Creating a setting that is both welcoming and comfortable for the respondent is often an overlooked key component to a successful interview or focus group

We all know how we feel more comfortable at home. And we all know that when we have guests we like to have them feel welcoming by providing food and drink.  Well, the same thing can be said about the importance of making a respondent feel welcomed in a focus group or one on one interview. Click here to read about ways to make respondents feel more comfortable especially in pharmaceutical research when you are talking to patients about life threating conditions.

I am a big fan of the “living room” setting in qualitative research and feel that it is far often under utilized. In my years of research, I have done countless interviews with patients and have seen that having them sit in a comfortable sofa or cozy chair with end tables and lamps makes them feel far more comfortable and at ease than a typical focus room setting with a long table and a line of chairs. If possible, I always use a living room setting and sit across or next to a respondent so you are close to lend a comforting hand in a time when the respondent may need it. And respondents are far freer to talk if they feel comfortable with both the moderator and the environment. The environment in which you conduct interviews is a key aspect of qualitative research.

When there are times when an interview is less personal and you need a table and chairs so that you can place stimuli or have respondents complete exercises, then a table and chairs is called for BUT make sure that the respondents are not so far away from you, on the other end of the table, where you can’t connect with them. If you have 8 respondents, than only have 8 chairs.  Don’t have more then 8 since respondents tend to gravitate to the end of the table away from the moderator and you are detached from the group. You want to be a part of the group not sitting a distance from your respondents.

I also like to have drinks and snacks on the table. People feel more at ease when they have a snack or two and drinks. Plus, it is way to “welcome” the respondent making them feel “at home” in a qualitative setting. I just caution to stay away from noisy bags that muffle the recordings or chewy candy that makes it hard for people to talk. You don’t want to ask a respondent a question just as they biting on a salt water chewy taffy – saves those for the boardwalk.