The more I work in the area of community engagement—and the more interviews and focus groups I do—the more I have come to believe in the power of asking the right questions. I don’t think I realized how important this is until yesterday when I chose to unsubscribe from an emailing list. As I clicked through, I got the inevitable “Please tell me why you’re unsubscribing,” and the first of the multiple choices was “I no longer want to receive this newsletter.”
Duh.
Let me give you another example: the classic tourism exit survey—the kind of survey someone will stop you and ask about as you’re at the departure gate or on a road out of town—always asks what motivates your travel choices. And one of the choices is always, “Escape from the ordinary.”
Seriously, what? No, what I really want to do is wallow in the crushingly banal. I want to be mired in the hopelessly quotidian when I travel. That’s why I chose your town, Bob.
Anyway. What are some really good interview questions? Here are a few that I really like.
For prototyping new exhibits, or for evaluating existing ones:
“What is this exhibit (digital interactive, game, etc.) trying to tell you?”
Great question. (I can’t profess to have invented it; I learned this one from the folks at the Smithsonian.)
It’s a great question because it’s just clear enough; just specific enough; and yet broad enough to be generative—that is to say, it should spark thought and discussion.
And what kinds of things are we hoping to hear? Well this question should evaluate how effectively your product is communicating your theme. If the answer to the question, “What is this digital activity trying to tell you?” Isn’t within at least spitting distance to your interpretive theme, your product has failed—at least for this person. It missed the mark. Gather enough data, and if you discover that it misses the mark more often than it hits it, you’ve got to go back to the drawing board.
“Do you think there’s anything in this writing that a 12-year-old would have trouble with?”
Another great question, and one that I learned from a fellow interpretive planner. Why is it a good question? Because when we interview people, we want to avoid questions that embarrass them. They tend to shut down when we make them feel less informed than they want to be.
So this question takes responsibility for understanding off of them and projects it onto a hypothetical child. And if your respondent says to you, “Well, I think that part about forest succession is just way to complicated for a 12-year-old”, maybe they’re thinking of that hypothetical child… and maybe they’re trying to tell you they didn’t understand it. Either way, it’s a good insight and it’s an opportunity to improve your interpretive writing.
“How likely are you to recommend this (program, exhibit, event, site) to a friend? Please give me a rating from one to ten.”
This standard marketing question calculates your Net Promoter Score (NPS), an industry benchmark for understanding customer loyalty and satisfaction. Keep in mind that consistency is key: ask the question the same way across a broad sample to ensure valid results. It’s also another question that, through its phrasing, lets respondents be thoughtful advocates for others rather than sharing their own feelings directly.
For understanding inclusivity:
“Agree or disagree: This (program, exhibit, event, site) feels like it was put together with someone like me in mind. Rate your agreement from 1 to 5.”
I developed this question because the more we study visitor experiences, the more we understand that many barriers to participation are rooted in identity. People from underrepresented backgrounds often feel excluded by design, believing “people like me don’t go to places like that.”
If responses to this question reveal low scores correlated with demographic or geographic factors (e.g., postal codes indicating lower income areas), it’s a clear signal to invest in developing experiences that resonate with those audiences. Imagine a museum learning that a significant portion of visitors from a nearby neighbourhood feel alienated. This insight could shape marketing, programming, and even exhibit design to foster greater inclusivity and connection.
Closing Thoughts
These are just a few of my favourite visitor questions—queries that not only help us understand our audiences but also guide us toward creating better experiences. By asking meaningful, well-crafted questions, we can uncover insights that spark change and build stronger connections with our visitors.
What are your go-to questions for learning from the people who pay your wages? I’d love to hear your favourites—and maybe even add them to my list.
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