27 Oct Creating Open Spaces: Four Best Practices for Moderating Participant Interviews
When I joined Fluent as a User Experience Researcher I was most looking forward to acquiring interview moderation skills. It was crucial to me that I be well prepared to speak to participants in a way that elicited relevant insights and encouraged them to share their experiences openly. I felt nervous, of course, as I questioned my ability to conduct a successful interview that would produce informative insights.
That’s when it hit me. Moderating an interview has a lot of similarities with conducting a therapy session.
Back in my undergraduate days at Washington University in St. Louis, I was a part of a peer-counseling club. There, I took part in 100 hours of training on how to be a good listener and create an open environment for someone to share their emotions and personal experiences. As I prepared to moderate my very first interview at Fluent, I called upon the following skills that I learned as a peer counselor.
1) Keep It Simple: Whether it’s talking to a client in therapy or moderating a market research interview, it’s important that the interviewer keep their talking time to a minimum. Oftentimes, when we ask a question, we feel the need to add on or explain what we’re trying to ask to create less confusion for the interviewee. However, I have found through these conversations that adding on to a question in an attempt to create clarity, can actually lead to more confusion. Keep your questions concise. If the participant doesn’t answer your question fully, you can always follow up with a probe. This will give the participant more space to speak, with a clearer understanding of what is being asked.
2) Mirror Language and Summarize: In a therapy session, you wouldn’t want to refer to your client’s intrusive and spiraling thoughts as “anxiety” unless they used that term themselves. The same rule applies to research. When moderating an interview, it’s important that you take your participant’s lead. Using their words instead of your own allows them to tell their own story and, even more importantly, it lets them know that you’re listening. Whenever you can, summarize the points that participants make. This type of active listening helps ensure that you are both on the same page and gives them a space to reflect on what they have just shared.
3) Leave Room for Silence: Oh, the dreaded awkward silence. We are so accustomed to filling the space when no one is talking. However, in both therapy and research, silence can be extremely valuable. In therapy, silence allows clients to sit with emotions that they may not have allowed themselves to ever feel before. In research, silence gives the participant a chance to sit with their thoughts and formulate an idea. If you as the moderator cut off the silence before the participant’s thought is fully formed, you might miss out on an informative insight. Instead of words, fill the silence with non-verbal communication such as head nodding or eye contact. This way, the participant knows you are listening and eager to hear their next thought whenever they are ready.
4) Create an Open and Judgment Free Zone: The most valuable tool for a therapist or moderator is the ability to make someone feel comfortable. In a research interview, creating an open and safe space will increase the likelihood that a participant shares their thoughts in depth, thereby producing fruitful insights. Build rapport with participants the way that a therapist would with their client. It will greatly impact both the quality of conversation and the quality of research.
The past three months at Fluent have given me the opportunity to conduct both remote and in-person interviews with parents, children, teens, and adults. Over time I have learned that no two moderators are the same. What sets Fluent apart is our willingness to leverage different moderation styles. My colleagues have encouraged me to find my own style of speaking with participants: one that feels true to myself. I have been so impressed with my colleagues’ skills at creating connections with participants in the first few minutes of an interview. At the end of the day, Fluent’s number one priority is creating open spaces for participants to feel safe and comfortable sharing their candid opinions. I know that I am in good hands here to continue improving my interviewing skills.
By Lia Abrams