Truth Telling Tips

In an informative blog online at Quirks.com, Market Researcher Maxwell Wang lays out the 4 basics of a good interview.

I don’t want to spoil it for you, Mr. Wang does a great job of explaining each step in detail. Here are the highlights from his tips:

Establish equality, not superiority

Diplomacy in differing opinions: Be confident, not arrogant. ie., Be thoughtful & inquisitive, and firm on following the agenda. Wang notes that non-verbal cues can be helpful here, though I can attest that his tip is equally applicable to audio or text only interviews.

Show Respect

Another helpful reminder is to offer a high level of respect for the intreviewee. Communicate it truthfully, abundantly, and reiterate how valuable their time and opinions are.

Substance over performance

We’ve all seen folks tank on this one and it’s cringe worthy. Pride in your excellent work and career is not the point. The client is all that matters. What does the client need. Understand the ultimate objective of the research, the client’s past experience and current beliefs, and aim accordingly.

Prepare to Improve

As your interviews begin to tally up, remember that it’s ok to regroup and discuss improvements to the discussion guide questions and flow. Concious iterations and acknowledgements where things could be done better are what make the results of a good study a great one. Learn as you go, adjust accordingly, and keep moving forward. Call it “agile”, call it “iterative learning” – we call it continual improvement of the process so we hit that bullseye objective.

Expect the Unexpected

My dad coached my softball team when I was a kid and he would always tell the infielders to crouch with bent knees, because “you never know which way the ball is going to come at you. You want to be able to pivot left or right.” The best players learn to react quickly to the ball’s impending trajectory. A good interview rolls the same. The keenest insights come from what you didn’t know you didn’t know. Stay alert out there!

Oh Crap, The Incentives

And while we’re on the topic of getting to the heart of the matter, I’d be remiss if I didn’t talk about incentives: what participants are paid to share their time and opinions. There are different schools of thought on this one, with some believing incentives bias results. Personally, I believe participants should be fairly compensated. Tom Rich wrote a insightful article about how incentives drive outcomes. Good stuff.

What strategies do you apply in your research to ensure truthful responses?

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Spotlight on Good News

There’s a concerted effort among news organizations today to leave the audience on a high note. Popular series include Steve Hartman’s Kindness 101. The Uplift , NBC Good News, Inspiring America, CNN Good News, regional happy spots (Los Angeles, San Diego, Houston, and New York), GMA Good News, and Fox’s Be Well health spots. There’s a clear news push to find something good in all the mess.

While I listen to Bill Withers singing””Lean on Me”, the human need to connect and feel love sinks in. We live in a world of kinetic chaos that could squash the human spirit, but yet somehow, we find the good. The media offers up these happy bits and we cling to them like life savers. It is my pleasure to throw you one of my favorites.

Austin’s Altruism

Austin is a superhero and it’s not just because he dons a cape. He helps feed the homeless in Birmingham, Alabama. The fact that Austin has been on this earth just 4 years is almost irrelevant. He’s single handedly making a difference. Using his allowance and lunch money, he politely provides and reminds all to “don’t forget to show love”. How did this happen?

Austin’s dad seems just as perplexed, but equally supportive and proud. My favorite part of Austin’s story is that his superhero name is President Austin, as he believes this is what a President does. May we be so fortunate. You have my vote, Austin!

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Spring Ahead, Fall Back – But Why?

In the US today, the 2nd Sunday in March and the first Sunday in November, most of the country recognizes Daylight Savings Time (DST).

From the human desire to commune with nature to the yearning for a longer golf game, nothing was enough to win the argument for change until the trump card came calling: the great war. It took the need to save energy to officially move the needles.

Despite popular belief, Daylight Savings Time (DST) was not implemented in the US to benefit farmers. It was first used in the US in 1918 for 7 months as a means to conserve energy for the wartime efforts of WWI. It was repealed until implemented once more during WW2, referred to as “War Time”.

DST wasn’t a uniform policy in the US until 1966, when Lyndon Johnson signed the Uniform Time Act into law on April 13, 1966. It took 8 years for the law to be fully and effectively implemented across the US.

Arizona and Hawaii have never recognized Daylight Savings Time. US Territories closer to the equator also do not recognize DST, including Guam, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands.

Did you know… Daylight Savings Time in the US is called Summer Time in most of Europe.

Did you know….  in 2005, President George W. Bush changed the dates of DST in an effort to further save energy. What had been the first Sunday of April to the last Sunday of October for decades, 2007 began DST the second Sunday in March and to the first Sunday in November.

Did you know… most of the world either never observed, or has since stopped observing, DST.

Did you know… All of China is under one time zone.

Did you know… India is also under one time zone (India Standard Time, IST), yet it’s on the half hour (UTC +5:30) and nobody knows why. Theories include the fact that New Delhi is halfway between meridians, so instead of choosing one over the other, they split the difference and applied it across the country.

Did you know… Newfoundland and Labrador is another location on the half hour (UTC -3:30). Why? Well, Newfoundland, at least, at the time was its own domininion, and hence had the right to choose its own time zone. And alas, in 1935 the Newfoundlandians selected their time zone based on the actual time from Grenwich time: 3:30 hours.

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Spring Shake

Daylight Savings is over in the US and whether you schedule it or not, somehow we see grime more clearly after the cold. Blame the angle of the sun, the current Swiffer advertising strategy, or other more logical reasons for Spring cleaning, humans are wired to clean up this time of year. Whether you DIY or contract out the cleaning services, there’s a certain need to start the warmer season with a clean slate.

