How to capture participant quotes while talking in user interviews

A plain guide to capturing participant quotes while talking in user interviews, with steps, tool options and mistakes to avoid.

By XP Daily · 2026-10-31

XP Daily is published by the makers of DaysAid, QuickDictate and YTSort, which are compared here alongside other tools.

Keep one place open for quotes, note the time and a short participant code with each one, and mark the lines that answer your research question. Check key quotes against the recording afterward.

Option	How it captures quotes	Price
Paper notes	You write each quote by hand as it is said	Not published
Spreadsheet	You type each quote into its own row as it is said	Not published
QuickDictate	Types what you say into whichever window you are typing in ^[1]	Free for personal and other noncommercial use ^[1]; commercial use needs a separate licence ^[1]; cloud providers bill you separately ^[1]

What you need before you start

Capturing quotes while you talk takes a little preparation, so the words land in the right place without you looking away from the participant.

A place for the quotes. Choose a notes document, a spreadsheet tab or a sheet of paper before the session, so you are not hunting for it mid-interview.
A working recording setup. Know how you will record the call and where its audio plays, so you can hear the participant clearly.
A short list of names and terms. Write down product names, feature names and the participant's own jargon, so spelling stays right in your notes.
Permission to record. Confirm the participant agrees to being recorded before you start, and check the rules that apply to your work.
A quiet room and a clear microphone. Both help the participant be heard and make the transcript easier to read later.

Test the setup once with a colleague before the first session, so the first real interview is not the first trial.

Step by step

These steps work with any method, including pen and paper.

Open your notes place and write the participant's code at the top. Use a code, not a name.
Confirm the recording and note the start time.
Read each question aloud, then pause and let the answer finish.
When a line stands out, say it back in your own words to check you heard it right.
Write the quote with its time, so you can find it in the recording later.
Mark the quotes that answer your research question.
Keep observations on a separate line, so they are not mixed with what the participant said.
Do not interrupt a long answer. Let it run, then move on.
After the session, read your notes within the day while memory is fresh.
Tag each quote with a theme, then group the themes across all participants.

If you dictate some notes, test that the words land in your notes window before the session starts.

Tools that can do it

Three options fit this job, and two of them need no software.

A paper notebook or sticky notes work well when you want nothing on a screen. Write the time, the participant code and the quote as each one is said, then sort the notes by theme afterward.

A spreadsheet keeps the time, the participant and the quote in separate columns, so you can filter by theme once the sessions are done. Facts about specific spreadsheet apps are not given here, so check each app's own page for its limits and cost.

QuickDictate is made by the team that publishes this site. It is a Windows program that types what you say into whichever window you are using. ^[1]

You hold a key while you talk, or press it once to start and once to stop, and you can change which keys you use. ^[1] With five of the cloud providers, words appear while you are still talking. ^[1] You can use ElevenLabs, Deepgram, OpenAI, AssemblyAI, DashScope or Google, and that provider bills you directly. ^[1] You can also run dictation without an internet connection. ^[1]

You can add names and terms to help the provider recognise them, and you can fix common misspellings so that a wrong spelling is corrected automatically. ^[1] QuickDictate is free for personal and other noncommercial use, with no subscription or account, and cloud providers bill you separately for their service. ^[1] Free for personal and other noncommercial use; commercial use needs a separate licence ^[1]. Free only for personal and other noncommercial use from version 0.9.0; versions up to 0.8.0 were MIT-licensed. ^[1] Commercial use needs a separate licence, so check whether your paid interview work counts as commercial before you rely on the program for it. ^[1] It runs only on 64-bit Windows 10 and 11, with no Mac or Linux version. ^[1] It is delivered as an .exe file on GitHub, with a built-in updater that works silently. ^[1]

Common mistakes to avoid

Recording without agreement. Confirm the participant is happy to be recorded before the first question, and check the rules for storing recordings.
Dictating into the wrong window. Your words go into whichever window you are using, so click into the notes place before you speak. ^[1]
Misspelled names and terms. Put product names and jargon into a word list before the session. ^[1]
Losing a quote to a stray phrase. Saying 'scratch that' discards the text you just dictated, so avoid the phrase in the middle of a quote. ^[1]
Missing audio after dictation. While you dictate, other apps' audio is muted or turned down, and it returns to its old level when you stop. Check the call audio before you continue. ^[1]
Trusting the transcript blindly. Listen to key quotes against the recording before you rely on them.
Skipping notes after the session. Read them within the day, while the conversation is still fresh.

Frequently asked questions

How to capture participant quotes while talking in a user interview?

Keep one place open for quotes, note the time and a short participant code with each one, and mark the lines that answer your research question. Give the participant room to finish, and say the key point back in your own words to check. Afterward, listen to key quotes against the recording before you rely on them. The tool you pick matters less than this habit.

Can QuickDictate be used for user interviews for free?

QuickDictate is free for personal and other noncommercial use, with no subscription or account, and cloud providers bill you separately for their service. ^[1] Free for personal and other noncommercial use; commercial use needs a separate licence ^[1]. Check whether your interview work counts as commercial before you start, because commercial use needs a separate licence. ^[1]

Does QuickDictate run on Mac computers for interview notes?

It runs only on 64-bit Windows 10 and 11, and there is no Mac or Linux version. ^[1] If your interview notes live on another system, check which tools run there and what they cost on their own pages. You download it as a Windows program from GitHub, and it updates itself in the background. ^[1]

Can QuickDictate type quotes into a notes document as the participant speaks?

It types what you say into whichever window you are using, so the notes document needs to be the active window. ^[1] With five of the cloud providers, words appear while you are still talking. ^[1] Yes, you can say "scratch that" to discard the text you just dictated ^[1]. Test the setup with a colleague before the session, and check that the words land where you expect.

Should moderators always dictate quotes during an interview?

Not always. Dictation suits moderators who want to keep eye contact while still capturing the wording, but some moderators prefer to write quotes by hand. Keep the participant at the center of the session, and dictate only what is worth keeping. Check every key quote against the recording afterward, because a transcript can misspell names or miss a word.

QuickDictate is free for personal and other noncommercial use, with no subscription or account. Cloud providers bill you separately for their service. ^[1]

Try QuickDictate

Sources

QuickDictate's own description of itself (the product of this site's publisher)