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6 audience trends to prepare for in 2023

Audience behaviour is shifting and it can be hard to know what to expect. Here are six audience behaviour trends to prepare for, according to the data from our October phase of the Audience Outlook Monitor.

Image Credit: Cecilia Martin, courtesy of National Circus Festival.

Audience behaviour is shifting. Here’s what’s going on - and how to make sure you’re ready.

With the release of our latest phase of the Audience Outlook Monitor, we’ve been looking at the major trends in audience behaviour and how it’s different to what we saw pre-pandemic.

If you’re involved in cultural events, you’ve probably already seen some of these trends firsthand. We’re here to tell you you’re not alone - and that these things aren’t going away any time soon. Here’s what we need to be ready for:

1. Attendance is climbing, but it may be a bit of a rollercoaster.

Half (51%) of audiences expect to attend more often in the next 12 months as they settle into post-COVID life. However, hesitation is still a big issue to contend with and 43% say their frequency of attendance will stay the same.

As shown in the chart below, there are a range of factors that will inhibit attendance over the next year. Some of these have been around for a while (risk of transmission), others are relatively new, and increasing (financial reasons).

A little while ago, we reported on this thing called ‘re-entry anxiety’ and recently, 19% of audiences told us they are simply lacking the energy to go out sometimes.

24% are prioritising other things above attending arts and cultural events, such as social events and travel - a natural response as we enjoy our regained freedom and figure out what our post-COVID world looks like.

The bottom line? We need to be clear-eyed about the targets we set for things like attendance and ticket sales. Some things are likely to go well, other things are just not, and that is just the reality.

You might like to ensure your teams and boards are across this data, and everyone is on the same page about what to expect in the year ahead.

2. Price sensitivity is increasing.

Yes, you read that chart correctly: financial limitations are now the top barrier to attendance, affecting 40% of audiences, up from 24% in August 2022. This means that they have now surpassed the risk of transmission.

Economic concerns like the rising cost of living and inflation rates are impacting most people, but some groups are likely to be more vulnerable than others, such as lower income earners. And, as you can see in the chart below, young people are almost twice as likely as audiences over 70 to report financial barriers (58% vs 30%).

Audience members have spoken to these financial limitations, saying:

‘I am now retired and money is not so easy. The cost of tickets has increased so I pick and choose less expensive shows.’

‘Cost of living constantly increasing, I'm about to go back to study, just need to be careful with my funds.’

So, should you offer discounts? Probably not. While it may seem logical to consider cutting admission prices, research from the US has shown that admission is only a small piece of the puzzle when audiences think about the costs to attend. As one audience member in our study said:

‘As I live in a more rural area, it's not just the ticket I need to purchase, it's also travel, accommodation and meals. So the cost becomes significant.’

Admission discounts often have a range of downsides - like impacting customers who have already paid full price. They also influence brand perceptions and market competition

That being said, it is important to be aware of what’s happening and think about pricing strategically. If you’re targeting young attendees in the next little while - program prices should be set carefully. Families are another group that can be extra sensitive to prices, and things like transport recommendations, cheap parking options and dining offers can go a long way.

3. Last minute decision-making is here to stay for a while longer.

August 2022 data revealed that most audience members book events within the next seven days (26%) and the next 2-3 weeks (43%). This is an ongoing trend reflective of the comfort in making last minute decisions, as people continue to struggle with commitment.

Audience members expressed this sentiment, saying:

‘I am someone who has health and energy issues so I often need to take things day by day.’

‘I like to just go to something, rock up there and pay on the day.’

‘Much preferred to booking ahead on the off-chance I will have to cancel.’

From a business perspective, it’s undeniably more difficult when we cannot rely on those early ticket sales to inform our planning for the season, creating a cashflow problem and a confidence problem.

In a recent broadcast of ABC Radio National, guests Sophie Galaise, Managing Director of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and Kip Williams, Artistic Director of Sydney Theatre Company reflected on these very research findings - and shared their take:

Sophie Galaise outlined the MSO approach of offering flexible subscription and single tickets, providing audiences the opportunity to be able to attend a different date if needed.

Kip Williams stressed the elevated importance of marketing at this time, as audiences are often waiting till shows are opened and the reviews are out before buying a ticket.

So, if you haven’t already got strategies in place on how to maximise the opportunity of last-minute sales, now is very much the time.

4. Lifestyle changes are impacting preferences around attending.

1 in 5 audience members say their preferences have changed in terms of time, day or location of events – as lifestyle shifts continue to occur.

Protecting energy and convenience are shaping decisions with audience members saying:

‘I find it harder to attend events on weeknights after work. I am tired faster after the pandemic with less capacity to do multiple things in a day.’

‘I think people started to prefer staying at home to drink and socialise because of the cost and convenience. I prefer to go out after work on a Friday so I can be home for the rest of the weekend rather than going out Friday and Saturday night.’

‘I am much less inclined to attend events on weeknights now. I feel busier than ever and my weeknights have become sacred time. I prefer to attend events on weekends only.’

While some are simply out of practice, and may yet revert to old habits, some are very much here to stay. For instance, working from home is now a reality for many employees, and fewer days commuting into the city means fewer opportunities to drop into events in the CBD:

‘I have been working mostly from home and found that suited me... building energy to head into the inner city to attend events requires determination. I've made the effort when the event really sparks my interest...’

‘I now live in the country and so it is harder to go out at night in the city.’

This trend is going to impact organisations very differently. For instance, venues in outer metropolitan suburbs, and regional hotspots are likely to be seeing the upside of this. Meanwhile, events in the inner city seem to be working harder to rebuild their audiences.

It’s a good time to be testing different things, and seeing what works for your audience. Just remember: a single event doth not maketh a valid experiment. We need to set up our tests over a realistic timeframe and give it time to work. Let us know what works for you!

5. Audiences are looking for variety locally.

For now, people continue to favour their local area/region when attending arts events. Yes more cultural tourism could be on the horizon, but for now many are excited to see touring shows and want to see variety in their communities.

Regional/remote audiences particularly love attending locally – while metropolitan audiences are more keen to explore their region. Local stories are more likely to resonate with regional audiences (48%) – though there is also appetite for ‘big’ name artists (60%). Audiences have told us:

‘The pandemic has taught us that local matters. It's incredibly important to ensure we have a strong local economy, supporting local activities, buying from local people and strengthening our understanding of our local culture and history.’

‘Supporting local artists, organisations and locations is a current priority. Local events have a multitude of benefits including increased environmental sustainability and reduced hassle in terms accessing the event and these events cultivate civic pride.’

Yet, there is still the desire to expand their horizons:

‘Throughout the COVID experience, there has been a strong focus on local – which made good sense and felt right. After nearly three years of a focus on local, I am feeling a bit parochial and really keen to see and experience things that bring a new perspective. I really want to travel for art and culture but don't feel comfortable doing so yet.’

