‘I just want to speak to someone!’

Let’s stick with tradition and have a human conversation

By Eleanor Webb

I dread having to renew my contract with my TV provider. It frustrates me that in order to speak to someone I have to go through a series of questions online to find a number to call. It’s hidden on the website, of course. And then I have to go through another series of options over the phone which often leads me to hanging up and procrastinating over the situation for another month before building up the courage to try again.??

In situations like this, technology is not there to make our lives easier. We want to be able to speak to a human being. Instead the technology is there to cut costs, save time and enforce consistency for the company.??

This got me thinking about when clients come to us looking for an innovative and shiny, new research methodology. Yes, they’re exciting and different and definitely have their place, but we should recognise that their benefits too are mainly practical benefits for us; not benefits for respondents. And we should not lose sight of the human connection that we can establish from more traditional research methodologies.??

New methodologies, platforms and technologies can give us quicker and cheaper options for our clients. They allow us to achieve bigger sample sizes in more locations. And mobile-based technologies provide greater accessibility for more respondents to get involved. These are all much more logical and tangible benefits – easy to argue for and rationalise.???

By comparison, traditional face-to-face methodologies such as in-depth and group interviews, allow for a human conversation with our respondents, the benefits of which are perhaps less tangible. For those more analytically minded these are not benefits that you can always see in black and white. They’re more of ‘feeling’. More qualitative. But ultimately, they give us richer and more powerful insights.??

So here are my top 5 reasons why it is so important to be able to have a human conversation with our respondents.

Or to put it a different way, if a remote approach is necessary, agencies need to think about ways in which we can adapt these platforms and technologies to match the very best qualities of the more traditional qualitative approaches.

1. Depth of insight: According to Forbes ‘the average person types between 35 and 40 words per minute, but that same person can likely speak at 100 to 130 words per minute.’ This clearly demonstrates the level of depth that we are able to capture, and often it is easier for someone to express their thoughts when speaking to someone rather than having to formulate an answer in their head and write it down.???
2. Building rapport and trust: This is an environment that is created during interviews, but is of upmost importance when we are trying to set the tone, getting the respondent to open up and feel comfortable? talking about their honest opinions. Particularly, in healthcare patient research, where conversations can be of a very sensitive nature, you need to be able to create a safe space for the patient to be vulnerable, open and trust the moderator to share something that is very personal to them.??
3. Unearthing true motivations, emotions and feelings: Within the environment of an in-person interview, the combination of verbal responses, alongside non-verbal cues such as tone of voice, body language and facial expressions, can reveal someone’s true emotions and feelings. The recognition and interpretation of this is all down to the skill of the moderator, who will be better able to delve into a respondent's true motivations based on their (not always conscious) communication. Non-verbal communication can also provide further vital context when considered alongside verbal responses when we analyse our data.
4. Removing the risk of misinterpretation: Like the very funny cartoon example from Tom Fishburne above, this perfectly illustrates that speaking to someone helps to remove the risk of misinterpretation. In discussions with respondents, we can look to relay back their responses to ensure that we have captured the right essence which will ultimately help us to interpret our findings correctly.??
5. Facilitating interaction and debate: In a group setting, human interactions can facilitate?debate and bring about differing opinions to help us to form a fuller and more comprehensive picture and make sure that we are tackling our clients’ challenge from all angles.?

So next time when you hear of a new and exciting research methodology, ask yourself whether a simple human conversation is actually what you need.?

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