The goal of an Interview is to really understand the experiences, needs, and desires of the person you’re designing for, and your body language can play a big part in the process. It may sound simple, but keeping good eye contact, nodding and smiling as a way to reinforce what a person is saying, and giving non-verbal cues to validate what you’re hearing can be powerful. Truly engaged listening can be just as important as the questions you ask. Because you’re building empathy, it’s tempting to interject things like “I understand how you feel,” or “something similar happened to me,” or even to offer advice. But your job is to hear and record exactly what the person is telling you, not to insert yourself into the conversation. Here’s how to let your body language do the talking.