Ricardo López trains qualitative research consultants on how to achieve the ultimate level of rapport with focus group participants.
Article location: http://www.hispanicresearch.com/articles/ModeratingWithSpirit.pdf
This article, written by Ricardo López, was published in the QRCA publication Views - December 2009. It focuses on the whole style of moderating; the way of relating to participants.
Ricardo discusses ways to build a stronger personal connection with any respondent, a connection that will lead to more authentic and truthful communication, and more powerful insights for the research. He refers to this heightened level of rapport as achieving a “spiritual connection.”
Ricardo came to many of his insights about "moderating with spirit" from his work with Hispanic respondents. His efforts to develop rapport led him to insights about the importance of being energized, having fun, celebrating, and following your instincts – to give just a few examples - insights that are relevant to all QRC's.
Ricardo teaches how to get the best insight in any situation that a moderator may encounter by paying attention to his or her spiritual side. He contends that there is perfection even when things do not work out and shows the reader how to change things around to make everything work. “The truth is that if you look back at every instant when everything apparently went wrong, there is always a lesson that was learned or the situation actually turned out to work to your advantage.”
This article follows a series of presentations on the subject that Mr. López has delivered to audiences at various QRCA events.