Erin May
Bio
Senior VP of Marketing & Growth at User InterviewsAppears in 148 Episodes
#147 - UX Research in Healthcare with Nadyne Richmond
Erin and Carol explore the complexities of healthcare research with Nadyne Richmond, a healthcare design advisor with a background in big tech who pivoted to healthcar...
#146 - Building a UX Research Team From Scratch with Julian Della Mattia of the180
Erin and special co-host Ben Wiedmaier are joined by Julian Della Mattia of the180 for a deep dive into being UX team-of-one. Julian has been the first user researcher...
#145 - Kick-Start Creativity Using Desk Research with Victoria Sakal of Wonder
In this episode, Erin chats with Victoria Sakal, Head of Growth at Wonder, all about desk (or secondary) research—think web searches, checking internal resource librar...
#144 - The Craft of Sample Sizes with Lauren Stern of WHOOP
In this episode, Carol and Erin dive into all things research sample sizes with Lauren Stern. No matter your experience with user research, you'll need to recruit folk...
#143 - Harnessing AI For Better Insights with George Whitfield of MIT and FindOurView
Carol and Erin welcome George Whitfield, an expert in applying AI to the analysis of qualitative data. George discusses the intricate challenges of leveraging language...
#142 - Quantifying Research Impact with Ruby Pryor of Rex
In this episode Carol and Erin are joined by Ruby Pryor, founder of Rex, a consulting firm specializing in UX research and strategic design. They explore the world of ...
#141 - The Chaos Theory of Event Networking with Bryan Dosono of eBay
In this episode of Awkward Silences, Carol and Erin dive into the world of conference networking and planning with Bryan Dosono, a staff UX research lead at eBay known...
#140 - Should You Leave Academia? Advice for Researchers with Joe Stubenrauch
The decision to leave academia can be difficult. Often, it involves giving up a stable career path and a lifetime commitment to a particular field of study. But as Joe...
#139 - Content Design and the Power of Simple Language with Erica Jorgensen
How often do you think about content design? The answer, most likely, is: “not enough”.The work of a Content Designer involves fitting the right words in the right pla...
#138 - Designers as Change Agents with Maria Giudice
“I realized that design is about helping people make sense of the world. And I looked at the world differently then… treating everything like a design problem that's s...
#137 - Practical Strategies to Foster Customer Obsession with Prayag Narula, CEO and Co-Founder of Marvin
What company isn’t “customer obsessed”? Well, a lot, as it turns out. That’s not for lack of caring—but building a customer-centric culture is easier said than done. A...
#136 - Designing Generative AI at Notion with Linus Lee
AI is a big part of Notion's strategy for the future of knowledge work, and they're exploring ways to use AI to make people's lives easier.Linus Lee, a Research Engine...
#135 - How to Influence Stakeholders with Strategic Research with Andrea Amorós, Associate Principal Researcher at ADP
“I think people really connect when you are just genuine and not transactional. I think it's much more easy to get to those kind of opportunities because they just fee...
#134 - The End of an Era: A Fond Farewell to JH
134 episodes. That’s how long Awkward Silences has been going with Erin and JH as hosts.But now it’s time for something new.JH says goodbye to Awkward Silences as he k...
#133 - Driving Actionable Decisions from Insights with Pejman Mirza-Babaei, UX Research Consultant
As a researcher, you know the value of using research to drive business decisions—but other stakeholders might not. In order to drive action from research, you need to...
#132 - Unveiling UX Insights with Competitive Research with Rachel Miles, Research Lead at IBM
Competition can be scary. But in UX, competitive research is insightful.You don’t want to chase your competitors, but you need to know what they are doing to know how ...
#131 - Designing Beyond the Product: Systems Thinking with Sheryl Cababa, Chief Strategy Officer at Substantial
In design and UX research, context is king. Your work doesn’t exist in a vacuum; it’s a part of a wider ecosystem of stakeholders, beneficiaries, and more.Sheryl Cabab...
#130 - The Art of Great Facilitation for Better Collaboration with Marsha Acker, Founder and CEO of TeamCatapult
There are 6 key qualities for great facilitation:Starting with your core beliefsMaintaining neutralityStanding in the stormHonoring the wisdom of the groupUpholding th...
#129 - How to Upskill Product Teams in UX Research with Helen Devine, UX Research Manager at The Economist
How can UX researchers enable other teams to do research? Show, don’t tell.According to Helen Devine, UX Research Manager at The Economist, upskilling product people t...
#128 - The Value of “Scrappy” Research with Varun Murugesan, Co-Founder of Apple and Banana
What does good “scrappy” user research look like?According to Varun Murugesan, Co-founder of Apple and Banana,“You could throw anything at Jason Bourne and he would so...
#127 - The Power of Failure with Kevin Kelly, Publisher and Founding Editor of Wired
“There’s a certain amount of forgetting that we need to do in order to learn something new.”– Kevin Kelly, Founding Editor of Wired magazineWhether you are designing a...
#126 - AI Anxiety: The Dangers (and Opportunities) of AI in Research with Mike Adams of Grain
AI has recently become hugely popular with the likes of ChatGPT becoming a staple in day to day life, and it looks like it is here to stay. Could it replace the job of...
#125 - What is UX Business Coaching? with Sylvana Rochet of Elan Vital Coaching
Sylvana Rochet, Founder and Principal Coach at Elan Vital Coaching, visits the show to discuss what UX business coaching entails and how to maximize your professional ...
#124 - Defining a Research Strategy with Devin Harold of Capital One
A solid UX research strategy serves as the compass that guides research ops and helps ensure repeatable success. But how do you envision, create, and execute a strateg...
#123 - The Power of Atomic Research with Daniel Pidcock of Glean.ly
Maintaining a huge insights repository can be overwhelming. It’s even more difficult to extract the right insights from research findings. Atomic research is an approa...
#122- Exploring UX Research Career Options with Marieke McCloskey of LinkedIn
What are the best UX career options? How do you vet a potential employer to ensure it’s the right fit? Should you join a smaller firm that offers plenty of autonomy an...
#121 - The UX files: Top Moments from YouX 2023
YouX 2023 is a wrap! No big deal, just us and 3500 other UX-obsessed friends. The half-day virtual event featured breakout sessions and presentations conducted by some...
#120- Building a Healthy Research Culture with Mike Oren of Klaviyo
Whether you are a team of one or one hundred, cultivating a healthy research culture starts with strong leadership. Strong leadership encourages UXR teams to promote b...