Strictly John Sargeant - Classic lessons for public consultations – from an unlikely source

So much has been written about this seemingly-trivial digression from serious news that it seems an indulgence to delve further into it for a Tuesday Topic. However, it presents such a brilliant illustration of three common consultation pitfalls that this is an opportunity not to be missed.

Firstly, the confused question.

Have you ever seen a hotel satisfaction survey that contains a question such as How do you rate the comfort and cleanliness of the room?

Note that the problem is asking two questions in one. The poor respondent may have thought the comfort very satisfactory, but the cleanliness anything but.. How to score?

In 2002, BBC2 served up an interesting predecessor to Strictly Come Dancing, with a two hour programme called Great Britons, where the public was invited to vote for their favourites – and which Churchill won. But the twist was that the case for each candidate was presented by a celebrity figure – in the case of Sir Winston, it was the popular politician Mo Mowlam. The journalist Rosie Boycott proposed Princess Diana, and Jeremy Clarkson championed Isambard Kingdom Brunel, who, surprisingly came second – three places ahead of Shakespeare!

But maybe not so surprising. Clarkson is probably better known than Fiona Shaw, the actress whose job it was to advocate the Great Bard’s cause. And that’s the point. What were people voting for – the celebrity who endorses or the Great Briton him or herself.

Apply this to Strictly Come Dancing. Is the question – Which Celebrity do you like? or What do you think of the celebrity’s dancing? No wonder we’re confused!

Secondly, we’re lumping together two types of respondents.

In the current TV show, the “expert” panel is clearly addressing the second of our two questions. And the public may have been answering both.....

There’s nothing wrong with asking different types of stakeholders different questions. Experts are clearly able to provide insights that others cannot. What is questionable is putting them together. In qualitative analysis, there are ways in which this can be done. But adding together numerically is totally illogical; it is like adding apples and pears – or mixing oil and water. Choose your metaphor!

Thirdly, is the need always to remember the main objective.

After all, Strictly Come Dancing is light entertainment. Consultation is an embellishment – a device to add spice to the main event, which, of course is the dancing. If in doubt, just consider how little time the expert judges are given to discuss the merits of each dance; it’s all about clever soundbites and celebrity reactions. Viewer opinions are a fascinating way of setting up next week’s show, and getting millions hooked on the evolving narrative.

When it assumes the secondary role, consultation seldom succeeds as a serious exercise. We frequently see this, Let’s try to sell you this brand new car – and incidentally, what’s your favourite colour? Or try this: The Council has decided to close the Care Home – do you wish to comment?

Now try this. We need to do something for energy supply and security and the Government has decided to change 30 years of public policy and build new nuclear power stations. Public consultation is necessary to tick a box, but won’t seriously influence the main event. It’s an embellishment. As a genuine dialogue, how successful can it be?

Unless something drastic happens soon to Lord Mandelson, John Sargeant will surely win the award for the most thought-provoking resignation of the year!

Trigger points

• Ensure that your consultations are themselves the main event – not just an inconsequential embellishment.
• Look again at how you combine the inputs of experts with the (equally-valid - but different) views of the general public.
• Learn how to ask better questions. The Effective Surveys & Questionnaires (ESQ) course runs next on Dec 3rd in Belfast or Dec 9th in London.

This is the 124th Tuesday Topic; a full list of subjects covered is available for Institute members and is a valuable resource covering so many aspects of consultation and engagement