As you can see in the chart, many are keen to return to the things they love, but there is also an appetite for new (58%), uplifting (73%), or challenging cultural experiences (42%). There are a wide range of views out there, so we think that there’s an audience for almost anything.

‘Life can be short and live music and performances are what makes me happy and keeps me going. I'm going to keep attending them as much as I can.’

‘There is enough conflict and challenge in the world today – I don’t want to seek out challenging events for entertainment. I want escapism.’

'I don't need fun, uplifting things, but I do need to be intrigued, challenged and informed. I don't need big names, but I do like professionally run events.’

‘The arts are about innovation and change. we want to see hear and watch new shows, music and arts events.’

‘I like the new and the challenging and will continue to seek those productions and opportunities - with, I feel, an increasing sense of confidence in doing so.’

Basically, balanced programs are key - with enough variety to keep audiences coming back. It’s important to think about targeting different programs at different segments.

For example, as shown in the chart below, younger audiences, such as those under 35 (74%) showed the strongest interest towards trying new things, making them a key demographic to target when innovating.

6. People are happy to go with the flow when it comes to COVID-safety.

In general, cultural venues are still seen as safe in terms of mitigating the risk of transmission, with comfort at live music venues and interactive exhibits at an all-time high.

With the Summer season approaching, the relaxing of COVID-safety rules may leave some audiences nervous to attend. However, we’ve found that most people are happy to wear a mask if they are asked to (and if they are provided one).

Years of mask-wearing have made this a common practice, with one audience member saying:

‘I went to a theatre performance a couple of weeks ago where masks were mandatory, and every single audience member complied without any fuss, we get it.’

It’s worth keeping an eye on this during peak transmission times, especially if you have a vulnerable audience!

Subscribe below for updates - or get in touch with us for any questions or suggestions via info@thepatternmakers.com.au.

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Melanie Raveendran
Digital Marketing Associate

 
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Recovering from re-entry anxiety

Are you ready to party like it’s 2019? No? Me neither. Read on for the low-down on ‘re-entry anxiety’ and the impact on the cultural sector.

Are you ready to party like it’s 2019? No? Me neither.

We’ve heard a lot about the joy and excitement of returning to ‘normal’ after the pandemic. And there sure are some perks. But, for some of us, this easing of restrictions doesn’t feel 100% like freedom.  

Instead, the prompting to re-enter society might be creating some new forms of worry and anxiety - and it’s reflecting in attendance trends for cultural events.

What is this feeling you speak of?

There’s already a name for it: Re-entry anxiety. This psychological phenomenon describes the difficulty to reintegrate into a ‘normal’ situation following an extended period of absence.

Don’t fret - it’s a completely normal and valid response.

People are out of practice - we can’t expect the hermit-like habits that we made during this period to simply disappear overnight.  

It also doesn’t help that ‘COVID-normal’ is an awkward state of trying to rejoin society, and figure out your ‘new normal’ while also still protecting yourself and your loved ones.

Previously, making the decision to attend generally came down to whether you had the desire and availability to commit. Now, decision making is a bit more complicated…

  • Is that a scratch in my throat?

  • Is my toddler’s daycare cough better or worse today? What amount of coughing is socially acceptable right now?

  • Should I wear a mask? Will I be judged if I do/don’t wear one? In fact, where IS my mask? Is my mask the right kind of mask?

  • Is the person I’m meeting on the same page? Don’t they have a sick relative? What if I put them at risk?

  • What about that event coming up? I really don’t want to be sick for the wedding/holiday/big work thing. What if I get COVID on X date and then can’t do X thing? What if I spend all this money and then can’t get a refund?

  • Is this even a priority right now? Maybe I should just pack it all in and move to Tasmania.

What does the data say?

The thing about social anxiety is it actually could get worse before it gets better. And that’s because relaxing restrictions puts more onus on the individual.

One longitudinal study found that since restrictions eased, people are actually more likely to report higher social anxiety as they readjust into their social environment. Further, the findings emphasised the importance of assisting vulnerable groups, such as those unemployed, lower wealth and younger, who may be bearing the brunt of re-entry anxiety.

Research suggests that as we start to socialise more, and grapple with new norms, we can expect social anxiety to affect more people - and for it to worsen cases of existing anxiety and depression.

And, according to the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, ‘distress from negatively focused self-consciousness may also be increased by reliance on social media to communicate with others in social and working environments’.

It’s even dedicating a Special Issue to the topic of ‘Social Anxiety During COVID-19 Pandemic’ in 2023.

What does this mean for the cultural and community sectors?

Basically, this feeling is manifesting in greater hesitation, more last-minute decision-making and ultimately lower participation rates in some activities.

We recently released our August 2022 Live Attendance Update, which is based on a survey of over 2,200 attendees of cultural events. It showed that while 2 in 3 audience members are ready to attend events, there are a whole range of factors likely to inhibit attendance over the next 12 months.

One audience member said that they hold a “general ennui as a result of years of covid restrictions.”

Another said, “I have become accustomed to not attending events.”

An attendee also claimed, “I love and miss the arts. But honestly, post-COVID I do much less. I go out to less shows, I work from home.”

Almost half (46%) say that the risk of transmission will continue to inhibit their attendance in the next 12 months, while others point to the risk of cancellations, close contact rules, financial barriers or issues getting tickets.

We’re also seeing that some people are balancing competing priorities, such as social obligations and travel plans, leading them to limit their attendance and avoid the risk of transmission in anticipation.

Uncertainty continues to lead people to buy tickets for events scheduled within seven days (26%) or within the next three weeks (43%), which must be challenging even the most steely marketers.

What can we do? 

  • Allow time to recalibrate. Yes, these conditions are going to be with us for a while yet. It’s wise to manage expectations with your stakeholders, and doing so with research like the Audience Outlook Monitor can help (it’s not just you - it’s everyone!).

  • Implement targeted marketing. The market is increasingly competitive as every organisation tries to secure the attention of a reduced audience. Being more purposeful and tailored with our audience development strategies is key to getting cut-through.

  • Show people what to expect. A simple way to mitigate uncertainty is to show potential audiences what they can expect from the audience experience. This can be photos of the audience experience, COVID-safety measures, itineraries, maps and anything else that can prepare people.

  • Rethink ticketing models. If long-term planning is no longer on the radar of most audiences, it’s a good time to review the way we work. For instance, the Malthouse Theatre in Melbourne has recently switched to a new model where their seasons are announced in a rolling fashion, rather than as part of an annual program.

  • Offer ticket flexibility. In light of increased financial limitations for audiences and the ever-looming threat of falling sick and having to isolate, options such as free/reduced cancellation, easy refund policies, or ‘COVID-insurance’ are excellent methods of making people more comfortable with planning ahead.

  • Ensure there are digital opportunities. It may be tempting to focus all your attention on getting people in the door but it’s worthwhile facilitating some forms of digital engagement as well. This can benefit those with social anxiety, but also people with geographic barriers, caring commitments, access issues, etc.

