At Khayan, we don’t approach in-depth interviews (IDIs) as routine Q&A sessions. We treat them as conversations designed to surface what other methods often miss—emotional tension, contradictions, quiet hesitation, and the deeper reasoning behind a decision. In our experience, that’s where the most meaningful insight lives.
Surveys can tell you what people say. But when we want to understand what they say when no one else is around and how they justify a decision, we turn to one-on-one interviews. In a study on school choice, we expected to hear about curriculum, reputation, and tuition—and we did. But what stood out wasn’t just what parents said. It was what they couldn’t stop saying. Parking, traffic, and drop-off chaos didn’t come up quietly—they came up loudly, repeatedly, and with more frustration than almost any academic factor. The emotional weight behind these responses was unmistakable. In the end, what shaped the insight wasn’t a single surprising comment—it was the sheer volume of noise around something supposedly “logical.” That pattern is what made it impossible to ignore.
We design IDIs as guided but flexible conversations. When they shift topics or bring up something unexpected, we follow—because that’s often where the real insight lives. Our experienced moderators know how to gently bring the conversation back to key areas without cutting it short or forcing the subject. It’s not about sticking to the guide—it’s about staying with the participant’s logic and letting the meaning emerge on its own terms.
What sets Khayan apart isn’t just our method—it’s how we listen. We notice when someone pauses. We hear when a word choice shifts. And we know when to gently push, when to sit in silence, and when to let the conversation veer off-script—because that’s often where the truth is hiding. For clients looking to understand how people really think, choose, and feel—especially when the decisions are emotional or don’t follow logic—IDIs are not just helpful. They’re essential. And they’re where we begin.