Role-play: interview an SME, in pairs.Jeu de rôle : interviewer un expert, en binôme.
Everyone is an SME of something. You don't need an engineer or a surgeon: you are an expert yourself. A job you have done, an internship, a sport, a hobby, a procedure you know by heart… In pairs, you are going to interview each other, like an instructional designer interviewing a real SME.
- 3 minutes: prepare (see step 2). The SME chooses a topic. The interviewer prepares the opening and five questions.
- 8 minutes: the interview. The interviewer sets expectations, asks open questions, probes, redirects if needed.
- 1 minute: the read-back. « So the way I have it: first…, then…, and if… you… Did I get that right? » The SME corrects.
- Swap roles and do it again.
- 5 minutes: feedback. Each of you uses the observation grid (step 4) for the other person.
The training project (the same for everybody): a short eLearning module for beginners (new hires, new members, first-year students…) who need to do this task on their own, in their first week. Your goal as the interviewer: the steps, one decision point (« it depends »), one common mistake, and who to ask when it goes wrong.
Why it works: the SME doesn't have to invent anything. And, like every real expert, they will skip « obvious » steps and use jargon without noticing (the curse of knowledge): it's the interviewer's job to catch it!
Three minutes to prepare.Trois minutes de préparation.
If you are the SME, choose something you really know well and that a beginner could learn to do. Ideas:
- A job or an internship: opening a shop in the morning, welcoming a new patient, closing the cash register, preparing a classroom for an exam, publishing a post on a company's website…
- A sport or a hobby: preparing a climbing rope, setting up a tent, tuning a guitar, editing a video on your phone, brewing beer, preparing a horse for a ride…
- Everyday life: filling in your tax return, applying for an Erasmus grant, organising a removal, building a piece of IKEA furniture…
Don't prepare what you will say: just answer naturally, like a busy expert.
If you are the interviewer, prepare (on paper):
- Your opening (3 or 4 sentences): thank the SME, say who the training is for and what you are hoping to accomplish, how long it will take, and warn them that you may pull them back.
- Five questions, at least three of them open: start from the question bank below.
Question bank (from the texts and the videos of the course)
Frame: Could you walk me through it, start to finish, in a minute? · What kicks it off? · How do you know
you're done?
Walk: Take the first step: what exactly do you do? · What do you see when it worked?
Probe: Where do you have to choose between two ways of doing it? · What has to be true before you can
start? · What goes wrong most often, and what do you do then? · Who do you go to when it breaks? · What would a
beginner get wrong in their first week?
Clarify: What would that look like if a beginner were doing it? · Depends on what? · Then what
happened?
Prioritise: If a beginner could remember only three things, what would they be?
Cover: Is there a word in there that a beginner wouldn't know? · Is there anything you'd only tell someone
in person?
Keep these phrases in front of you during the interview.Garde ces phrases sous les yeux pendant l'entretien.
| Opening | Thanks for making time for this. · Here's what we're going to do. · This module is
for beginners who… · What I'm hoping to accomplish is… · It'll take about ten minutes. · With your permission, I'd
like to record it. · I may interrupt you from time to time to keep us on track, so don't take it personally. ·
Does that sound okay? Example: an instructional designer opens the interview with an SME (role card 1, the late check-in). Listen, then read. Hi Sarah, thanks so much for making time for this. I know how busy you are, so I really appreciate it. Before we start, let me quickly explain what we're going to do. I'm working on a short eLearning module for new night receptionists: people in their very first week, who'll have to check in guests after midnight on their own. What I'm hoping to accomplish today is to understand exactly how you do it: the steps, the decisions you have to make, and the mistakes beginners usually make. You're the expert here. My job is to turn what you know into something a beginner can follow. The interview will take about twenty minutes. With your permission, I'd like to record it, just so I don't miss anything. The recording stays with me, and it won't be shared. I'll also take a few notes. I may interrupt you from time to time, to ask for an example or to bring us back to our goal, so please don't take it personally. There are no right or wrong answers: just tell me how you really do it. And tomorrow, I'll send you a written version, so you can tell me what I got wrong. Does that sound okay? Do you have any questions before we start? Great. So, to begin with, could you walk me through a late check-in, from start to finish, in about a minute? |
| Open questions | Tell me about… · Could you walk me through…? · How do you…? · What happens when…? · Could you describe…? |
| Polite, indirect questions | Could you tell me what the first step is? · I'd like to understand how it works. · I was wondering whether beginners need this. |
| Probing | Depends on what? · What else? · Then what happened? · Could you give me an example? · What does … mean exactly? (mirroring: « Fifty metres? ») |
| Redirecting | That's really interesting, but for beginners… · Let's park that for now. · Going back to our goal… · How does that help someone do the task? |
| Paraphrasing | So, if I understand correctly, … · In other words, … · Let me check I've got this right: … |
| Read-back | So the way I have it: first…, then…, and if … happens, you … instead. Did I get that right? · Is that the right order? |
| Closing | I have what I need, thank you. · I'll send you the written version tomorrow: tell me what I got wrong. · Could you review it by Friday? |
Give feedback to your partner.Fais un retour à ton binôme.