Just as we adapted to the rules of the pandemic, we will eventually settle into a new normal. Be patient with yourself and your teams in this adjustment period.

Change can be a good thing. The pandemic shined light on issues such as the importance of protecting your mental health and maintaining a healthy work-life balance.

If this article raises any issues for you, or if you or anyone you know is struggling with mental ill-health or needs support, call or visit the online resources below:

Image credit: @heretotravel, Unsplash. Image depicting Olafur Eliasson’s ‘Your Rainbow Panorama’, 2011.

Subscribe below for updates - or get in touch with us for any questions or suggestions via info@thepatternmakers.com.au.

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Melanie Raveendran
Digital Marketing Associate

 
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Connecting with arts audiences online: Fact Sheet

As more artists and cultural organisations look to grow their audiences online, we’ve assembled a Fact Sheet with statistics, insights and resources for digital strategy, marketing and distribution.

Last week. I delivered a webinar entitled ‘What Audiences Want Online’ for the Australia Council for the Arts’ Creative Connections webinar series. It was fun!

I regretted the name of the session, but you’ll have to watch the webinar to find out why!

Watch the webinar here, and scroll down to see a list of resources related to the content of the webinar: digital strategy, marketing and distribution of cultural experiences.

Webinar: What audiences want online

Fact Sheet: Connecting with Audiences Online

If the content of the webinar appeals, and you want to know more about the sources and resources I referred to, you can download the below Fact Sheet: Connecting with Audiences Online.

 
 

Thank you to our Research Administrator Aurora Nowosad who helped me to publish this as a Fact Sheet.

Video: six digital professionals share their insights

In the process of preparing the content for the session, I reached out to a number of colleagues working in digital technology.

I wanted to hear about audience engagement, from the point of view of others working closely with artists and cultural organisations (not just a data geek like me!). This included with a web developer, a digital transformation professional, a digital strategist, a digital inclusion researcher and a creative entrepreneur.

Head over to my last post to watch the video and hear what they had to say. Particular thanks go to digital strategist Michael Edson, whose wisdom helped me identify a better way to come at the topic of audience engagement.

Other useful resources on digital engagement

REMIX Academy launched recently with 500+ online talks on topics like digital business models, content creation and creative entrepreneurship. The REMIX guys know their business models, so of course full access to the content involves a (very affordable) paid plan, but you can access 10 hours worth of webinars for free.

The Audience Agency have some helpful guidance for digital strategy (start with this article in Arts Professional).

I’ve been reading Katie Moffat’s Digital Snapshot for years. Another favourite newsletter with digital storytelling finds is the Storythings newsletter.

Still more?

If you have specific questions, please get in touch with me via LinkedIn or Twitter.

To stay in the loop with new research and resources generally, subscribe to Patternmakers’ semi regular Culture Insight & Innovation Updates.

You can listen to the first five episodes of the Theory of Creativity Podcast now, and look out for the upcoming episode on digital storytelling metrics and measurements. 

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Tandi Palmer Williams

Patternmakers
Managing Director

Tandi leads Patternmakers’ research projects, and is a regular speaker, trainer and writer on audience research and public value in cultural organisations.

 
 

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6 digital professionals share their insights about engaging audiences online

Six digital professionals share their insights about audience engagement, including a web developer, a digital strategist, a digital transformation consultant and a creative entrepreneur.

This week, I’m delivering a webinar entitled ‘What Audiences Want Online’ for the Australia Council for the Arts’ Creative Connections webinar series.

In the process of preparing the content for the session, I reached out to a number of colleagues working in digital technology.

I wanted to hear about audience engagement, from the point of view of others working closely with artists and cultural organisations (not just a data geek like me!). This included with a web developer, a digital transformation professional, a digital strategist, a digital inclusion researcher and a creative entrepreneur.

I’m so glad I did. Not only are their insights useful for culture professionals thinking about sharing work online - but I learned a lot too (ego - be gone!). Thank you to all the people below who helped me make the webinar much more interesting, nuanced and useful.

Read more about the contributors below.

…

Indigo Holcombe-James

Research fellow in the Technology, Communications and Policy Lab at RMIT

‘It’s important to remember that [digital] inequity applies to audiences as well as cultural sector practitioners. If we want to ensure that the cultural sector is as inclusive as possible in these strange times, acknowledging digital inequity is a critical first step.’

You can read more about Indigo’s work in The Conversation article, on Twitter, her website. You can read her thesis and visit the Australian Digital Inclusion Index (which provides some helpful demographic insights).

Peter Tullin

Co-Founder - REMIX Summits & CultureLabel.com

‘Don’t start with the tech or the platform, think about the need… study the landscape… think deeply about the consumer of the content. What customer journey are you creating and why is it different from what exists already?’

Pete is delivering a free webinar on digital business models and monetising digital work this Friday.

REMIX also just launched the Remix Academy, which will have hours of free content, condensing some of these trends. it will also give you access to over 500 talks from amazing content creators around the world.

Jane Peacock

Digital Coach & Advisor at Your Coach.Digital

‘Right now, the opportunity is to be the people that are building the community… Digital is an enabler of connection. Those who are doing it well are starting to build collaborative ecosystems around what they do, getting active in telling their brand story and reaching out and connecting with people. That’s what we’re seeking; connection.’

At the time of posting, Jane is offering free workshop/ ideation sessions to help businesses pivot. She’s happy to do an hour for free as long as time permits.

Jasper Visser

Consultant specialising in community leadership, sustainable development, and digital transformation

‘Cultural institutions that are successful with digital engagement combine ‘reaching’ and ‘engaging’ activities in an ongoing conversation with their audience. Reach out to a new audience, address a shared interest, find a shared purpose with a new group of people, and then engage them by telling a unique and compelling story that only you can tell.’

Jasper references the (free!) publication the Digital Engagement Framework along with podcasts Explore the Symphony from the National Arts Centre in Ottawa and 20000 Hz: Cremona.

You can read more case studies on his blog www.themuseumofthefuture.com

Yuan Wang

Founder of Yump, web development agency specialising in user experience for not-for-profit organisations

‘Before a person can make a decision about whether to support an organisation… they have to first develop a connection with the website. To develop a connection with your audience, you have to create trust with your content, and to create trust, you need two key ingredients: credibility and authenticity.’

Case studies of Yump's work are online at https://yump.com.au/work/ and they share insights and helpful tips about online engagement on their blog https://yump.com.au/blog/

Michael Edson

Digital strategist working with tech, culture, democracy, & the SDGs

“If you want to ask a powerful question that helps your team see what could be possible, that helps you serve the people you serve and love, the question isn’t “what do people engage with online”, it’s more, “What do we stand for, WHO do we stand for? And what can we do together? I think the answers aren’t in your conference room, Directors Suite or creative studios. They’re out there in the world, so - go out and find them.”

