The last time you sat down with an employee or a member of your organization to discuss how engaged they are or how they view the organization, you probably experienced at least one of the following:

• Long, awkward silences.
• Diversions or tangential discussions that led nowhere.
• Stuttering, stammering, or foot-in-mouth moments.
• A foggy sense of what to ask and how to ask it.
• A foggy sense of what you discovered.
  

While interviews can be a great way to glean additional layers of insight into the thoughts and opinions of your employees or members, they can also give you a serious case of the oopsy-daisies.  Oops, I talked too much.  Oops, I probably should’ve recorded that.  Oops, I forgot to ask if they had any questions for me.  Well, you don’t have to suffer from the oopsy-daisies or foot-in-mouth’s any longer.  Just follow these simple rules, and you’ll be well on your way to a more productive, higher quality interview!

1. Remember that the glass is half full.

Before you sit down to conduct your interview, you’ll need to come up with some smart questions.  Appreciative Inquiry (AI)  is a great approach that will help you frame your questions in the positive.  AI is a form of action research that focuses on what gives life to human systems when they function at their best (Watkins and Mohr).  Rather than identify the root cause of failure, AI turns full attention to the root cause of success. David Cooperrider developed AI in the early 1980s as a new approach to traditional organizational development of problem diagnosis and feedback (Watkins and Mohr).  AI uses the art of questioning to engage people in building the kinds of organizations and world they want to live in.  For example, rather than asking, “What problems have you faced?” instead try, “What has been your best experience?”

2. Use Cheese and Cracker Questions.

Cheese and crackers are easier for most people to digest than foie gras.  In other words, while it’s tempting to ask fancy 3-part questions that pack it all in at once, it’s best to keep your questions simple.  Ask “How” and “What” questions geared toward people’s experiences.  For example, “What is one wish you have for your organization?” or “How would you describe your role within your organization?”  Avoid close-ended or yes/no questions, like “Do you have opportunities to learn and grow?”  Also, be careful of “why” questions because they ask your interviewees to theorize and are less rooted in experience, and can put people on the defensive.

3. Privacy, please.

Imagine your boss and coworkers standing over your shoulder as you answer an interviewer’s questions about employee engagement.  How candid and honest would your responses be?  When setting up an interview in person, it’s best to meet in a quiet, neutral territory.  For example, your local library likely has some quiet, private rooms that would be perfect for an interview.  Another option is a coffee shop, but beware of noisy espresso machines if you’re recording.  For phone interviews, make sure your interviewee has access to a private space where he/she will be comfortable talking with you without others overhearing.

4. Silence is golden.

Is your interviewee tight-lipped?  Sometimes the best way to get a response is to simply wait for it.  People need time to process and reflect.  If the silence is killing you, wait 10 more seconds and then ask if they would like some more time to think, or if you can phrase the question differently. 

5. Put on your curious pants.

Don’t take for granted that you know exactly what someone is talking about.  Imagine you are a Martian or outsider who has never heard anything about your organization.  Taking this stance will help you dig deeper when someone provides you with a surface-level or cookie-cutter response.  Some good follow-up questions are:

• Can you give me a specific example?
• Can you recall a time when you experienced that feeling/sensation/thought?
• What does that mean to you?
• Tell me more about that.
• What does it look like at your organization when X happens?
  

6. Reign them in.

So, your curious pants are on tight, and you’re doing a great job with follow-up questions.  What should you do if your interviewee starts gabbing endlessly about their pet turtle or other unrelated topics?  Don’t be afraid to reign in your interviewees when they stray off topic.  A polite way to steer them back on course is to refer back to something on-topic they said earlier in the interview, e.g. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but you said something really interesting earlier about communicating with your boss.  Can you tell me more about that?” 

7. The long and winding road.

How long is too long for an interview?  How short is too short?  Unfortunately, there are no quick-and-dirty answers to these questions.  On the one hand, an interview is done when the interviewee says.  Be sensitive to their time, and make sure to allot extra time for the interview in case you need it.  You can also schedule an additional follow-up interview if need be.  Also, be sensitive to your own time and workload: a two-hour interview will take at least 6 hours to transcribe, but could provide a lot of insight.  If you’re only conducting 5-10 interviews, then longer interviews will be more manageable.  A rich in-depth interview will likely be more than 30 minutes, and possibly as long as a few hours.  If you’re asking the right questions (see point 2) and great follow-up questions (point 5), then 5-10 questions should take at least 30 minutes.  If you find that you’re asking 50+ questions in 30 minutes, then you’re better off giving a survey rather than conducting an interview.  For tips on how to build a killer survey, check out the NGC survey guide here.

8. Keep it under lock & key.

It’s a great idea to record interviews so that you can reference them later to transcribe verbatim, pull quotes, etc.  If you choose to record your interview, you must get consent from your interviewee, preferably written consent or recorded verbal consent.  Even if you do not record your interview, it’s important to assure them that their responses are confidential and will not be shared.  Or, if they will be shared, it is your responsibility to explain exactly whom they will be shared with, what will be shared, and under what circumstances.  If possible, keep recordings and transcripts under lock and key so that interviewees cannot be identified.  All of these measures help establish trust and rapport between interviewer and interviewee.

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