I remember watching the movie Shrek with my youngest daughter.
It made me think of an interview technique I used as a detective.
There is a scene where Shrek is telling Donkey that ogres are like onions.
Shrek: Ogres are like onions.
Donkey: They stink?
Shrek: Yes. No.
Donkey: Oh, they make you cry.
Shrek: No.
Donkey: Oh, you leave em out in the sun, they get all brown, start sproutin’ little white hairs.
Shrek: No. Layers. Onions have layers. Ogres have layers. Onions have layers. You get it? We both have layers.
Donkey: Oh, you both have layers. Oh. You know, not everybody like onions.
Just like ogres have layers, so do people.
To understand these layers in interviews, we have to use a special interviewing technique called laddering.
Laddering is similar to peeling an onion—it involves asking increasingly specific and detailed questions to uncover layer upon layer of information, with each layer building upon the previous one.
The goal of laddering is to understand the underlying thought processes and motivations that drive an individual's behaviors and decisions.
Here is how it works:
Start with broad, open-ended questions.
Ask a follow-up question that builds upon the answer to the answer(s) to the broad question you asked.
For example, let's say you are trying to understand what motivates people at work. You might start by asking a broad question such as "What motivates you in your work?"
The interviewee might respond by saying that they are motivated by the opportunity to make a difference in the world.
You would then follow up with more specific questions such as, "What specifically about making a difference motivates you?" or "Can you give an example of a time when you felt that you were making a difference through your work?"
This will get you closer to understanding an individual's underlying values, beliefs, and motivations.
Wash. Rinse. Repeat.
Remember, the follow-up questions should be more specific and detailed and should help you delve deeper into the interviewee's thought processes and motivations.
Laddering can help you "peel the onion" and identify the specific values, beliefs, and motivations that are most important to the interviewee and offers a deeper understanding of a person's thought processes.