# Plan and moderate a focus group

A complete focus group plan: recruiting screener, discussion guide, moderation techniques that get honest opinions, and an analysis template.

- Topic: Marketing & Brand
- Framework: RTF
- Level: Standard
- Tags: Productivity, Plan, Research, Fill-in Template
- Source: https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/prompts/plan-and-moderate-a-focus-group

## Prompt

```text
Help me plan and run a focus group.

**What we want to learn:** [RESEARCH QUESTIONS - e.g. "why trial users don't upgrade", "reaction to new packaging"]
**Decision this will inform:** [WHAT WE WILL DO WITH THE RESULTS]
**Who we need:** [PARTICIPANT PROFILE, who to exclude]
**Format:** [in person / online, number of groups, length]
**Stimulus to show:** [concepts, prototypes, ads, packaging, none]
**Incentive and budget:** [DETAILS]

Deliver:
1. **Whether a focus group is the right method,** or if interviews or a survey would answer this better.
2. **Recruiting screener:** 8-12 questions that qualify the right people without revealing what we want to hear.
3. **Discussion guide** with timings: warm-up, broad exploration, specific topics, stimulus reactions, wrap-up. Use open, neutral questions.
4. **Techniques to get honest, varied opinions:** individual writing before group discussion, projective exercises, ranking tasks, asking for disagreement, how to handle a dominant participant and draw out quiet ones.
5. **Moderator rules:** avoid leading questions, do not defend the product, watch for groupthink and politeness bias.
6. **Logistics and ethics checklist:** informed consent, recording permission, observer etiquette, data privacy.
7. **Analysis template:** a table for themes, supporting quotes, how many participants raised each point, and implications, plus a note on what focus groups cannot tell us (they show reasons and reactions, not how many customers feel this way).
```

## What to fill in

- WHAT WE WILL DO WITH THE RESULTS
- PARTICIPANT PROFILE, who to exclude
- in person / online, number of groups, length
- concepts, prototypes, ads, packaging, none
- DETAILS

Free to copy and use. From ThinkWithPrompt (https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/), a library of 2,663 curated AI prompts.