"The most valuable insights often emerge when a person relaxes and forgets they're being interviewed," notes Malcolm Gladwell, bestselling author on the psychology of communication. An informal interview is the art of obtaining important information through casual conversation, without a rigid structure of questions.
Unlike a classic structured interview with prepared questions, an informal conversation develops naturally, following the interviewee's train of thought. According to Harvard University research, this format yields 34% more unexpected but valuable insights, especially when discussing complex topics or subjective experiences.
What is an Informal Interview?
An informal interview strips away the rigid question-answer format in favor of a guided conversation. Instead of working through a predetermined list of questions, the interviewer creates a relaxed environment where the discussion flows naturally, following interesting threads as they emerge.
The key distinction lies in the approach: formal interviews are structured and standardized, while informal interviews prioritize authentic connection and conversational flow. In practice, this means replacing "Tell me about a time when you faced a challenge at work" with "I'm curious about how things worked at your last company. What kinds of problems would typically come up?"
While formal interviews measure candidates against specific criteria, informal interviews excel at revealing how someone thinks, what they truly care about, and how they might fit into a team's culture. They create space for unexpected insights that predetermined questions would never uncover.
Despite their casual nature, effective informal interviews aren't random conversations. They require clear objectives and subtle guidance to ensure you gather the information you need while maintaining an authentic, relaxed atmosphere.
When Informal Interviews Are Appropriate
Informal interviews are not a universal tool. There are situations where they are irreplaceable, and contexts where a formal approach works better.
Situation | Informal Interview | Formal Interview |
Preliminary candidate screening | ✓ | |
User experience research | ✓ | |
Uncovering hidden customer needs | ✓ | |
Building trust with sources | ✓ | |
Cross-cultural communication | ✓ | |
Standardized skills assessment | ✓ | |
Technical interview | ✓ | |
Comparing candidates using identical criteria | ✓ | |
Documenting the hiring process | ✓ | |
Evaluating compliance with specific requirements | ✓ |
The informal approach is particularly effective when you need to:
Uncover hidden attitudes and beliefs
Explore emotional experiences
Build long-term relationships
Discuss sensitive or complex topics
Gain unexpected insights beyond anticipated answers
For example, when investigating high employee turnover, a formal survey might reveal obvious factors (salary, schedule), but only in an informal conversation will employees likely disclose toxic behavior from a specific manager or an unhealthy corporate culture.
7 Key Benefits of Informal Interviews
Informal interviews open up possibilities unavailable with standardized approaches:
Natural interaction
Without a rigid script, the interviewee feels more comfortable and speaks sincerely rather than trying to give "correct" answers.
Unexpected discoveries
The free format allows touching on topics you wouldn't have thought to ask about. Statistics show that 40% of valuable business insights come from unplanned branches of discussion.
Reduced stress
An informal setting reduces the interviewee's anxiety, especially when discussing sensitive topics. Research shows that cortisol (stress hormone) levels are 27% lower during informal interviews.
Adaptability
You can instantly adjust to new, unexpectedly interesting aspects of the conversation without feeling like you're "going off track."
Relationship building
Casual conversation promotes trust and rapport, which is especially important for long-term business relationships or journalistic investigations.
Uncovering deeper motives
The free format allows capturing unspoken motivations, values, and beliefs that are difficult to identify through direct questions.
Contextual understanding
You gain not only facts but also the emotional, cultural, and situational context in which these facts exist for the interviewee.
A telling example: when researching millennial consumer habits, formal surveys showed a high value placed on product sustainability. However, informal interviews revealed that behind the declared concern for the environment often stood a desire to conform to social expectations, while actual purchases were determined by completely different factors.
Psychology of Informal Interviews: Why People Open Up
The success of informal interviews is closely tied to the psychological mechanisms of human communication. When we feel comfortable and safe, the brain activates areas responsible for trust and openness.
Neuroscientists from Emory University found that in a relaxed atmosphere, activity in the amygdala (responsible for "fight or flight") decreases and oxytocin production—the trust hormone—increases. This physiologically predisposes people toward more open and sincere communication.
Psychological factors contributing to disclosure in informal interviews:
Reciprocity — when the interviewer shows some openness, the interviewee responds in kind
Non-judgmental position — the feeling that you're not being judged, but genuinely listened to
Similarity effect — we trust people with whom we find commonality
Spatial comfort — familiar or neutral territory reduces tension
Control over the conversation — the ability to influence the course of the conversation reduces anxiety
Princeton University psychologists' research showed that people are 60% more likely to disclose personal information in an informal setting compared to a formal interview environment.
Preparing for an Informal Interview
Informality doesn't mean lack of preparation. On the contrary, it requires careful planning that remains invisible to the interviewee.
