap emails?

Last time

In the last edition of Amped Research Notes (The incremental value of user interview recap emails), we talked about the many benefits of sending the Recap email. This week I wanted to look at some of the fears that lead to many of us not actually sending those very important emails.

Hopefully after reading this you will be more confident hitting the send button and start seeing more benefit from the ritual of sending recap emails. If you like what you see I would love it if you would subscribe and hang out for a while.

Pressing send is hard. One of the first things that always scares me is hitting the “send” button. It feels almost too final, like I can’t take it back and that people are going to receive it and think I am dumb, or find an error in my work. This SubStack was a huge hurdle for me to launch for very much the same reason. That being said, it isn’t that bad. As I sent more recap emails I realized that the fear is something that held me back and is something I can fight by doing quickly and regularly. I almost forget about being afraid (I still get afraid when I send emails for different reasons like “Feedback requests” but never get afraid of recap emails anymore).

My secret that I want to share with you is... you feel better every time you hit send on one of these emails! To illustrate this point, I have decided to share a probably too personal story.

Story time: From a very young age I used to hate taking showers... I would fight with my mom and would make excuses like “Oh it is just going to take too long and I am clean enough.” This continued to a point in my life that it wasn’t cute anymore (insert undisclosed old age here). I would argue and ignore the activity until I just couldn’t bear not showering anymore. Every time that I ended up getting into the shower though, two things would happen.

First, I would realize (as if it were the first time) that I actually enjoy taking showers, and Second I would spend a good long time in the shower appreciating the heat and calming experience...

I am sharing this silly story to show that something as mundane as showering is just like sending an email, message, or full report.

If you don’t send a recap email

1. you stink ;)

2. You waste your opportunity to do something important for you (and others)

3. People will keep there distance...

If you do send a recap email

1. You will feel better (almost a sense of relief)

2. You will have done a regular activity that brings you further along in life by taking small actions every day (rituals are important structures to our day)

3. People will continue to talk with you and enjoy your company

What if it’s too soon or too much? No such thing. People are hungry for information and sharing their own thoughts and opinions (especially on things related to research I find). You are doing yourself and others a disservice if you hold onto information until you feel super comfortable sharing it with more people. The best ideas often come from moments when you talk with people about early ideas. Innovative and impactful insights almost always require communication as early as possible and frequent iterations.

What if I don’t get credit for the insight? The short answer is it doesn’t matter if people give you credit. It isn’t about credit it’s about getting to an insight. In my experience the earlier you bring people in, and the more you share, the more value people get from your work. Ultimately, that is what we strive for and by doing this you get the credit in the long run. I love to get people’s input throughout so that the insights are as diverse as possible. Sure Researchers can come up with all the insights that are needed, but the best way to get variety is for more than just the researcher to think about and interpret the research activities.

Additionally, this helps with the distribution and impact of the research itself! When someone else comes up with an insight or an insight comes from a conversation with stakeholders the spark happens. When they see the insight in a final report a few days or weeks later that they contributed they may remember it that they helped come up with it, or more likely they will see it and get excited by what a great idea the new insight is and will share with more people without you having to say “Please use this information!”

What if I can’t keep up with the interviews? “Consistency is key” is a motto I often hear. The problem is that it can often paralyze us into not starting something new because we think if we can’t keep it up then we will be a failure. My answer to that is if you prioritize the work it can get done. There are many ways to do this.

1. Block off very specific time in your day or right after an interview to write the recap.

2. Schedule time to speak with your team and collaborate on writing the email together (crowd sourcing is fun and efficient when done right).

3. Use tools that make the process automated. I use Amped Research (disclosure: I built Amped) an Ai research assistant that summarizes and automates recap emails. Sign up for the Alpha if you are interested in learning more and testing it out!

Recap emails are just one research ritual that I find great value in and will work hard to maintain. This work is worth every minute that I spend building it. It used to take me lots longer given the analysis and rigor researchers expect from their own work (I get it!). Now there are very few excuses to not take the brief amount of time to build the habit.

Would love to talk with you! If you are interested in Amped research, recap emails, Research Impact Tracking, or all things research I would love to chat. Feel free to send an email over to mitch@getampedresearch.com.