Since the Covid-19 crisis broke, Michael has been working with 13 institutions and leaders across 18 time zones. He says, ‘Audiences, users, PEOPLE, are inventing a new kind of digital culture, a new kind of platform in the home that is cultural, emotional, connected, and open to play and experimentation in a way we've never seen before. I encourage your audience, everyone, to look outward from their institutions and join together with communities to develop the cultural language for what is happening to us now — and to help shape the culture we want to have when the crisis eases.’ 

Michael is organising free workshops, an evening of Ignite talks, and peer-to-peer meetings for cultural leaders and practitioners — find out more at https://usingdata.com/covid19.

…

Header image features Jasper Visser at work. Image credit: Dmitry Smirnov / Strelka Institute

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Tandi Palmer Williams

Patternmakers
Managing Director

Tandi leads Patternmakers’ research projects, and is a regular speaker, trainer and writer on audience research and public value in cultural organisations.

 
 

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Patternmakers policy on research incentives 

At Patternmakers, we use incentives to motivate participation in our research projects. This page explains why we use incentives and what we consider in designing appropriate incentives. It also explains how we distribute them to participants.

At Patternmakers, we use incentives for participants who take part in our research projects. This page explains why we use incentives and what we consider in designing appropriate incentives.  

What are incentives? 

Incentives can take a number of forms, such as cash, a gift card or gift such as movie tickets. In line with industry practice, incentives are usually given to all participants who attend focus groups. For surveys, usual industry practice is to run a Prize Draw, whereby all respondents have a chance to win a prize.  

We govern our use of incentives by the Australian Market and Social Research Society (AMSRS), and relevant State/Territory guidelines on prize draws. 

Why we use incentives? 

At Patternmakers we use incentives for two reasons.  

Firstly, they are used to motivate participation and ensure the best possible response rate in surveys and attendance for focus groups. Administering research processes involves significant investment of time and money, and we want to make sure we maximise participation and hear from as many people as possible.  

Secondly, we use incentives to motivate people who aren’t engaged with the subject organisation for the research topic. Research has shown that using incentives helps reduce bias by motivating a broad range of people to participate.  

In our experience, a lack of incentive for participants results in poor levels of attendance, and skewed participation, leading to inefficiencies in our overall research project. Not using incentives can affect the robustness of the data collected. 

As a research agency, it is our job to ensure we achieve target response rates for the highest level of rigour possible. When working with clients, we will always negotiate the nature of the incentive to align with the organisation’s model. 

How do cash incentives work? 

If you have signed up to participate in a focus group with a cash incentive, the incentive will be paid on the day, at the conclusion of the group.  

The facilitator will distribute the incentives to all participants present on the night. If you cannot make it on the day, unfortunately we cannot pay the incentive.  

How do Prize Draws work? 

If you have completed a survey with a prize draw, you will be asked to provide your name and contact details at the end of the survey. These details are confidential and will not be connected with your survey responses, unless you give your explicit permission.  

At the end of the survey, you will also be able to read the terms of the draw, including what date the prize will be drawn and how the winner will be contacted.  

We select the winner using a random number generator. The winner is then contacted by email. If we do not hear back from with winner within two weeks, we will select another winner.  

You can read more about the AMSRS Guideline on Incentives for Participation in Market and Social Research here:

 https://www.amsrs.com.au/documents/item/1935 

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Why every program manager needs a research toolkit

From 2017 to 2019, Patternmakers developed an Audience Research Toolkit in collaboration with Creative Victoria, Thirst Creative, and almost 300 stakeholders from the Victorian creative arts sector.

In this post, MD Tandi Palmer Williams shares some of the process, and her tips for people using the toolkit to conduct research.

In the past 10 years, audience research has become an essential tool for arts managers.

If you want to reach new people, develop audiences and deepen engagement, then research is part of your core business.

Why we care

Even though we make a living from consulting, I firmly believe that every arts officer, manager and director should have the ability to run their own research processes in-house.

When I first started working in the arts, after seven years in finance and economics, I was amazed at all the powerful, high quality work taking place; programs literally changing people’s lives for the better. But I was also horrified at a dearth of evidence.

Compared to other sectors, the arts has not embraced evidence-based practices (for reasons I recently discussed on LinkedIn) and in 2016 I established Patternmakers with a mission to help build a strong, vibrant, creative ‘data culture’ in the Australian creative industries.

I believed then (and still do) that we need to become proficient in use of data analysis, research and evaluation - and do it in a way that aligns with our values. Research, if done well, should support the creative process, not undermine it. It should be ethical and responsible - and creative!

Which is why, in 2016, that I was thrilled to be the successful tenderer to work with Creative Victoria to develop an Audience Research Toolkit for the small to medium creative arts sector in Victoria.

How it worked

From the outset, it was an ambitious project. Over the following two years, we would undertake a multi-stage development process that included:

  • Research with stakeholders in the creative arts sector, including a series of interviews and a survey of 225 representatives from the small to medium sector

  • Co-design workshops with representatives from regional Victorian galleries, festivals, producers, presenters, Creative Victoria staff and digital agency Thirst Creative

  • Development of tools, templates and guidelines (i.e. long hours workshopping, drafting, editing, proofing)

  • Testing of the tools with eight creative arts organisations from regional Victoria.

Once the tools had been reviewed, revised and signed-off, Creative Victoria worked with Thirst Creative and its own in-house marketing and communications teams to upload all the content online. And, voila!

What we learned

We found through the process that many creative arts organisations want to conduct research, but lack either the time, money, or specialist skills to actually deliver it.

The co-design process showed that the toolkit needed to be accessible, engaging, and dynamic - helping people on their journey. For some, it might be their first ever experience of research, while others would need help to improve the quality of their research activity.

Anecdotally, we had observed that many organisations were already using Survey Monkey to send out surveys. But very few were getting meaningful results. We worked backwards to identify the issues and built tools and guidance to help people do it well, even on a tight budget.

We learned that technical talk would instantly put people off. We had to find ways to talk about technical issues without the jargon. It was a great exercise in simplifying things down to key principles.

How to use the toolkit

My advice for anyone planning audience research is to:

  • Start small. Select an achievable goal (e.g. running a single focus group or a one-off survey) and do it well. You don’t need to survey after every workshop or performance, you just don’t.

  • Incentivise participation. Use a carefully designed cash-equivalent incentive to make sure you get a good response rate. If your results aren’t reliable, it can be a time-waster.

  • Apply insights. Set aside time to analyse, interpret, report and action the results. If you think it’s about collecting data, you’ve missed the point.

  • Communicate. Share your plans with your community. Say thank you to those who participated, and make sure you share what you’ve learned and actioned before you embark on the next thing. People get tired of doing surveys if they don’t see it being actioned.

Feedback

I’m looking forward to seeing how the toolkit is used throughout the sector.

