How to handle difficult respondent types in one-on-one interviews

Dealing with the Digresser

Editor’s note: Andrew D. Cutler is vice president of Integrated Marketing Associates LLC, a Bryn Mawr, Pa., research firm.

One-on-one interviews, most qualitative research practitioners will probably tell you, are a rewarding but often treacherous endeavor - one fraught with pitfalls that every new entrant into the field should be aware of. Armed with the knowledge of potential respondent types, however, a novice moderator will be better-equipped to deal with the challenges that inevitably arise during the course of an interview.

The Digresser

Problem: The Digresser could not stay on-topic if his or her life depended on it. One moment the Digresser will be talking about the challenges he faces in taking his asthma medication and the next moment he will start talking about Aunt Betsy and how she has difficulties remembering to brush her teeth in the morning. It takes enormous patience on the part of the moderator to keep these respondents on-topic.

Solution: As soon as you sense that you may have a Digresser on your hands, try to nip the problem in the bud. But do so in a diplomatic way! Say, “Herbert, I appreciate your willingness to talk with us today, but I have to say that we have a very limited amount of time here, and I’ll need you to keep your answers as brief and to-the-point as possible.” This will probably keep Herbert’s next answer under five minutes, but chances are he will start veering off course again before you know it. In that case, the wise moderator will reiterate the warning, again politely, but this time more firmly.

In addition, it may be a good idea to explain to such respondents that they will benefit from keeping their responses brief: “Herbert, I don’t want to keep you longer than necessary, and if you can try and limit your answers to 30 seconds or less, I’ll be able to let you out of here pretty quick.” This strategy, however, may prove ineffective with participants who enjoy being interviewed so much that they would be quite happy to continue talking with you until the middle of next week.

The Withholder

Problem: The Withholder is at the opposite end of the spectrum from the Digresser. Rather than talking too much, this respondent will provide one- or two-word answers whenever possible. The interviewer might say, “Please tell me your thoughts about the advertisement you see in front of you,” and the Withholder will say, “It’s fine.” As with the Digresser, much patience is required from the interviewer with this type of respondent.

Solution: Probing, probing and more probing! This is where the good interviewer gets to show off his or her probing prowess. Rather than letting the respondent off the hook, the moderator needs to seize the opportunity to follow up and probe as much as possible. Examples might be, “Lori, what leads you to say this advertisement is ‘fine?’” … “What elements of this ad do you like?” … “Why do you like those elements?” … “What else, if anything, do you like in this advertisement?”

It is important to recognize that the Withholder is probably not trying to make your life difficult by providing very short answers. Instead, this respondent may be nervous or shy, or unsure of how much information to provide or unable to articulate effectively. Eventually, it is hoped that such a participant will recognize that you (the interviewer) are seeking candid, detailed answers to your questions, and, in the spirit of cooperation, he or she will begin to respond accordingly. Don’t count on this, however. Do your job. Probe!

The Ruminator

Problem: The Ruminator takes every question that you ask and spends several minutes digesting it and coming up with a response. This can try the patience of even the most tolerant moderator, particularly when the discussion guide is over five pages long and the interviewer has barely an hour in which to cover everything.

Solution: First, even though you may be feeling exceedingly frustrated, recognize that this interviewee is not trying to provoke you into a violent, psychopathic rage. Rather, chances are that the respondent is just a slow, methodical thinker who is not accustomed to answering questions in rapid-fire succession. He or she is almost always well-intentioned and attempting to provide you the most accurate or useful information possible. In fact, this type of person is generally going to give you helpful responses; it’s just that these responses take forever and a day to be formulated.

To alleviate this, use an approach similar to that taken with the Digresser. Explain to the respondent, as early as possible in the interview, that time is limited and that you have a lot of questions to be covered. (In some cases it can be helpful to quickly show the respondent all of the pages of questions in the discussion guide or to point out the large stack of materials that they will need to provide feedback on. This can provide the interviewee with a sobering perspective on how much ground needs to be covered in one hour’s time.) In addition, reinforce your plea by asking your questions in a quick and terse fashion. Don’t dawdle between questions. This will signal the respondent about the expected pace of the interview.

The Non-Native-Speaker

Problem: Inevitably, some interviewees that you talk with will not speak English as their first language and therefore will have difficulty expressing their thoughts. On top of this, some of these individuals will speak in heavy accents that make it more difficult for the interviewer to understand the respondent.

