How to Take Notes During Customer Research Interviews

Teresa Torres explains how she now records customer research interviews (audio only, with disclosure) while taking handwritten notes that capture structure rather than verbatim quotes. She argues that recording frees her to stay present, while sketching the structure of what participants say reveals gaps and inconsistencies worth probing. Her notation system, including stars, time stamps, and a clear mark for her own thoughts, helps her later synthesize and reflect back what she heard. Because interview insights are only as good as the notes behind them, she also reviews notes right after each session and catalogs everything in a consistent checklist. The method matters for any PM or researcher who needs to turn raw conversations into reliable, actionable learning.

01Key takeaways

• Record interviews with audio only, and always tell participants you are recording.
• Handwrite notes to stay present and build rapport instead of hiding behind a laptop.
• Capture the structure of what participants say to spot gaps and inconsistencies worth probing.
• Use a consistent notation system, and clearly separate your own thoughts from the participant's words.
• Review and extend notes right after each interview, before the next one, to avoid misinterpretation.
• Catalog notes, photos, and audio in a fixed checklist so research can be retrieved and shared later.

02Key sections

To Record or Not

Torres reverses her earlier advice and now recommends recording every interview, since recordings ease the burden of verbatim note-taking. Recording lets her focus on synthesizing and asking follow-up questions.

Audio vs. Video and Recording Tools

She records only audio because video makes participants less comfortable and open. She always discloses recording to participants, treating it as the ethical default beyond legal requirements.

Handwritten vs. Typed Notes

Typing creates a barrier to rapport and encourages verbatim capture that limits processing. Handwriting lets her use space, arrows, and stars to structure and connect ideas.

Capturing Structure, Follow-ups, and Reflections

Sketching the structure of what participants describe reveals gaps, such as a missing fifth product manager, and gives her an outline for reflecting back what she heard. She jots follow-up items in the margins so she doesn't interrupt the participant's flow.

Notation System and Post-Interview Cataloging

She uses quotation marks for notable phrases, parentheses for asides, stars and timestamps for key moments, and // to separate her own thoughts. She reviews notes immediately and catalogs everything in a checklist for later retrieval.

03From the post

“For those of you following along, I’ve been conducting interviews to understand the life of a product manager. If you need to catch up, you can see my initial call for participants here and my breakdown of how I am selecting participants here. I’ll be blogging about both”

Summary and takeaways written by PM Atlas; quotes are short excerpts. © the original author.