Define the interview objective — what specifically you want to achieve, what information to obtain
Research your interviewee — basic information will help find common ground and avoid uncomfortable topics
Prepare conversation directions — not rigid questions, but topics you want to cover
Create "warm-up" questions — simple and pleasant topics to start the conversation
Consider place and time — choose a comfortable space for the interviewee where you won't be interrupted
Plan how to capture information — traditional note-taking can disrupt the atmosphere
"Paradoxically, an informal interview requires more thorough preparation than a formal one," notes Terry Gross, host of Fresh Air radio show. "You must be ready to follow wherever the conversation turns while maintaining a general course toward your goal."
Instead of a list of specific questions, prepare thematic blocks and possible opening questions for each. For example, for an interview with a potential client:
Current situation: "Can you tell me how process X is currently organized in your company?"
Problems and pain points: "What difficulties do you encounter most often?"
Previous experience: "Have you tried solving this problem before? What came of it?"
Desired outcome: "What would an ideal process look like for you?"
Techniques for Conducting Effective Informal Interviews
The success of an informal interview depends on the interviewer's skills in creating a comfortable atmosphere and gently guiding the conversation.
Start with easy topics — discuss something neutral and pleasant to help the interviewee relax
Use open-ended questions — "How did you come to this?" instead of "Was this difficult?"
Practice active listening — show interest through paraphrasing and clarifying questions
Use the "tell me more" technique — a simple request "Could you tell me more about that?" often leads to valuable insights
Pay attention to non-verbal signals — they often say more than words
Use pauses — many interviewers fear silence, but these moments are when interviewees often share the most valuable information
Be flexible — willingness to deviate from the plan often leads to unexpected discoveries
The "5 Whys" methodology, developed at Toyota, works excellently in informal interviews: you sequentially ask "why?" to each answer received, delving into reasons and motivations. For example:
"We rarely use this feature in your product."
— Why? "It's not very convenient."
— Why do you find it inconvenient? "It requires too many clicks."
— Why is that critical for you? "We use this feature dozens of times a day, and every extra second adds up."
— Why do you need to use it so frequently? "Actually, it's a central part of our workflow, not secondary as you probably assumed during development."
This simple example shows how we move from a surface observation to a deep understanding of the product usage context.
Informal Interviews in Different Fields
Informal interview techniques adapt to the specifics of different professional areas:
HR and Recruiting
In HR, informal interviews help assess "soft skills" and cultural fit. According to LinkedIn, 89% of terminations in the first year of employment are related not to professional skills but to personal qualities and cultural mismatch—precisely what's best revealed in casual conversation.
Coffee with a potential candidate before the official interview or an informal lunch with the team after the main interview often gives HR specialists more information than hours of formal questions.
Marketing and Research
Marketers use informal interviews for a deep understanding of customer needs. A classic example is IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad, who regularly chatted with customers in his store cafes, gaining insights unavailable through formal surveys.
David Ogilvy claimed that an hour of informal conversation with a potential client provides more for creating effective advertising than weeks of studying market statistics.
Journalism
For journalists, informal interviews are a way to get exclusive information and build long-term relationships with sources. Legendary interviewer Larry King said: "I never learned anything while I was talking. I learned when I was listening."
Sales
In B2B sales, informal interviews help identify the client's true pain points, often unconscious to the client themselves. Neil Rackham's "SPIN Selling" method is based precisely on informal interview principles with gradual deepening into the client's situation.
Common Mistakes in Conducting Informal Interviews
Even experienced interviewers make missteps that can negate all the advantages of the informal format:
Dominating the conversation — a classic mistake when the interviewer talks more than listens
Leading questions — questions that push toward a certain answer ("You liked our service, didn't you?")
Fear of pauses — filling any silence with questions doesn't give the interviewee time to reflect
Jumping between topics — doesn't allow delving into important aspects
Excessive informality — can be perceived as unprofessionalism or disrespect
Lack of focus — too free-flowing conversation without an objective often doesn't yield valuable results
An especially common mistake is rushing to conclusions. Harvard Business School research showed that interviewers form an opinion about interviewees in an average of 7 seconds and then subconsciously seek confirmation of their initial assessment, ignoring contradictory information.
How to Capture Information Without Disrupting the Atmosphere
One of the main challenges of informal interviews is the need to remember or record information without destroying the casual atmosphere. Traditional methods have their limitations:
Taking notes by hand — distracts attention and creates a sense of formality
Audio recording — may cause the interviewee to become guarded
Post-factum memory recording — prone to losing important details and nuances
According to research, people forget up to 40% of conversation information within an hour and up to 60% within a day. Not only factual information is distorted but also the emotional context.
Modern technology offers more elegant solutions:
Discreet recorders and smartphone recording apps
Smart pens that record audio synchronized with handwritten notes
Real-time automatic transcription systems
Important: always get consent to record a conversation, even if your country's legislation doesn't require it. It's a matter of ethics and trust.