One of my favourite features of the toolkit is the feedback functionality, which allows you to mark helpful and unhelpful tools, and ask questions.

If we can work together to continue refining the tools, the result will be a valuable asset that will benefit us all.

We firmly believe that creative arts organisations that build a strong, creative, vibrant ‘data culture’ are those that will change the world for the better. And we’re already well on the way!

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About the Author

Tandi Palmer Williams
Managing Director

Patternmakers’ Founder and Managing Director Tandi Palmer Williams is an experienced consultant and arts and culture research specialist.  

Between 2013 and 2015, she was Research Manager for the Digital R&D Fund for the Arts, based at Nesta in London.

 

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5 signs you're ready to benefit from research and evaluation

Our team has decades of experience delivering research and evaluation projects. And there are a few things that we’ve noticed about ‘research readiness’. Here are five signs that organisations are primed to get maximum value from research and evaluation projects.

After a 15 year career as an analyst and consultant, I’ve seen how some organisations get exceptional value from research and evaluation projects. I’ve also seen organisations evaluating for the wrong reasons, and Managers who just aren’t ready to embrace the process.

Here are the five readiness factors:

Capacity

Successfully project-managing a research project takes time and effort. At Patternmakers we ask our clients appoint a project manager to shepherd projects from kick-off to completion and implementation. It’s best that the project manager sets aside a half day each week through the duration of the project. This means they can coordinate meetings, provide feedback on deliverables, and help communicate the right messages about the project to stakeholders.

Creating capacity, and building it into your workplan, ensures that you can manage the project effectively and engage stakeholders to get the maximum benefit from the process.

Curiosity

At its essence, research is about asking questions, and seeking robust evidence to answer them with accuracy. Evaluation is all of those things, plus making a judgment or drawing a conclusion at the end of it. One of my mentors, Professor Roberta Ryan, taught me early in my career that if you already know the answer, it’s not actually research.

We’re looking to work with people that are thirsty for new insight, that don’t know it all already, and they are ready to open their minds to discovering new insights and learning new ideas. This is where the magic happens.

Candour

I believe that those who openly share their learnings with others are leaders. It can be scary to put our hands up and tell others about things that didn’t work. But for our organisations to progress, we need to cultivate a culture of openness, learning and reflection.

I believe that every program manager and director has something valuable to share. I also firmly believe that we all need a ‘critical friend’, who can tell it to you straight, while practicing deep empathy.

At Patternmakers we’re honoured to play that role for our clients and partners. And there’s nothing more refreshing than simply telling it like it is.

Commitment

If you think it’s about collecting data, you’ve missed the point. Research isn’t really about the data, it isn’t even about analysis or findings. The value comes from identifying actionable insight - and implementing it. This requires enormous commitment. It also delivers enormous value. That’s why our projects don’t end with a report on key findings. We work with our clients to identify opportunities, prioritise the most important actions and develop implementation plans. We also follow up to help see it through, and reflect on the impact, which to be honest is often extraordinary. But it starts with commitment to continuous improvement.

Care

There’s a reason Patternmakers established a specialism in culture, creativity and community. It’s because we care deeply about the arts, cultural expression, recreation and bringing people together.

I left the professional services world having worked with people and organisations with dubious ethics. Today, I’m very deliberate in selecting clients and partners that demonstrate exceptionally high standards of integrity and care for others.

We develop respectful, warm, long-term relationships with our clients, who we care for, and who care for us. It makes us want to jump out of bed each morning and bring extraordinary energy to our work.

If these factors resonate with you, you might be ready to embark on something extraordinary. Good luck!

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About the Author

Tandi Palmer Williams
Managing Director

Patternmakers’ Founder and Managing Director Tandi Palmer Williams is an experienced consultant and arts and culture research specialist.  

Between 2013 and 2015, she was Research Manager for the Digital R&D Fund for the Arts, based at Nesta in London.

 
 

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How research can help you shape new products & services

Research processes that can help project managers shape products, reduce risk and optimise around user needs. This article covers three relatively simple research methods that can be done at your desk, and don’t require big budgets or advanced technical skills.

I’m often asked how research can be applied in organisations to shape new products and services, particularly technology projects. During my time as Research Manager for the Digital R&D Fund for the Arts at Nesta, I wrote about research processes that can help project managers shape products, reduce risk and optimise around user needs.

Below are three relatively simple research methods that can be done at your desk, and don’t require big budgets or advanced technical skills.  You can make these as big or small as you need to, but it’s important to have a plan, be systematic, and maintain an open mind as you go.

Following these three steps can help you ensure your project is innovating on current practice. They can also help you to set achievable objectives and a realistic budget, and align your work with key communities and potential partners.

1. Analyse the competition

Ask yourself: What is already out there? How are we different?

Analysing the current ‘state of the art’ is a critical first step in determining if an idea has legs, and how it can innovate on what’s already out there. Before starting any development work, have a close look at what others are doing in this space - and how existing platforms could be repurposed. Take a look at organisations like yours in other countries, ask around, and try and identify comparable products or services in other industries.

It can be interesting to identify what ‘the competition’ are doing right – and what they could do better. Once again, it’s good to be systematic, and to try and get as much of the ‘inside scoop’ as possible (How much did it cost? What is their ‘niche’? How many people are actively using it?)

For example, the Royal Opera House conducted a ‘competitor audit’ to help them prioritise features for their mobile project, and what they liked about existing offerings that they wanted to build on.

Scanning the competition can help you refine and mould your concept, and identify exciting windows of opportunity. It can also help you identify useful platforms, software or channels that you could use, and people you could partner with.

2. Measure the potential

Ask yourself: Just how big is the opportunity? What can we realistically hope to achieve?

Before you start to work on detailed plans and budgets, it’s worth taking a step back to measure the potential, or if you are exploring a new business model, ‘size the market’.

From experience, I know how easy it is to over-estimate the potential user-base for a product or service, which can lead to disappointing project outcomes. If you’re building an app to promote concerts to young people in London, work out how many young people there are in London, what handsets they use and what disposable incomes they have.  If you’re going to promote it through the e-newsletter, work out how many people open the newsletter to give a sense of how many people you could reach.

For instance, artsdepot are segmenting the 65+ market in particular catchment areas, and making assumptions about conversion rates and sales potential to estimate the market for their ‘Silver Service’ membership scheme.

Remember that apps require someone to be aware of them, want them, have the right phone, know how to download them, actually download them, create an account, etc.

By measuring the range of potential, you can then set achievable targets and work out how much you can afford to invest in development, and in acquiring customers. It can also help you make technical decisions that suit your target market, such as prioritising operating systems and designing key features.

3. Review the literature

Ask yourself: Has someone tried this before? Did it work? If not, why not?

By understanding other research in the field, you can clarify the key issues for your project and navigate through obstacles that others have stumbled on.  It can also help you to build your credibility as an expert and innovator in the sector, which can be helpful when trying to attract partners, funding and media coverage.

