Mirror #5: When a presentation goes bad

So today at lunch, Suzanne and I are conducting a focus group with VAMAC employees for our client to obtain feedback on their Employee Assistance Program. I have just been writing down some questions and putting together an outline on how we will run this focus group. I did some you tube searches over the weekend to see what the best way to run a focus group would be and I was amazed at what I saw.

First off, I saw somethings not to do. For example, don't survey the group, instead make it a free flowing conversation. I think it is important to make sure your group is engaged at all times. I saw poor examples of moderaters asking for feedback using agree or disagree statements. In a focus group, it is important to make sure the comments you get back are thoughtful.

Second, try and be enthusiastic. These individual are giving up their time to help you, so don't make it painful. Enthusiasism is essential to obtaining a high quality of conversation. You must show your participants that you are excited about the material and that you honestly care about their responses. After all we are doing a service for our clients and we need to ensure we obtain a high quality of data.

And finally, be authentic. We talk a lot being open with our client, but in this case we need to be open with our participants.

Watching you tube was helpful. Some of the focus groups I saw were down well while other's were very painful. I have included a video of an individual to illustrate how enthusiasm can be very important. This is purely for humor, but it is a great eye opener.