NORTHERN PLANNER

When we left this we were about to embark on group dynamics.

First, a word on numbers. The optimum number of respondents is 6 to 8. Anything more and it’s a bunfight, anything less and it’s just narrow opinion. If you have eight you’ll get much more talking, it will be livelier, but you have to accept there won’t be equal participation. 6 allows you to coax everyone to speak, probe a little deeper. But you have to work harder to get discussion going. The choice is yours.

Now, like most things, a good group comes down to preparation. You need that since things rarely go how you expect ……… which is a good thing if you manage it right.

That means working really hard on the discussion guide. This guide works in two ways. Firstly, it’s an agreement between researcher, agency and client on what will be covered and how this will be approached. It is NOT a list of specific questions. It should be an agenda of the subjects you will cover and the things you will do to stimulate the discussion.

It’s about getting people to talk as naturally as possible. The more artificial and stilted it is, the less useful your findings will be.

Secondly, it’s your rock. During the course of the session, not everything will go to plan. You will forget stuff and get carried away with the conversation. The guide reminds you what you’re supposed to do and, if well planned gives you enough space to allow for specific agenda points and that all important area you want to leave in the hope of being surprised. Work hard on planning what you will do.

That means allowing for two ‘hats’ in a session. There will be a time when you are looking for specific answers. This can form a traditional ‘question and answer session’. This is fine up to a point, but if this is all you’re going to do you may as well do quant.

I think the real skill is the second role. A moderator should be a bit like the perfect waiter – you don’t really notice them. If you can, get them talking to each other and just steer and join in when you need to. This is when you’re going to get the best chance of real insight. Not only will they be less self-conscious, the more they talk about what they want, the more you’re likely to find out new stuff and be surprised. And that’s what you want isn’t it?

It’s important to warm them up first though. Explain who you are, what you’re doing and what will happen. Then stimulate their curiosity as early as possible. Get them talking about something that will interest them as soon as you can, so they start to gel and relax.

Give them a minute think about telling you something about themselves (including their name!). Like if you’re researching fairy, ask them who does the housework in their home, and who tends to do the washing up.

And maybe consider pre-group tasks. It gives them something to talk about, and it can produce a useful springboard for creative stimulus. Like asking people to do a quick picture of the view from their favorite seat in the house if you’re researching sofas, or maybe a collage of what they remember from childhood if you’re talking to potential parents. I got people in the market for a house to bring in their idea of a perfect home. without exception they brought in newbuild brochures – it showed us they were VERY open to be told what to like, as opposed to having a firm opinion.

Anyway after the warm up, where they begin to form a group mentality, try to follow a process that roughly follows this model:

Storm – throwing out all the things they want to get off their chest, lots of internal difference and maybe disagreement

Norm – begin to move towards common ground. Things they can agree on.

Perform – get them thinking for you, throwing out ideas and doing tasks. Tasks are brilliant. They stop people being bored, draws out the quieter ones and can bring you closer to the truth. Like the famous Porsche example where Porsche drivers all had to draw them in the car. They all did a view from the windscreen, allowing the agency to understand that Porsche drivers are driving enthusiasts rather than image driven wankers.

Mourn – gradually bring them down and let them disengage.

Pace and tempo are really important. Boredom is your enemy. The more you vary the pace, stimulate, intrigue and use humour to defuse any tensions, the better. For them, which means for you. You’ll get better results.

The last post on this will cover difficult groups, for now, here’s a final thought.