Use validation research and the qual/quant combination to get validation but to also help the team move forward. You always want momentum and want the team to be able to keep going.

Use a platform that allows your team to ask follow-up questions and iterate as you learn.

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.