The goal in collecting people’s stories is to give them the opportunity and safety to share their hopes and fears. The key narrative to be explored with any audience:
Their near term/long term goals in life
The allies helping them achieve these goals
The antagonists and obstacles in the way of getting their goals
Their greatest fear and greatest hope
These questions can be presented based on an issue (“How is the economy/other races/politicians helping or hurting your life goals?” etc.), or in open discussion. The groups should not be given lists to choose from, or yes/no answers, unless it’s to draw out their thoughts. Again, the goal is unguarded, open discussion.
People are often not conscious of their own narratives, and open discussion can reveal shared themes. The interviewer should steer discussion towards unexpected narratives that might be revealed. The goal of the interviews is to have a wealth of opinions and anecdotes about the key topics. Most people are not storytellers, and few are aware of how they see themselves and others in the world. Discussion will be contradictory, jumbled, and will require interpretation by storytelling experts.
As stated earlier, these discoveries may not be foremost in the audience’s thoughts, or clearly defined and established. The goal of the discussion is discovering emerging or subconscious narratives and beliefs, which can be more resonant and powerful than politically correct or acceptable beliefs. For example, a discussion about fear of crime can be coded racism, or loss of opportunity in the workplace can mean resentment toward women and minorities.
Such discoveries emerge from discussion, which means that multiple choice questions are not useful in this process. Nor should the goal be getting people to have epiphanies about their biases. Instead, the discussion should be open and allowed to meander. Depth and self-awareness is not required of the participants. The work of unearthing these narratives comes with reviewing the transcripts, and gleaning what lies beneath.