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The Art of Interviewing

The Art of Interviewing Tuning In to Audiences, Visitors and Donors

Wallace Cultural Participation Initiative

May 17, 2011

Alan Brown

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The Art of Interviewing

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The Art of Interviewing

Session Outline

1:00 Welcome and introductions 1:10 Demonstration interview and debriefing 1:40 Uses of interviewing 2:10 The mechanics of interviewing 2:40 Interviewing exercises

-  Choose one of three exercises

3:30 Report-outs 4:00 Wrap up

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The Art of Interviewing

Demonstration Interview and Debriefing (1:10)

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The Art of Interviewing

Uses of Interviewing (1:40)

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The Art of Interviewing

Five Uses of Interviewing

•  Assess your organization’s competitive position in the marketplace in relation to other providers (brand assessment)

•  Learn from external stakeholders what value the organization currently provides to the community, or might provide (public value audit)

•  Get specific feedback on artistic work in development, or program concepts

•  Gather input on proposed facility improvements, way-finding or amenities

•  Test messages, images and marketing packages for the next season

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Clear objectives are essential

• Articulate your research questions as clearly as possible -  What are some examples of good research questions?

• Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answers to • Discuss what you will do differently based on what

you learn (i.e., what’s at stake) •  If nothing is at stake, don’t waste your time

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The Art of Interviewing

The Mechanics of Participatory Interviewing (2:10)

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The Art of Interviewing

Participatory Interviewing

• Work in teams of two people -  up to 10 teams work concurrently

• You are the researchers -  Use your own experience and perspective to filter the data and

figure out what’s important

• Most of the data lives in your head for a short while, then it’s gone -  That’s why its important to synthesize immediately afterwards

• Do not assume that the people you interview are representative of all patrons or donors

• Look for patterns of responses and “grounded theories” (i.e., informed assertions)

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Participatory Interviewing Exercise: Day 1 Agenda (Friday)

2:00 p.m. Orientation 3:30 p.m. Practice interview 4:30 p.m. Break 5:00 p.m. 1st interview (60 minutes) 6:00 p.m. Debrief with your partner 6:15 p.m. Break (dinner provided) 7:00 p.m. 2nd interview (60 minutes) 8:00 p.m. Debrief with your partner 8:15 p.m. Break for the night

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Participatory Interviewing Exercise: Day 2 Agenda (Saturday)

9:00 a.m. Reconvene (light breakfast provided) 9:30 a.m. 3rd interview (60 minutes) 10:30 a.m. Debrief with your partner 11:00 a.m. 4th interview (60 minutes) 12:00 p.m. Debrief with your partner 12:15 p.m. Lunch provided 12:30 p.m. Synthesis session 2:30 p.m. Wrap-Up

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The Art of Interviewing

Role: Interviewer

•  Interviewers lead the conversation -  Team members switch roles after each interview

• Decide how long to spend on each question -  Probe, or move on?

• Help respondent out of tight spots -  e.g., “here’s how I would answer that”

• Always know what’s your next question -  Manage digressions tactfully

• Keep a sense of direction and flow

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The Art of Interviewing

Role: Recorder

• Recorders are “power listeners” -  Your notes are the surviving record of the conversation

• Capture the important ideas that emerge from the interview -  Capture key verbatims if you can, using quotation marks

•  Synthesize as you go -  Inject your own observations in your notes -  What is this person really saying?

• The recorder is given an option to ask a follow-up question at the end of the interview

• Recorders lead the debriefing afterwards

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Getting into the Interview

•  Review the protocol in advance •  Learn as much as you can about who you’ll be

interviewing •  The interview begins when you greet the respondent • Make sure the respondent is comfortable •  Introduce yourself •  Ask the respondent to introduce himself/herself –

always a good ice breaker • Map out the conversation •  Launch into the discussion guide

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The Art of Interviewing

During the interview: be encouraging

• Early validation and respect -  “That’s so interesting” or “An excellent point…”

•  Show empathy -  “I can relate to that…”

• Leave the respondent feeling good about the interview -  “Thanks so much for your time. This has been tremendously

helpful.”

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The Art of Interviewing

During the interview: Listen for opportunities to probe

• Follow up anything that piques your curiosity • Don’t let first answers be final answers

-  “What do you mean when you say…” -  “Could you tell me a bit more about why feel that way?”

• This is not a linear process; refer back to earlier answers either to corroborate or refute… -  “Earlier you said this….is that the same as what you are talking

about now?”

• Don’t get caught up in the order of questions

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The Art of Interviewing

Three Exercises: Take your pick (2:40)

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Exercise #1: Donor motivations

•  Interview someone about a recent gift they made to an arts organization (other than their own)

• Protocol #1 in your handout explores: -  Personal passions -  Core values -  Giving behavior and motivations -  Gift decision process -  Interest in specific giving programs

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Exercise #2: Engagement activities

•  Interview someone about their tastes in [theatre/music/dance/visual art] and their preferences for different types of engagement activities

• Protocol #2 in your handout explores: -  What you hope to get out of a live experience -  Interest in preparatory activities -  Feelings about interpretive assistance at events -  Preferences for engaging afterwards

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Exercise #3: Program impact

•  Interview someone about the impact of a recent arts experience they had (good or bad)

• Protocol #3 in your handout explores: -  Motivations for attending, and expectations -  Captivation -  Intellectual stimulation -  Emotional resonance -  Aesthetic growth -  Social bonding -  Overall satisfaction

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Interviewing Exercise: - find a partner (someone you don’t know - choose initial roles - conduct a short interview (15 min) - flip roles and start again (15 min)

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Report Out:

Was your experience different than what you expected?

Did you learn anything about interviewing?

Do you have any ideas for how you might use interviewing in the future?

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The Art of Interviewing