Reviewing the literature helped Marcus Winter identify the key features of game design for the Museum of Design in Plastics, and enabled Roma Patel to quickly structure their user evaluation.

The University of Leicester has this great guide to Doing a Literature Review. There are also fantastic resources such as Kings College London’s CultureCase to help you make sense of complex academic papers.

It’s a great idea to document your literature review, but if you are stretched for time, the process can be as simple as sharing knowledge with clever colleagues around the coffee table. Whatever method you choose, try to be systematic, so you don’t miss anything, and ask yourself ‘so what?’ as you go, so you can distil the implications for your project.

Originally published by Nesta as ‘3 research methods to give R&D the best chance of success’

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About the Author

Tandi Palmer Williams
Managing Director

Patternmakers’ Founder and Managing Director Tandi Palmer Williams is an experienced consultant and arts and culture research specialist.  

Between 2013 and 2015, she was Research Manager for the Digital R&D Fund for the Arts, based at Nesta in London.

 
 

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Power moves: How evaluation can help you prepare for multi-year funding applications

Are you applying for multi-year funding in 2019? Here are five things you can do to strengthen your work, consolidate impact and improve your chances of success in upcoming funding rounds. 

Are you applying for multi-year funding in 2019? Then you need to get your evidence base sorted! And it’s not too late to start.

Here are five things you can do to strengthen your work, consolidate impact and put your best foot forward in upcoming funding rounds. 

1.     STRUCTURE: Ensure your evaluation framework is up to date

If you don’t already have an evaluation framework in place for the organisation, now is the time to map your program logic or theory of change, and identify some questions relating to your efficiency, effectiveness and ultimate impact. Depending on your size, you might think about this at the project, program or organisation level – or a combination.

There are a bunch of free guides and tools for this out there, but we think the one in the Program planning and evaluation guide from the Australian Institute of Family Studies has just the right amount of detail. 

 If you’ve already developed this (or there’s something similar buried in your share drive somewhere), dust it off at your next team meeting and do a quick discussion on what aspects might need to be refreshed. Appoint someone to lead the work of getting it up to date, approved and communicated to your board and staff. 

2.     GATHER: Analyse your reach and impact  

Impact evaluations are fast becoming an essential management tool for arts and culture organisations. They assist teams to understand the extent to which they are having an impact in the world, what is working well, and what isn’t, and exactly what factors are delivering the best outcomes. They can also help teams to work out the gaps and opportunities in their current programs and clarify the best future direction.

For instance, the Australia Council’s funding guidelines assessment criteria talk about identifying impact and need, which can be demonstrated through evaluation.

You can evaluate your impact through qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods research, depending on what is most appropriate to address the priority questions in your evaluation framework.

Some basic qualitative questions to ask are: 

What was the best part about Program X?

What could we improve?

What have you taken away from your experience with Program X?

Some quantitative questions to ask are:

On a scale from 1 to 5, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you with Program X?

On a scale from 1 to 5, how likely are you to recommend X to a friend or colleague?

You can also ask this last one on a scale from 0 to 10, and use the results to calculate a Net Promoter Score which can be benchmarked with other programs and events.

3.     TEST: Gather evidence about what is needed in future

As a part of the strategic planning process, it can be helpful to gather hard data on what your community, participants and/or stakeholders want to see in future. This could include running a consultation process using interviews or focus groups, or running a survey of your stakeholders.

You can also prompt people with a list of potential new initiatives or priorities, and ask people to select their top three. Doing a temperature check like this can be enormously useful in helping you prioritise limited resources – and it gives you an evidence base to fall back on if people challenge your investments.

For example, Creative Plus Business conducted a survey to find out what people wanted from a creative business conference. Collecting data from their community gave them confidence that their plans were on track and is helping ensure the likelihood of a successful event.

As our colleague Bridget Jones at Wavelength said in a recent post, ‘One of the great things about planning is that it helps managers make the tough decisions about what to do - and what not to do - so they can be more successful.’ She also refers to some useful planning templates from Bridgespan to help you keep it real.

Your questions should partly be open ended, e.g.: ‘What would you like to see from us moving forward?’ or ‘What ideas can you share for our program in the next three years?’

4.     SCAN: Analyse the case for investment

Before you lock down your strategic priorities, it’s important to conduct a scan of the wider environment. Analysing big picture statistical trends is an important step in prioritising initiatives and working out the case for investment.

You can do this by examining reliable sources such as the Australian Bureau of Statistics, thought leaders like Nesta (check out their predictions for 2019), data aggregators like Google Trends and academic research news articles like The Conversation.

Patternmakers also offer a series of short talks, designed for staff meetings, board meetings and strategic planning days (contact info@thepatternmakers.com.au for more information).

Your goal here is to look for alignment (or otherwise) between your plans, and where the world is heading in the next 1-5 years. For instance, topics like mental health are rising in importance, whereas some retail industries are under threat.

According to the Australia Council’s Strategic Plan Framework, you can consider producing a strategic/context analysis which summarises the strategic issues you expect your organisation to face over the next 3 years. This is often based on an assessment of your internal and external environments to identify the organisations strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and challenges. It is a distillation of analysis and research undertaken by your organisation to underpin the artistic choices you have made and the goals you have set.

5.     PLAN: Work out how you’ll monitor and evaluate your progress

It’s good practice to set up your evaluation framework and methodology before you start a new funding period, new project or initiative. It doesn’t have to be super detailed, and things will undoubtedly change, but showing the assessment committee that you’ve thought about this in advance is just smart.

The key questions are basically what, when, how, why and who will be monitoring and evaluating your progress. How is the big one here, and specifically, how it will be resourced.

As a rule of thumb, I usually advise leaders in arts and culture organisations to set aside 3-5% of their resources for any given period or program for monitoring and evaluation. This doesn’t mean spending 5% on hiring a consultant, most of the work should be done internally, on things like the steps above. It’s also important to be growing your team’s skills – through things like training in research and evaluation.

___

So there you have it: Structure, Gather, Test, Scan & Plan. The geek’s guide to getting ready for your strongest application yet.

If this all sounds overwhelming, and you think there’s a case to invest in the help of a professional, you can get in touch to schedule your free consultation by emailing info@thepatternmakers.com.au. We can provide resources and templates to help you, recommend training that would suit your team, and scope out where you need professional support.

 

 

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Evaluating with the next generation

In 2018, Patternmakers is working with the Museum of Contemporary Art to research the impact of their GENEXT program on young people now, and later in life. 

The team have developed a bespoke methodology to empower the MCA Youth Committee to co-design the evaluation, and lead creative data collection exercises throughout the year.

In 2018, Patternmakers will be working with the Museum of Contemporary Art to research the impact of their GENEXT program on young people now, and later in life. 

