Logistics are important. Find a room (preferably a conference room) that is not too big, too noisy, or too centrally located. A small, out-of-the-way classroom or even a trailer is better than the media center with a lot of traffic. Be sure to do some preliminary “warm ups” to introduce group members and make them feel comfortable. Don’t appear too clinical or participants won’t trust you enough to open up. Avoid “lead-ins” but ask lots of open-ended questions. If you opt to record responses, use microphones that sit on the table.

Since a group of human beings can take a conversation any number of directions, it’s important to clarify the constructs that are being pursued. Ideally, this isn’t simply a group interview, where questions are narrow; you can get that kind of feedback with a survey. It’s critical that focus-group facilitators fully understands the big questions so that they can steer the participants' conversation around to bear on the topics of interest.