Viva la difference!
Effective moderators must fully understand the project and its
objectives, be skilled at probing, and have the ability to help
respondents relax. Some believe that a moderator must also “mirror” the
background of respondents to get them involved and feeling free
to talk about what they know. We have found, however, that this
is frequently not the case. In our experience, moderators
who reflect a difference can often glean greater insight.
Respondents in the hands of a skilled moderator will frequently
want to share more if they think that the moderator doesn't understand
how they feel. If a moderator is perceived as an “expert,” there
is less inclination to share, since respondents feel that the moderator
already knows about the situation.
SRA uses this approach quite effectively when working on projects
designed to gather information about geographic areas. For example,
when conducting focus groups around the country, one of the first
things we tell respondents is that we are not experts on their
area. We ask them to tell us as much as possible about where they
live, and respondents are happy to oblige. This geographic difference
allows us to gain competitive insights and information that a local “expert” would
never be able to achieve.
An effective moderator must be skilled at seamlessly building
trust with respondents, and inspiring them to have fun and actively
share information. And sometimes, being “different” can make all
the difference in the depth of information gathered. ‡
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