Solution: Patience! (Are you starting to see a pattern here?) Try to put yourself in the respondent’s shoes. Imagine you are doing market research in some far-off land - which we’ll call Grabonia - where the native language bears no relation to the language you were exposed to growing up. Although you have tried to learn the native language in Grabonia, you are still not proficient at it, and you are trying to do your best to become more fluent in Grabonian. You become flustered when the native Grabonians become impatient with your clumsy attempts to speak the language, and this just makes it more difficult for you.

However, you are talking today with a Grabonian moderator who seems understanding of your situation, and this makes you feel better about yourself and your ability to speak the language. As a result, you are able to articulate your thoughts in clearer and more intelligible Grabonian than you otherwise would have been.

Note to the moderator: If all this seems like more effort than it is worth, remember that the participant is an invited guest. If you don’t have this kind of patience, make sure in the future to create a screener that unambiguously eliminates anyone who has trouble speaking English clearly. While this may seem unfair to non-native speakers, such a requirement is common and can save a lot of aggravation and wasted time.

The Latecomer

Problem: High-quality recruiting agencies will double-confirm appointments and ensure that participants have clear directions to the research facility. However, even with these safeguards, there will always be a participant or two who shows up late, either by a few minutes or (less frequently) by 15 minutes or more.

Solution: As with the other types of respondents described in this article, the Latecomer requires the moderator to exercise patience. Latecomers can be subclassified into two subgroups: those who arrive out-of-breath and apologetic, and those who saunter in casually and offer no apologies. In both cases (but particularly the latter), it is tempting to become angry with such a respondent, as he or she has kept everyone waiting - you, the client and the facility personnel. What’s more, when your day consists of a series of in-depth interviews, a Latecomer may force you to compress the interview if you are to finish up in time to begin the next interview on schedule. (In that case, hopefully you don’t have a Latecomer-Ruminator hybrid on your hands!)

The best solution is to be proactive - decide with the client ahead of time how late you are willing to accept a Latecomer and then tell the facility personnel. (Generally, 15 minutes is the rule of thumb.) This gives the personnel a chance to warn the participant by phone and thus reduces the likelihood of a scenario in which he/she arrives at the facility and is then told to go home.

Additionally, always schedule at least a 15-minute buffer zone between interviews. If you decide to accept a respondent who is more than 15 minutes late, ask the personnel to tap on your door when the next participant arrives. That way, you may be able to complete a larger portion of the interview. In no instance, however, should you display anger toward a Latecomer. Instead, always remain calm and professional.

The Difficult Respondent

Problem: Occasionally, one will encounter a respondent who does not want to cooperate or take the interview seriously. Such a participant may be overtly hostile or may treat each question as an opportunity to crack a joke or may blatantly flirt with the moderator or may attempt to turn the tables and conduct the interview. These types of participants, thankfully, are quite uncommon. But when they do appear, appropriate tactics are needed to avoid making a bad situation worse.

Solution: Once again, patience is called for. By remaining unflappable, the moderator signals to such respondents that they are not going to be successful in any attempts to get under the moderator’s skin. At the same time, however, it is important to communicate to the participant that inappropriate behavior will not be tolerated.

As a first step, it is recommended that you remind the respondent of the value they can potentially bring to the interview. For example, you might say, “Dr. Jones, I have a feeling you have some very interesting perspectives to share and I am really hoping to learn from you.” If this doesn’t work, a firmer approach may be necessary, one in which you attempt to enlist the respondent’s support in what should be a common endeavor: namely, to have a rich, rewarding discussion. For example, you could say, “Dr. Jones, I need to ask for your help in keeping this interview on track and productive.”

If none of these measures proves to be effective, the wise moderator will excuse himself or herself, partly to take a deep breath and partly to consult with the client about whether the interview should continue. If the participant is deliberately being unhelpful or even seeking to sabotage the interview, there is a good chance the client will recommend that the session be terminated.

Better prepared

While a substantial proportion of interviewees are cooperative and articulate, certain types of respondents can definitely make the interview process more difficult. By identifying these respondent types and understanding how to handle them, the savvy moderator will be better prepared to interview the Ruminator, the Digresser or any of the other species described above. This will, in turn, help transform lemons into lemonade - that is, to permit rich and meaningful insights to emerge, even from a difficult interviewee, and thereby contribute to a successful project outcome.