How mymeet.ai Transforms Informal Interviews
The mymeet.ai platform presents a new approach to capturing and analyzing informal interviews, solving the classic problems of this format.
Main advantages of using mymeet.ai for informal interviews:
Automatic recording and transcription — you can fully focus on the conversation without being distracted by note-taking
Highlighting key moments — artificial intelligence automatically identifies the most important parts of the conversation, saving analysis time
Ability to ask questions about the interview content — after the conversation, you can ask the system a question like "What main problems did the interviewee mention?" and receive a structured answer
Preservation of context and emotional nuances — the system notes the emotional coloring of statements, helping to better understand the interviewee's true attitude
Integration with CRM and other systems — allows saving insights in a structured format and using them in work
The AI chat function is especially valuable, allowing you to "talk" with the interview transcript after its completion. For example, a week after a conversation with a client, you can ask: "What specific ROI figures did the client mention?" or "Which competitors were discussed and what was said about each?"
This helps extract maximum value from informal conversations even after a significant time, when details might have faded from memory. Such an approach is particularly valuable for long-term sales, research projects, and journalistic investigations.
Ethical Aspects of Informal Interviews
The informal nature of the conversation doesn't eliminate professional ethics, and in some aspects even increases the interviewer's ethical responsibility:
Informed consent — always clarify the conversation's objectives, even if doing so casually
Transparency regarding recording — get explicit permission to capture the conversation by any means
Confidentiality — clearly indicate how the obtained information will be used
Avoiding manipulation — the relaxed atmosphere shouldn't become a tool for obtaining information by deception
Respecting personal boundaries — even in casual conversation, the interviewee has the right not to answer certain questions
Cultural sensitivity — understanding cultural differences in the perception of informal communication
It's important to remember that an informal interview creates a higher level of trust, and therefore imposes greater responsibility for the correct use of the information obtained.
Practical Examples of Successful Informal Interviews
Many breakthrough business solutions and journalistic findings have resulted from informal conversations:
Procter & Gamble consumer research — instead of focus groups, the company began conducting informal conversations with consumers in their home environment, leading to understanding real household practices and creating successful products
Howard Schultz's approach (Starbucks) — regular informal conversations with baristas and visitors helped form the unique concept of a "third place" between work and home
Elon Musk's method — known for his unusual hiring interviews, including unexpected questions and informal discussions over lunch, which helps assess creativity and ability for unconventional thinking
One impressive example is a journalist who conducted a series of informal interviews with residents of a small town affected by flooding. Official surveys showed satisfaction with government actions, but informal conversations revealed systemic problems in aid distribution and corruption, which led to a journalistic investigation and real changes.
Conclusion
Informal interviews are a powerful tool for gaining deep insights and building trusting relationships. In a world oversaturated with formalized surveys and questionnaires, it's the informal conversation that often becomes the source of truly valuable information and unexpected discoveries.
The key to success lies in the balance between casualness and purposefulness, between the interviewee's comfort and solving your professional tasks. Modern technologies, such as mymeet.ai, solve the classic dilemma between immersion in conversation and the need to capture information, allowing full concentration on the quality of communication.
Use informal interviews as a complement to structured methods of research, hiring, or information gathering. Combined with traditional approaches, they will give you a more complete and multifaceted picture of the phenomenon, person, or organization under study.
Frequently Asked Questions About Informal Interviews
How does an informal interview differ from a regular conversation?
An informal interview, unlike a regular conversation, has a certain purpose and direction, though it allows for significant flexibility. The interviewer unobtrusively guides the conversation, directing it toward obtaining the necessary information while maintaining natural interaction.
How can I ensure I don't miss important information?
Prepare thematic blocks to cover and mentally check them periodically. Use recording and transcription technologies such as mymeet.ai. Practice active listening and ask clarifying questions when you feel a topic might contain valuable insights.
How do I record an informal interview without disrupting the atmosphere?
Inform the interviewee about recording at the beginning, explaining its benefit for both of you. Use unobtrusive technologies—small recorders or specialized applications. Platforms like mymeet.ai allow automatically recording and analyzing the conversation without distracting attention from the discussion.
Should I inform the interviewee about the purposes of the informal conversation?
Yes, always. Even in the most casual conversation, the interviewee should understand the general purpose of the talk and how the information will be used. This is a matter of professional ethics and building trusting relationships. Transparency doesn't contradict informality.
How do I analyze the results of an informal interview?
Review the recordings immediately after the interview, highlighting key themes and quotes. Look for recurring motifs and emotional reactions. Compare verbal information with non-verbal signals. Use AI tools like mymeet.ai for systematization and data analysis, which is especially valuable when processing a series of interviews.
