Interesting tidbits can emerge when you ask these questions, as this hypothetical example suggests:
Question: When are your taxes due?
The answer (which you already know): April 15
The response you fear: Why are you asking me this stuff? Everyone knows that it’s April 15. Get out of my house, jerk face!
The type of answer you are just as likely to get if you swallow your discomfort and ask the question anyway: I always complete everything by March 1. I think it’s April 15 this year, but I never really pay attention to that.
The goal here is to make it clear to the participant (and to yourself) that they are the expert and you are the novice. This definitely pays off. When I conduct research overseas, people tangibly extend themselves to answer my necessarily naïve questions. Although it’s most apparent in those extreme situations, it applies to all interviews. Respect for their expertise coupled with your own humility serves as a powerful invitation to the participant.
Nip Distractions in the Bud
Tactically, make sure that you are not distracted when you arrive. Take care of your food, drink, and restroom needs in advance. When I meet up with colleagues who are coming to the interview from a different location, we pick an easy location (such as a Starbucks) for a pre-interview briefing. It gives us time to acclimate into interview mode, review the participant’s profile, catch up on what’s been happening in the field to date, and address our personal needs. If your brain is chattering, “Lord, am I famished! When’s lunch?” you are at a disadvantage when it comes to tuning into what’s going on in the interview.
Needless to say, silence your mobile phone and don’t plan on taking calls or checking texts or emails during the interview. I say “needless,” but I met a team that took a different approach. Sensitive to the commitment their internal clients were making in leaving the office for fieldwork, they allowed mobile device usage during the interview, within limits. Although they were inspired by one colleague who had the stealth-check-below-the-table move down cold, most people weren’t able to handle it quite so deftly. It was a good lesson to learn; they won’t be allowing cell phones in the future. Mind you, even if one were successfully stealthy, that’s beside the point. Figure 2.4 is an evocative depiction of the multitasking potential of technology, but during an interview (and probably during a date), you should be fully engaged with the other person.
FIGURE 2.4 Just because you can multitask doesn’t mean you should.
Building Rapport
I often leave an interview with my head slightly swimming, in a state between energized and exhausted. In addition to all the useful information that will impact the project, I’ve just made an intense connection with a new person. I’ve established a rapport with someone. That’s a powerful feeling, and likely as not, my participant is feeling the same way. Our quotidian transaction to learn about breakfast making has turned into something else.
The rapport is what makes for great interviews. You won’t leave every interview walking on a cloud, but getting to that state with your interviewee is something to strive for.
It’s your job to develop that rapport over the course of the interview. By all means, recruit participants who are articulate, outgoing, and eager to be part of the interview, but remember that creating that connection falls to you, the interviewer. As in life, you’ll meet some people who you’ll connect with easily, and others who you’ll have to work hard for. Some of my best interviews have been with people who are visibly uncomfortable or disinterested at the outset.
Be Selective About Social Graces
Your participants have no framework for “ethnographic interview,” so they will likely be mapping this experience onto something more familiar like “having company” (when being interviewed at home) or “giving a demo” (when being interviewed about their work). Sometimes when you visit people in their homes, they will offer you a drink. For years, I resisted taking the drink, trying to minimize the inconvenience I was causing. I was well intentioned but naïve; one time I declined a proffered drink and met an ongoing undercurrent of hostility. The drink offer was made again, so I accepted, and suddenly everything thawed. The issue wasn’t my pursuit or denial of refreshment, it was acknowledging my participant’s social expectations—guests should act like guests. This experience took place in the U.S.; in other parts of the world (say, Japan), these rituals are even more inflexible and failure to adhere to them will likely doom the interview. Be sure that you’re aware of the social expectations in the country in which you conduct your interviews.
In addition to accepting a drink, allow for some small talk as you get settled. But don’t dwell on the chitchat, because your participant may find this confusing.
Be Selective When Talking About Yourself
You are bound to hear stories in the field that you strongly identify with, whether it’s someone’s frustration with a broken part of Windows or their passion for Pre-Code Hollywood. Although it’s important to connect with your participant, it’s not the best idea to get there by sharing your common interest. Remember that the interview isn’t about you. If you also love Pre-Code Hollywood, you may think “OMG! Another fellow Pre-Code Hollywood enthusiast!” But you don’t have to say that! Think about when to reveal something about yourself (and when not to). Putting a “me too!” out there changes the dynamic of the interview. It may work to develop some rapport in a difficult situation, or it may imply you are more interested in talking about yourself than listening to the other person. Although this approach might work in social settings, where “see how interesting I am!” is a way we establish our worth in new situations, it can be detrimental in an interview.
You should definitely talk about yourself if doing so gives the other person permission to share something. As an example, early on in my career I was part of an interview team where my role was to hold the video camera and ask only a few supporting questions. As our participant was telling us about her family and their history, she stopped and looked at both of us and said, “Well, you know, my family is Jewish.” She was hesitant to continue. I piped up, explaining “My family is Jewish as well.” She said to me, “Well, then you understand.” She then turned to my colleague and proceeded to explain the specific details she wanted to convey. I don’t always tell my Jewish interviewees, “Hey, I’m Jewish, too! I have a menorah, too!” but in this case a small revelation gave the interviewee permission to move forward with the interview.
Adventures in Rapport Building
As we rang the doorbell, my colleague and I unconsciously straightened, preparing ourselves for that all-important first impression, that moment when our research participant would come to the door and size us up. We waited for a moment, looking at each other as we heard footsteps, mustering a smile as the inside door opened.
“Hello,” I offered, “Are you Brian?”
As I began to state the obvious, that we were here for the interview, he grunted, opened the screen door, and as we took hold, he turned around and walked back into the house. We glanced at each other and stepped into the foyer. What did we know about Brian? Our recruiting screener told us he was 22, lived with his parents and brother, and was employed part-time. The rest would be up to us to discover.
It was 7:30 in the morning, and we were taking our shoes off in a strange house.