2 Do's and a Don't

Avoid as many disruptions as possible.

It takes some time to prepare, so have your technology set up in advance. Maintain the momentum of the meeting; review your agenda or any important data and information you received from the participant's screener. Smart and efficient time management means you must be prepared.

You’re most likely working from home, so the environment you're in may also come with many distractions (children wanting mac and cheese, family asking where the clean laundry is, and the dog wandering your feet whimpering for a walk).

Find a quiet space, reduce the amount of background noise and make sure your background is blurred or an image of something not too distracting, like a solid color or a company-approved background with a logo.

Be polite and mute yourself when the Participant is speaking and conceal the sound of typing in the event you're multi-tasking, or the kids are yelling and temporarily forgot the meaning of sharing.

Front and center with a cool and calm demeanor are exactly where it's at during the interview. Don’t answer your phone, or text your kids, email your grandma, or check for likes on your Caribbean vacation story.

In fact, your phone should be off. You would expect the same courtesy. Treat each participant as if they were sitting across from you in a private nook, talking over coffee.

According to doist.com trying to focus on more than one thing at a time reduces your productivity by as much as 40%, which correlates to the average desk job employee losing 2.1 hours a day (one day a week!) due to distractions and interruptions.