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Top tips for moderating focus groups…

Dec 3rd, 2008 by


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(Image from www.cartoonstock.com via Google Images of course)

I was asked last week for some tips on running a good focus group by a fellow planner. And wrote these…

1.      It’s your room – nobody can talk or do anything unless you allow it. Never forget that otherwise you’ll lose control.

2.      Don’t be afraid of silence – they have to answer your questions – always wait them out even when it’s getting awkward – they’ll break before you.

3.      Listen to people – it doesn’t matter if you fumble to get to your next question because you didn’t have it prepared, but if they realise you don’t care what they’re saying, they’ll stop taking part.

4.      Don’t be afraid to shoot people down – if they’re off-topic or trying to lead the group, dress them down – it’s your room. Not theirs.

5.      If someone gets obsessed with a point that’s off-topic, write it on a flip chart and circle it, then tell them it’s parked – you’ll come back to it later, but it’s not time to talk about that now.

6.      It’s OK for it to be fun. Joke with them or cajole them – keeping it lively will keep them engaged in what they’re doing.

7.      Watch out for silent partners – you want to involve everyone, so you have to make sure you’re pulling people into the discussion.

8.      Whenever people start an aside, tell them it’s “one discussion” – if you can’t hear what they’re saying, you’re missing out on valuable stuff – shut them up.

9.      Try to vary the way you get them to talk to you – don’t circulate in order, but bounce around and change the questions as you go – ask whether they agree with what they’ve just heard, or prompt them to disagree and see how they react. In short, be varied in order and style – it’s OK to throw respondents off balance occasionally to find out how they react!

10.   Write everybody’s name down on a piece of paper at the beginning – it’s easy to forget names but you’ll never get it wrong when it’s in front of you.

What was missing (wisdom of afterthought, eh) was a comment on leading the witness, though – since I felt the person I originally wrote them for knew that for sure.

But I’d now add another point…

11.  Be incredibly careful not to lead the witness. Asking people “do you mean by that XXXX,” “don’t you think XXXX” or “can I sum that up as XXXX” is all bad, bad behaviour! You need to find ways to get them to tell you – you’re better off pretending you’re stupid and getting them to repeat it – even to the point where they start to talk down to you – rather than start putting your words in their mouths. There’s two reasons for this… Firstly, you won’t learn much – just what you thought before you started. But, secondly, because it’s the main thing that pisses off your viewers – they spot it quickly, be they colleagues or clients – making you look biased and unprofessional.



Posted in Research | 8 Comments

  • http://advertisingpawn.com Morey

    Thanks so much for that post. As an aspiring planner, this spray of wisdon comes in extremely handy.

  • http://markhadfield.typepad.com Mark Hadfield

    Hi Simon,

    Useful tips, and I think number 11 is possibly the most important. If you skew your questions you’re more than likely going to get skewed responses. That’s one of the reasons I like true ethnographic research – it’s a great way of having unbiased, unblurred facts presented in front of you. Of course, the trick then is in interpreting that data in an unbiased way.

    Mark

  • http://bcplanningblog.blogspot.com bcplanning

    Good tips

  • http://yellowsubmarinequal.wordpress.com/ yellowsubmarinequal

    Very good post. Still I would ad number 12: try to have fun. :)

  • http://www.simon-law.com Simon

    Love #12.

    It should really be #1.

    Simon

  • jim crow

    ref: points 1,2,4,8 I would say “dont be a narrow minded insensitive nazi scumbag!”

    Or more politely: I'ts NOT YOUR ROOM – it MUST be the room of everybody otherwise there is no inclusion, no sense of involvement by all parties.

    Your job is to COAX and ENABLE discussion – not to control it !

    As to 'dont be afraid to shoot them down' – do you think these folk will be willing to offer free opinion in future? the quieter ones will shy away from opening their mouths especially if their opinion is not in line with the majority.

    I despair.

  • splaw

    I guess I need to be a bit more specific, for fear that you're still shaking with rage and losing sleep over this one… sorry for the delay in that – I was away!

    So:

    As a moderator, you've got to add to the process – you can't just sit there and listen – you need to prompt discussion and make sure you're digging beyond the easy answers – all obvious stuff, I know.

    But, when people do their first groups, they tend to be too acquiescent – and that's what I was intending with these tips – to give some confidence and sense of control to a newbie moderator. A bit of “go in there and do so proudly – fear not your respondents!”

    I can see how it's easy to misread the above, though. And I get your point. I once saw a moderator in Korea direct the room with a stick, like an old-fashioned school teacher. And that's not the sort of “tell me what you think I want to hear” I'm trying to promote!

    But I still think moderators need to guide and direct (better words than control, maybe!) the room they're in. Otherwise, they become hosts, rather than moderators. And a host isn't going to do what I'd like to see happen – which is to lead people on a journey – making sure that you cover the discussion points you need within the time – nicely closing down some of the conversations that go off on tangents – but also not being happy with the first response. I think you do need to push people to get below the surface – it's way too easy to let the discussion happen without finding out what's really going on. To do that, you may need to push a bit – let a silence happen so that you hear what they say next, etc…

    I wrote these for someone who knew me, and for someone I knew, so the writing style was deliberately provocative. You're right – it shouldn't be taken the wrong way. Although the “Nazi scumbag” slur…

    Simon

  • Simon

    I guess I need to be a bit more specific, for fear that you’re still shaking with rage and losing sleep over this one… sorry for the delay in that – I was away!nnSo:nnAs a moderator, you’ve got to add to the process – you can’t just sit there and listen – you need to prompt discussion and make sure you’re digging beyond the easy answers – all obvious stuff, I know.nnBut, when people do their first groups, they tend to be too acquiescent – and that’s what I was intending with these tips – to give some confidence and sense of control to a newbie moderator. A bit of “go in there and do so proudly – fear not your respondents!”nnI can see how it’s easy to misread the above, though. And I get your point. I once saw a moderator in Korea direct the room with a stick, like an old-fashioned school teacher. And that’s not the sort of “tell me what you think I want to hear” I’m trying to promote!nnBut I still think moderators need to guide and direct (better words than control, maybe!) the room they’re in. Otherwise, they become hosts, rather than moderators. And a host isn’t going to do what I’d like to see happen – which is to lead people on a journey – making sure that you cover the discussion points you need within the time – nicely closing down some of the conversations that go off on tangents – but also not being happy with the first response. I think you do need to push people to get below the surface – it’s way too easy to let the discussion happen without finding out what’s really going on. To do that, you may need to push a bit – let a silence happen so that you hear what they say next, etc…nnI wrote these for someone who knew me, and for someone I knew, so the writing style was deliberately provocative. You’re right – it shouldn’t be taken the wrong way. Although the “Nazi scumbag” slur…nnSimon