Audience needs interview guide for event organisers
You are about to design an event for a group you think you know, and a few conversations would test that.
The short answer
Interview five to eight people from the audience you want in the room, for twenty to thirty minutes each, before the format and programme are fixed. Ask what they do now, what stops them attending, and what would make a day away worth it.
Ask about behaviour and past events, not opinions about your ideas. People are poor at predicting what they would attend, and good at describing what they did last time.
Decide who to interview
Pick for range, not for friendliness. Include a regular attendee, a lapsed member, a newer member, someone from a smaller or more distant organisation, and a person who decides whether staff may attend.
Hold back on committee members unless they are also in the target audience. Their view is already in the room.
A sequence for the conversation
- Open with their role and what a normal month looks like, so you hear the constraints on their time.
- Ask about the last professional event they attended: why they went, what they remember, what they would have changed.
- Ask about one they decided not to attend, and what tipped the decision.
- Ask what they need to learn or decide in the next year that an event might help with.
- Ask who else must agree for them to attend, and what that person looks for, such as cost, days out of office or recognised learning hours.
- Close by asking who else you should speak to, and whether they may be contacted again.
Question bank by topic
| Topic | Useful question | Listen for |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | What would make this event worth a day of your time? | Outcomes, not topics. |
| Timing | Which weeks or days are hard for you, and why? | Reporting cycles, school terms, other events. |
| Travel and place | How do you usually get to events of this kind, and what is too far? | Real limits, to be checked, not assumed. |
| Format | Describe a session you would never forget. | Discussion, practice or expert input. |
| Cost and approval | Who has to approve your attendance and what do they ask? | The real buyer. |
| Language and access | Is there anything that would make attending harder for you or your colleagues? | Needs to pass to the competent party, not solve in the interview. |
Turning notes into decisions
After each interview, write three things within a day: a fact you did not know, a constraint, and a quote worth keeping. After the last, group the notes by theme and mark which affect scope, date, place or format.
Carry findings into the event feasibility assessment and the format selection. Keep identifying details out of anything circulated beyond the committee.
Worked example · Fictional example
A fictional association interviews six members
Fictional organisation and figures, illustrative only.
A fictional association of engineering firms is deciding between a one-day conference and two half-day seminars. Its secretariat interviews six people across firm sizes.
Four say they can leave the office for half a day but not a full one, two say their director only approves events with recognised learning hours, and one says she skipped last year because the registration form asked for details she did not have. The committee moves format to Undecided, adds a question to check learning-hours recognition with the relevant body, and shortens the registration form.
Use this yourself
Interview notes template and opening script
Use one page per interview. Read the opening aloud so each person knows how the notes will be used.
- Opening line: We are deciding how to design this event and want to hear how you actually work. There are no right answers, and your name will not be attached to what you say.
- Interviewee role, organisation size, attendance history:
- Typical month and time constraints:
- Last event attended: why, what stuck, what to change:
- An event skipped: what tipped it:
- What they need to learn or decide in the next year:
- Who else approves attendance, and what they look for:
- Anything that would make attending harder (pass to the competent party where specialist):
- New fact / constraint / quote:
- Who else to speak to, and consent to contact again:
Handle it in-house, or bring in help?
Your team can usually handle this when
- Your secretariat knows the members and can book short calls.
- The event is a repeat and you need to adjust, not redesign.
- Someone can keep notes consistent across interviews.
Outside planning help earns its fee when
- You are launching a new event for an audience you do not yet reach.
- The committee holds firm opinions that conflict, and an outside person can ask without a stake.
- A funder expects evidence of audience need before releasing budget.
Want the interviews run and the findings used?
An Event Blueprint can include a short audience-needs round: a question set agreed with your committee, the interviews or a structured call-out, and a summary of what changes in scope, date, place and format. Findings go into the brief, so the plan reflects what the audience said.
Questions organisers ask
How many interviews are enough?
Five to eight from different segments usually shows the main patterns. Stop when new interviews repeat what you already heard.
Should we use a survey instead?
A survey suits confirming something you already know across a large list. Interviews suit finding out what you do not yet know. A short survey after interviews can test the findings.
Can committee members be interviewed?
Only if they belong to the target audience. Their views are already shaping the decisions.
What about personal data?
Tell people how notes are used and who sees them, and keep names off circulated summaries. If you are unsure about privacy obligations, ask the person responsible for data protection in your organisation.
Related resources
Content record: Draft. Written from the cited sources and checked by automated rules; not yet independently reviewed.