Why Spring?

One logical reason to clean your house in the 1800’s was because every piece of the interior was covered in soot, the result of burning coal and wood to light the home. Add to that the heating and cooking, and you have yourself a home that resembles the underbelly of a barbecue grill, the covered area we all pretend isn’t there. I imagine living in that time and rejoicing at the first opportunity to open all the windows and begin the cleansing.

Another reason is based in religion. The Jewish tradition of cleaning in preparation for Passover has long been known, as they want to rid their homes of all yeast in support of eating unleavened bread to celebrate the holiday. Christians are also known to “clean house” before Lent and the Persian New Year includes cleaning, or “shaking the house”, for the first day of Spring.

Even today, the simple transition from cold to warm prompts our eyes to see the dirt through the windows we are opening. So the tradition continues, let’s be careful out there.

Spick & Span Success

Whether you have 5 minutes or an entire weekend, you can find ways to get your cleaning done. We tapped into the superior tips from Better Homes & Garden and found a great plan for deep cleaning.

Here are some of the best tips EVER on how to keep your sneakers white. Who knew?? Leather or canvas, there are tried & true methods out there that really work.

And what would a blog offering Spring Cleaning tips be without the tips from the master herself, Ms. Martha Stewart. She starts from the beginning and ends at the finish line, leaving nary a crumb. So if you’re looking for some adult supervision in this area, this is the website for you.

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Cell Phones + Toilets

More people have cell phones than toilets, revealing a true shift in priorities and a serious need to get areas in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa plumbed.

While there’s no exact number to rely on, it is estimated that nearly 8 billion (7.9) people have a mobile phone.

A number that seems large, until you realize it’s huge when you learn there are just 8.1 billion humans on the entire planet.

Take that statistic and throw it against the fact that across the world, 1.5 billion people still do not have access to a toilet.

So, on any given day, more than 18% of people (nearly 1 out of 5) don’t have a toilet to sit on while using their phone.

What does this say about humanity?

Super Bowl Solar Surprise

Go Chiefs! And go Usher! Super Bowl 58 did not disappoint.

Perhaps you pondered where all the electricity for the whole endeavor was coming from. 621,000 solar panels, to be exact. And that’s a number Las Vegas can take to the bank. With over 300 sunny days per year, the area is prime for receiving and storing solar energy.

And the high environment score isn’t all passive. Allegiant Stadium team members actively collect all the used rubber pellets from the turf for recycling. Tiny bits add up to more than 46 tons of rubber since counting began. The smell must be serious.

Score one for Mother Nature!

Take Note

Do you have notes everywhere? Sticky notes? Napkin scribbles? Thoughts to remember? It’s OK. Really.

If you’re one of those people who writes notes by hand, technology is here to help. You can continue to jot down ideas that are then digitized into typed, searchable form.

Moleskin & Neo Smartpen use their own special pen and paper to digitize your handwritten notes.

Wacom Smartpad and Bamboo Slate digitize your writing and doodles using a highly sensitive tablet on which any kind of paper or pen can be used.

Livescribe uses a special pen to digitize both your vocalized and handwritten notes.

Evernote and One Note are platforms that can convert written words inside to text, which covers everything from written notes to typed documents to wine labels – whatever printed items you want to easily recall at a future time.

How do you decide which tools, if any, to buy?

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Break Time

As humans, we make hundreds of choices throughout the day. Drive here. Eat this. Answer that. We choose where to be, when to be there, and what we’re going to do when we get there. Many of us live in this cycle of decisions like we’re running in a hamster wheel.

Taking a break from work is proven to benefit your outcome, as well as your outlook. Like this guy. Be more like this guy.

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Step Away from The Work

Did you know that taking a break from a task is just as important as practicing a task? Tally one for the break-takers, water cooler visitors, and coffee pot fillers.

Stepping away requires your brain to fire differently, allowing it process what you have actively been doing. Our brains compress memories and then replay them in our heads faster than if we were actively conducting the same activity.

So next time you’re practicing that important presentation and desperate to learn it all quickly, step away and do what the NIH calls “wakeful rest”, because your brain continues to practice. In fact, it learns at a faster rate than if you continued to slog through. Nice!

So take a moment. You deserve it. Your brain’s got this.

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The Game of Would You Rather

If you have ever had the chance to mull this game over with children or adults, I assume you found yourself chuckling at the very least as you consider the most absurd against the even more absurd.

I learned of this game a few years ago while road tripping with my aunt, who learned it from her students. She teaches first grade. My expectations were low.

The game begins by somebody either reading from the Would You Rather books (which I dare point out come in Large Print) by author Dan Gilden, or simply making up absurd options, like: Would you rather have knives for fingers or clubs for hands. What?! Yep. That’s the game. Think about it. This is serious. Clearly I’m clubbing it.

To play effectively, each person must weigh the options presented and essentially decide which would be the least offensive to themselves and/or others. The key to the game is to get the other players to explain their answer, revealing fears and preferences you would not have learned otherwise.

While playing the game made for a great road trip, with laughter so hard I needed to snort in order to survive the inhale, it also makes a great interview question. The options presented can be real or absurd, but if they’re on-topic, you may find yourself uncovering more than you expected: the true gems of marketing research.

Have you ever asked questions this way? What’s your favorite Would You Rather question?

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