Interviewing for Empathy and Information

(Part 1: What and Why)

Let’s say you’ve got a great idea for a social enterprise. Maybe it’s an app to help people manage stress, or a solution for food insecurity in your community. You’ve done your homework for this project. You’ve searched online, crunched the numbers, and used AI tools to gather facts. But there’s still a lingering question at the back of your mind. Will this idea work in the real world?

This is where most great ideas hit their first major roadblock. The data tells you what the problem is, but not how it affects people’s lives. How do you complete the picture? Ask people in the community you want to serve about their experiences and needs using empathy interviews.

What Is an Empathy Interview?

An empathy interview is a focused conversation where you investigate how people experience the problem you want to solve.

Rather than collecting facts and figures, you listen carefully, actively, and deeply. Your goal is to discover insights that can guide your project and help you succeed.

Instead of asking, “How many people in this community feel stressed?” you ask, “What happens when you feel overwhelmed by life? What do you do?” Instead of statistics about how many people lack enough food, you talk to people in the community who may not get enough food each day, perhaps guided by ministers, social workers, teachers, and other community leaders who see the issue firsthand.

These conversations help you spot solutions you’d never think of on your own, avoid blind spots in your vision, and prevent embarrassing mistakes that could doom your project before it starts.

Why Do One?

The most impressive statistics in the world alone won’t tell you if your solution will work. You also need the human story behind the numbers. While facts are important, social enterprises and design thinking projects depend on human stories and context. Numbers can tell you how many people are affected by an issue. Only people themselves can tell you what it feels like to live with the issue, what’s been tried before and why it didn’t quite work, and what might work.

For example, let’s say the data shows that 40% of young adults report feeling stressed every morning. That number is useful, but it doesn’t tell you why. A set of empathy interviews might reveal that some people feel overwhelmed by crowded public transportation rides or hectic commute traffic, or that others find their anxiety triggered by the daily news or looking at their to-do list. In this light, a program designed to support well-being needs a very different approach than simply offering time-management tips.

As a real-life example, Jessica Jackley, co-founder of Kiva, once described how she started out in microfinance. She didn’t learn just by reading articles, though she did that too. She went out for coffee with entrepreneurs and lenders in developing countries and listened to their stories. From these interviews, she learned what would-be entrepreneurs needed to get started, as well as the nuts-and-bolts of lending to small businesses. She confirmed her assumptions and tested ideas. Those informal conversations opened doors, built relationships, and gave her the kind of understanding she couldn’t have found in books or online.

That’s the power of empathy interviews. They don’t just fill in the blanks of who, what, where, when, why, and how. They give you real human insight, and they help you build trust and support along the way.

When Do You Use Empathy Interviews?

There are three key times for empathy interviews:

• At the start of a project, when you’re defining goals and exploring needs. This is your reality check. Is your amazing idea solving the right problem?
• During a project, at milestones or new phases, to check your direction. What’s working and what isn’t? What improvements could you make?
• When you’ve hit a roadblock and find yourself stuck. Maybe people aren’t using your solution the way you expected, or your pilot program isn’t catching on. That’s when you need some fresh insights. Time to go back and listen to your partners in the community.

At each of these points, talking to people, whether over coffee, on a call, or in a video chat, can surface ideas, signal warnings, and reveal possibilities you would never uncover on your own.

The Takeaway

Sure, start with Google, databases, and AI tools. But don’t stop there.

Digital research with Google, databases, and AI tools gets you started. Empathy interviews take you deeper. For social entrepreneurs and design thinkers, both are essential. The real magic happens when you combine solid data with human insights from empathy interviews. That’s how you build something that doesn’t just look good on paper, but actually works in the real world.

In the next post, I’ll show you how to prepare, run, and follow up on an empathy interview so you can build confidence and learn as much as possible from the people you talk with.

Sources & Further Reading

• Estes, F. (2022). Design Thinking: A Guide to Innovation.
• Jackley, J. (2010). Clay, Water, Brick: Finding Inspiration from Entrepreneurs Who Do the Most with the Least.