Professional Documents
Culture Documents
1. Never begin an interview cold. Spend several minutes chatting and making
small talk with the respondent. The idea is to set the respondent at ease and
establish a warm and comfortable relationship.
2. Remember your purpose. You are conducting an interview in order to
obtain information. Use your protocol and keep the interview on track.
3. Present a natural front. Be relaxed, interested, and as natural as you can.
4. Demonstrate aware hearing. Offer the appropriate nonverbal responses. If
they say something funny, smile and laugh. If they say something sad, look
sad. Do not present yourself as uninterested or unaware.
5. Think about appearance. Dress appropriately. Business attire might be
most appropriate, unless you think a casual appearance would be more
effective.
6. Don’t be satisfied with monosyllabic answers. Yes and no answers will
give you no information for analysis. When this occurs, use a probe to find
out more (i.e. Why? What else happened?). Even a simple pause might yield
additional information.
7. Be respectful. Be sure the respondent feels like he or she is an integral part
of your research and that any answers they offer you is wonderful.
8. Practice. The only way to become proficient at interviewing is to interview.
9. Be cordial and appreciative. Remember to thank the respondent when you
finish and answer any questions they might have.