It’s All in How You Ask: The Nuances of Survey Question Design (cross post with actionable data blog)

If you do not ask the right questions, you do not get the right answers.


– Edward Hodnett, 20th century poet and writer

At Evaluation 2014, the American Evaluation Association’s annual conference, the incredible Kim Firth Leonard (find her over at actionable data blog) and I facilitated a 90-minute skill building workshop on survey question design. Kim and I have co-authored several posts on our shared passion for survey design. You can find these posts here, here, and here. We were thrilled to geek out with such a great group ready to humor us by taking our pop quiz, listening intently as we shared the science behind answering questions about behavior, nodding as we reviewed fundamental principles of survey design, and genuinely engaging with us in exploring better ways to approach surveys. 

Presentation Principles: The Audience Engagement Strategy Book

Presentation Principle:

Audience engagement through interactive strategies is key to a successful presentation.

A presentation is a precious opportunity – Seth Godin

In summer 2014, I had the opportunity to write the Audience Engagement Strategy Book for the American Evaluation Association’s Potent Presentations (p2i) Initiative (available for free download on the p2i website). I’d written about audience engagement before (see here and here), but this time wanted to share specific interactive strategies that come with sets of directions and steps, and that can be customized to fit a presenter’s specific context.