There are seven universal emotions, each with their own unique and distinctive facial expressions. Those emotions are: happiness, sadness, fear, disgust, anger, contempt and surprise.

Show participants a graphic that represents the 7 emotions, whether it be with emojis or pictures, and have them pick the emotion that best represents their experiences and have them talk about what it means to them.

When testing a product, have participants take quick videos of themselves so you can see initial reactions and facial expressions. With video, you’re not just hearing a rating, you’re seeing participant faces to really see what they’re telling you vs. what they’re showing you.

When showing your stimulus to participants, consider giving the participant a fixed number of seconds to respond or provide information. By putting a timer on their response, you will get insight into immediate, gut reactions of your participants.

When testing a new product or concept, it’s important that you understand what you’re offering, what feels new, and what people are already familiar with. Make sure to focus new features as well as what’s familiar and comfortable so you can ensure your concept can be internalized by consumers.