Listen to your partner's interview and give 0, 1 or 2 points for each criterion. Then tell them one thing they did well and one thing to improve.
| 1. Setting expectations goal, audience, length, « I may pull you back » | |
| 2. Open questions What, How, Tell me about… rather than Do, Is, Are… | |
| 3. Probing « Depends on what? », « What goes wrong? », « Then what? », examples | |
| 4. Redirecting brings the SME back to the goal, politely | |
| 5. Paraphrasing and read-back checks understanding during and at the end | |
| 6. The result the steps, one decision point, one common mistake, who to ask |
Total: 0 / 12
Language: note one or two mistakes in English that your partner made, and the correct version.
No topic? Use a role card.Pas de sujet ? Prends une fiche de rôle.
No idea for a topic? Use a card. Each of you opens only your own part: the interviewer opens the brief, the SME opens their card, without showing it, and plays the role: the information is all there, nothing to invent.
Card 1: The late check-in · a four-star hotel
Interviewer only: open your brief
New night receptionists (first week) must check in a guest who arrives after midnight, on their own. You must find out the steps, one decision point, one common mistake and who to call.
SME only: open your card (don't show it!)
You are an experienced night receptionist. The steps: greet the guest, find the booking in the PMS (property management system), check ID, take a pre-authorisation on the card, encode the key card, explain breakfast times. It depends: if the booking was made through an OTA (online travel agency) and is prepaid, there is NO pre-authorisation, except for extras. Common mistake: giving the key before the pre-authorisation is accepted. Who to call: the duty manager, on the emergency phone. How to play it: you love telling funny stories about guests: go off topic at least twice.
Card 2: The password reset · the IT help desk of a big company
Interviewer only: open your brief
New help-desk technicians must reset an employee's password safely, on the phone. You must find out the steps, one decision point, one common mistake and who to call.
SME only: open your card (don't show it!)
You are a senior IT support technician. The steps: open a ticket, verify the caller's identity with two questions (employee number + manager's name), never send a password by email, reset it in the directory, force a change at the next login, reset the MFA (multi-factor authentication) if the phone is new. It depends: if the caller is not on the company network, escalate to tier two. Common mistake: skipping identity checks when the caller says they are a director and very angry. Who to call: the security team. How to play it: you are very busy and a bit aloof: give short answers to closed questions, and only develop when the question is open.
Card 3: The allergy request · a restaurant kitchen
Interviewer only: open your brief
New waiters and kitchen assistants must handle a customer who says they have a food allergy. You must find out the steps, one decision point, one common mistake and who to call.
SME only: open your card (don't show it!)
You are a head chef. The steps: the waiter asks which allergy and writes it on the order, tells the chef at the pass in person, the chef checks the allergen chart for the dish, the dish is prepared with clean utensils and served separately, by the same waiter. It depends: fried food can never be guaranteed (shared fryer), so the waiter must suggest another dish. Common mistake: saying « it should be fine » instead of checking. Who to ask: the chef, never a colleague. How to play it: answer « It depends » often, and only explain if you're asked « Depends on what? ».
Card 4: The delivery · a warehouse
Interviewer only: open your brief
New warehouse operators must receive a delivery from a truck driver, on their own. You must find out the steps, one decision point, one common mistake and who to call.
SME only: open your card (don't show it!)
You are a warehouse team leader. The steps: check the delivery note against the purchase order (PO), count the pallets, inspect them before the driver leaves, scan each SKU (product code), then sign. It depends: if a pallet is damaged, take a photo and write « received damaged » on the driver's document BEFORE signing, or the company can't claim. Common mistake: signing first and checking afterwards. Who to call: the purchasing department. How to play it: you have done this a thousand times: skip « obvious » steps (counting, inspecting) and use the abbreviations without explaining them.
At home: practise with a chatbot.À la maison : entraîne-toi avec un chatbot.
After the class, practise on your own: a chatbot (ChatGPT, Claude, Le Chat, Copilot…) can play a « difficult » SME, then give you feedback. Use the voice mode if you can: it's much closer to a real interview.
- Copy the prompt below, and replace the three parts in [brackets] (or use one of the role cards).
- Run the interview: set expectations, ask open questions, probe, redirect, read back.
- Write END to get your feedback.
Let's do a role-play to help me practise interviewing a subject matter expert (SME), in English. My level is B2.
You are [THE EXPERT, e.g. an experienced night receptionist in a four-star hotel].
I am an instructional designer. I'm creating a short eLearning module for [THE AUDIENCE, e.g. new night receptionists in their first week] about [THE TASK, e.g. checking in a guest after midnight].
Rules for you during the role-play:
- Behave like a real, busy expert. Give short answers to closed questions (Do…? Is…?) and develop only when my question is open.
- Use some jargon without explaining it, and skip one or two "obvious" steps.
- At least once, go off topic with an anecdote, and keep going until I redirect you.
- When the answer depends on the situation, just say "It depends." Explain only if I ask "Depends on what?".
- Keep one common mistake and one exception secret, unless I ask about mistakes, problems or exceptions.
- Don't run the interview for me, and don't correct my English during the role-play.
- Write short answers, like in a real conversation.
When I write END, step out of the role and give me feedback in English on:
1. setting expectations at the start, 2. open questions, 3. probing ("depends on what?", follow-ups),
4. redirecting, 5. paraphrasing and read-back, 6. the important information I missed.
Then correct three to five mistakes in my English.
Start now: greet me as the expert.
The chatbot is usually too helpful: if it gives you everything at once, remind it of the rules. Never share personal or confidential company information with a chatbot.