FIkiswa Explains The Process to the Vendors

While we were working with the vendors we needed to learn more about their lives in order to help them tell their stories to a larger audience on the internet. We had to think about starter questions to prompt discussion with the vendors. Initially, many of the vendors gave only one word answers to our questions, so we realized we had to develop questions that encouraged elaboration. In order to be able to help the vendors tell their stories we asked the following questions. Though not all of them were asked to each vendor we used this list as a guide to help us know how to approach certain topics.

Biography Questions

These questions were used to get information about the Vendors that could be used for The Big Issue website. They were asked in order to spark ideas from the vendors and in order to allow them to elaborate into their own lives so that their stories could be told.

1. How long have you been a vendor?
2. Where do you sell your magazine? (Where is pitch)
3. Why do you sell the Big Issue?
4. How has the Big Issue Helped you?
5. What are your future aspirations?
6. What would you like the world to know about you?
7. Where do you see yourself in five years?
8. Most memorable moment with a customer?
9. What do you want people to know about your life?
10. Best experience with the Big Issue?
11. Why do you sell the Big Issue?
12. How long have you been a vendor?
13. Where do you sell your magazine? (Where is pitch)
14. What made you join the Big Issue?
15. How has the Big Issue Helped you?
16. What are your future aspirations?
17. What do you do in your free time?
18. What do you like to do with your family?
19. What is your favorite Color, Animal, Place, Food, etc.
20. Where do you see yourself in five years?
21. Most memorable moment with a customer?

Weekly Update Questions

These questions are used in order to allow the vendor to update their profile weekly. They are not required to answer all or any of the questions, the questions are simply used as prompts to begin the update. The vendors are encouraged to talk about what they want to talk about but if they are stumped and can not think of a topic they can use 2 or 3 questions.

1. What good happened this past week?
2. What have you struggled with?
3. How many magazines have you sold?
4. How many more do you need to sell?
5. Have you done anything fun in the past week?
6. Highlight a member of your family
7. What is a big event that’s happening now?

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