GENEXT is a peer-led, festival-style event, programmed by the MCA’s Youth Committee exclusively for young people aged 12–18. It’s inspired by the artists, works and ideas that shape the MCA’s exhibition program throughout the year. You can read more about the program here.

The program has been running since 2005 – and has seen over 26,948 young people through their doors (but who’s counting!) from across Greater Sydney and beyond – from as far afield as Wollongong, the Blue Mountains and Newcastle. 

Because of this reach, we’re really excited to hear what impact attending GENEXT has in the short term, and over the long. Think: self-expression, confidence, empathy, cultural and social awareness, friendships. Also think: challenging conversations, visual literacy, and diverse careers inside and outside of the arts, all influenced by the program. 

GENEXT is all about peer-led engagement, and so we knew we would need a bespoke methodology for the project. It would need to be owned by young people, and combine rigorous research techniques with creative processes to make it as engaging and meaningful as possible. 

In April we met with MCA stakeholders to co-design the evaluation, including Young Creatives Coordinator Jo Higgins, artist educators and past and present Youth Committee members.

Co-designing the evaluation: Jo Higgins, Dylan Mighell and Jodie Whalen

Co-designing the evaluation: Jo Higgins, Dylan Mighell and Jodie Whalen

Some key features of our approach from here are:

  • Providing opportunities for Youth Committee members to learn and take part in the research process, and a couple will be joining us in the field: collecting data and conducting interviews

  • Collecting data in creative ways: in addition to depth interviews, focus groups and an online survey, we are working with the team to hear from attendees through workshop activities at some of the GENEXTs this year.

On a side note: If you ever attended GENEXT in your younger days AND like filling out user-friendly, accessible surveys, let us know. We can make sure you get on the list.

Strengthening, growing and sharing the different ways arts and culture organisations engage young people is very close to our hearts – especially with two new little Patternmakers born into our team in the last year. And we’re thrilled to be working with the MCA on this project.

Keep your eyes peeled early 2019 to hear about the findings. 

 

OTHER READING

If you can’t wait until then, but are passionate about the arts and young people, check out our report on the impact the Australian Theatre for Young People is having on the mental health and wellbeing of young people here.

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Brooke Boyce
Research Manager

Brooke is experienced in delivering complex quantitative and qualitative research projects, and is our in-house expert on all things methodological. 

 
 

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Inclusive and Accessible Research: what we learnt from evaluating Unlimited

We're excited to be continuing our work in the arts and disability field this year and thought we'd take a moment to share a bit about what we've learnt... 

After evaluating Unlimited in 2015, two independent researchers turned the lens on themselves. Here they share what they learnt from evaluating the accessibility of their work. 

In 2015, we – Morwenna Collett and Tandi Williams – were commissioned by Shape and Artsadmin to answer the question: ‘Is Unlimited changing the way in which disability and creativity are viewed within the cultural sector, and if so, how can it do it better?’ – see more here.

We learnt much about the programme, but we also learnt an enormous amount about how to conduct inclusive and accessible research and evaluation. We want to share what we learnt as broadly as possible, to ensure other researchers, evaluators and consultants can work towards equal access to participate in their work. Here are some of the things to consider:

Design

Involve disabled people from the outset: it was critical to have direct experience of disability in our team, and actively seek out as wide a range of people as possible to participate in our work, including people with different backgrounds and experiences, and disabled people who traditionally have faced a higher rate of exclusion from activities.

We asked absolutely everyone if they had any access requirements (even if we knew them) and made sure we set aside the resources to meet those requirements. Beyond technical aspects of accessibility, it was also important for us to be open and welcoming, and encourage people to give us feedback, so we could adjust our approach as required.

Fieldwork

An extended exploratory period was key to ensure we fully understood the issues, and a mixed-methods approach helped us widen accessibility so more people could participate.

Throughout our fieldwork, we offered accessible formats of all materials and resources so people could participate in whichever way suited them. During our qualitative phase, some preferred to be interviewed face-to-face, while others opted for Skype, instant chat or email. We learnt that everything – from the time of day, to duration, to location – matters.

For our quantitative research, we opted for an accessible programme, Surveymonkey, and tested it with a visually impaired person using a screen reader – again, offering alternative formats was valuable. To ensure learning-disabled stakeholders could participate, we asked their mentor to assist them to complete a questionnaire together.

More often than not, we managed to find inexpensive ways to meet access requirements, such as using accessible cultural venues as interview venues. The financial costs of access were lower than we expected; most of the time, true accessibility just required a bit of extra time and effort, such as extending interviews to avoid rushing a conversation.

Analysis and reporting

One of the simplest tools for accessibility is using the right font. We recommend that report content text be no smaller then 12 point font, preferably sans serif style. Any text should strongly contrast with the background colour and it’s best to avoid featuring text over the top of any images.

We produced a Word version as well as a PDF version of each of our reports, to ensure they were accessible to screenreader users. Any infographics or images had alt-text descriptions, so that visually-impaired people didn’t miss out on content.

We didn’t create any web content – but we learnt that when publishing material online, websites must comply with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, and any video content should be text captioned (to be accessible for deaf people) and audio described (for visually impaired people).

Conclusion

We learnt so much from working with Unlimited and have carried those lessons into our other projects and workplaces.

One of the tasks we undertook at the start of our project was to develop an Access Statement, which we used to set the intention for the project and plan what we would do to maximise access at every stage of the research (not just the outputs!). This got us thinking: could something like this be useful for other researchers and consultants? Could it help others embed an attitude of inclusion upfront, and design research that was more accessible? We’d love to hear your thoughts, so take a look and help us spread the word.

Our vision is for every researcher, every consultant, every author, every speaker, and every project to have an inclusive mind-set and the philosophy of being open, proactive and responsive to ensuring that everyone can participate and be included in everyone’s work.

Originally posted on unlimitedimpact.org.uk

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Tandi Williams
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Patternmakers’ Founder and Managing Director Tandi Williams is an experienced consultant and arts and culture research specialist.  

 
 

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5 Data Trends for the Arts in 2017

We've been thinking about where arts and culture research is heading in 2017 so we're sharing the top five trends on our radar.  

At Patternmakers, if we don’t have our heads down in data models, we have our heads up in the clouds – the data clouds, that is.

We’ve been thinking about where arts and culture research is heading in 2017, and here we share with you the top five trends on our radar.
 

1. Data culture

In 2016, we saw more arts professionals becoming curious about data, and in 2017, we’ll see a data culture begin to flourish in the arts. This will be evident everywhere from conference programmes to new job titles like Data Scientist and Arts Analyst, popping up in larger organisations.

But as the saying goes, the future is here, it’s just not evenly distributed, and some parts of the arts are more ready for data culture than others. We find it's less about resources and more about leadership – and we're going to see more data savvy leaders coming of age very soon.
 

