How do you put interview questions in good order?

Here is one example of a thoughtful order for the questions.

Start simple and answerable.

This is a group made up of people who like vegetables. Tell me which vegetable is your favorite. What do you like most about ________?

Move to general knowledge questions that help set the context.

What types of green vegetables do you and your family eat in the spring?

How many servings of green vegetables do you like to eat in an ordinary day?

Concentrate the key questions requiring the most revealing answers toward the middle and end of the focus groups, and use multiple methods here.

When did you last eat asparagus?

What are the qualities you admire most in asparagus? What are its worst drawbacks?

If you could change one thing about asparagus, what would it be?

For those of you who like asparagus, how much asparagus do you like to eat at one meal?

For those of you who hate asparagus, what can you imagine doing to it that would make it more appealing to you?

Have a section that checks out products or approaches.

[Showing two kinds of asparagus] Which of these types of asparagus looks most appealing to you? What is it that appeals to you about X asparagus?

Here is a magazine ad for asparagus that is aimed for major markets in this part of the country. What effect does this ad have on your plans to buy asparagus on your next shopping trip?

End with an extremely open-ended request for advice.

What advice would you give people who want to promote asparagus eating in North America, to help them sell more of their product?

Next: How can you turn good interview questions into great interview questions?