2. Less surveying

That's right - we're predicting (and advocating for) less surveying in 2017. Yes, surveys will always play a role in research, but quite frankly our industry is over surveying and we're advising many of our clients to start scaling back. Respondent fatigue is one critical reason, but there are other reasons (like #3 below) that surveying is no longer likely to be the best methodology.

Survey Monkey has made it too easy for anyone to whip out a survey without setting aside the necessary resources and time to properly analyse the data. For a survey to be meaningful, it must align to a broader strategy which details how the results will be used and applied.
 

3. More ethnography

Instead of surveying, we’ll see more arts research projects use qualitative techniques. Interviews and focus groups are already standard practice – but we're predicting the rise of the less popular but cost-effective ethnography, with its digital cousins netnography and webnography.

Ethnography, which involves the systematic observation of people, we believe has enormous potential for helping us understand how people relate to cultural spaces and participate in the arts. We’ll also see more online focus groups and discussion boards which are gaining popularity in the private sector.
 

4. Experimentation and action research

As the pace of change accelerates, so too must our research methods. Action research involves a continuous process of action and reflection, where we test and learn rapidly by doing.

This is one of the best ways to extract tangible value from research, but it involves close collaboration between researchers and practitioners over time. We think the spirit of experimentation, though not for the faint-hearted, is ideally suited to the arts and its time is nigh.
 

5. Insights to action

If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail – implementing research insights and recommendations is just as important as conducting the research in the first place. But resources do need to be set aside for interpretation workshops, action planning and implementation to get the most out of research resources. 

Think bigger picture when planning your research. When defining research objectives and drafting project plans, include what actions you will take, what you will do with the research insights – and importantly, how it will be managed.
 

What do you think about these trends? Are you noticing them in your workplace?

If you’d like to learn how to make the most of the data you have, or find out how the future of your organisation could benefit from these trends, have a chat with us - we offer complimentary 1-hr consultations to help you refine your ideas. Contact us today.

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Tandi Williams
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Patternmakers’ Founder and Managing Director Tandi Williams is an experienced consultant and arts and culture research specialist.  

 
 

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The art of asking (good) questions

The speaker wraps up their presentation, thanks the crowd, everyone claps. Then comes the awkward moment when the convenor asks for questions. *Deafening silence*

Sound familiar?...

The speaker wraps up their presentation, thanks the crowd, everyone claps. Then comes the awkward moment when the convenor asks for questions. *Deafening silence*

Sound familiar?

As a researcher, consultant and Committee Member for the Sydney Arts Management Advisory Group, I attend dozens of presentations and panel discussions each month – and many a Q&A makes me want to #facepalm.

Asking good questions is hard – but I am realising it’s really important. And I’m happy to put my metaphorical hand up and say it’s something I want to get better at.

In education settings, questions are a critical tool for learning, and in professional forums questions can be the key to real understanding and knowledge exchange for mutual benefit.

But easier said than done, right? Eric Sanders at Big Think says, ‘Anyone can speak in public, but not everyone knows how to ask a good question. You will have a much better chance of having your question heard and receiving a clear response if you practice and improve your question-asking skills.’

So how exactly does one ask a good question? After some digging, here’s what I found:

Prepare to be active

This requires both homework and the right mindset. Reading up beforehand can help you anticipate what the session is about – and understand the context more fully.

If you’ve chosen to be there – really make a commitment to concentrate and stay engaged. If you’re late – or tuning out – you might miss the part where they already answered your question. Oops.

Just like at a performance, sitting at or near the front often helps me focus (and I find I get more out of it if I can see the whites of their eyes!)

Bring a notepad

Taking notes might seem like hard work, but it can help clarify and crystallise key take-outs. If a question forms in your mind – write it down as you go – otherwise they can disappear into the ether.

I find pen and paper often works better than jotting things in my phone – and I can more easily refer to my notes when it’s time to speak.

Remember that whatever age and stage you’re at, your perspective is relevant. You don’t need to have grey hair to be worthy of the microphone. If something is mysterious to you – it probably is to others in the audience.

Follow your gut – but do so respectfully. Science Professor explains, ‘As a spectator at a talk, I enjoy a well-posed killer question, no matter who delivers it, but I think that everyone, from first-year students to ancient professors, can be most effective at asking these questions if the questions are simple and polite.’

Devise your question

Mind blank? Ask yourself: if I were to leave this room and try to apply what is being talked about, what would I need to know?

Speakers are often leaders in their field and if there is opportunity to ask for help – we should be seizing it with both hands (or one raised hand, rather). It’s also an opportunity for them to understand YOU better.

Can you push the speakers to be more specific about recommending an action, or giving an example? Is there something inconsistent in what has been said? What have they missed?

Philosopher Guy Longworth says there are 7 types of questions, including ‘the clarification’, ‘the comparison’ and ‘the counter-example’.

If in doubt, ask them about their personal journey. Speakers often skip over challenges or failures, and asking them about their mistakes or lessons learned often yields interesting answers!

Put your hand up

ot really any way around this one. Don’t think, just do it. Nice and straight now.

When it’s your turn, remember to breathe. Public speaking expert Lisa B Marshallsays ‘when you take the time to fill your lungs, it’s as if your voice is riding on a supportive cushion of air, and your throat muscles can stay relaxed.  Your voice will carry better and have a richer, more pleasing sound.’

A good trick from the acting world is to imagine that the inside of your mouth and throat are as large as the room you are speaking in.

Offer some details about yourself (name & role at a minimum) before you ask your question. This will help the speakers, and the rest of the audience, understand where you’re coming from. It’s often nice to thank the speakers for sharing and say what you found interesting about their presentation.

If you’re battling to express your question succinctly, give a brief example of what you mean. Research shows that telling a story helps create empathy – and is more likely to be remembered.

Leave it open-ended

Asking open-ended questions will get insights and additional information you might not have known existed. Lifehack explains that questions with “would,” “should,” “is,” “are,” and “do you think” all lead to yes or no. Questions with “who,” “what,” “where,” “when,” “how,” or “why” lead to people giving some thought to their answers and provide much more information.

Tip – make sure you actually ask a question. There is nothing worse than someone who starts with ‘this is more of a comment than a question’. Even if you have an idea to share, and loads of experience in the area, finish with a question to throw it back to the speaker.

Listen

If you haven’t quite got what you’re looking for, don’t be afraid to probe a little more – ask them a follow up question such as, “What makes you say that?” or “Why do you think that?”

But in general – listen. SAMAG Committee Member Alli Burness said, ‘if it’s anything like user experience interviews, you should listen at least twice as much as you speak, and don’t interrupt.

Once you’ve had your go, say thank you and let the moderator move on. You can always approach the speaker after the session to discuss in further detail (and most speakers enjoy the attention too).

Now give yourself a high-five for asking a great question. Next time you’re at a public forum – remember how good it feels to contribute.

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Tandi Williams
Managing Director

Patternmakers’ Founder and Managing Director Tandi Williams is an experienced consultant and arts and culture research specialist.  

 

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