Understand the reasons behind the answers.

Harmonica runs one-to-one AI conversations around your questions, then brings participants’ perspectives together for you to review. Use it alongside surveys and live conversations when you need context, examples and different points of view.

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Choose the right approach for the question.

Start with what you need to learn. Different ways of listening can play different roles in the same engagement.

A fixed questionnaire

When you need everyone to answer the same questions, or want to track a measure over time.

Keep wording and context consistent for comparisons. Forms can also include open questions and follow-ups.

An adaptive conversation

When you need examples, context and the reasons behind someone’s answer.

Follow-ups can take different paths. Changing prompts can affect comparability; review the contributions behind a theme.

Live interviews or group dialogue

When the work needs a human relationship, shared discussion or a chance to explore something together.

Use these alongside asynchronous listening when that fits the engagement. Plan time for facilitation and interpretation.

Whichever approach you use, participating voices are not automatically representative of a wider population. Recruitment, question design and interpretation still matter.

See what a follow-up can uncover.

Fictional example. The conversation, themes and host review below are hand-authored illustrations, not captured product output or a customer result.

A community organisation is planning its next programme of events.

The contributions

Opening question
What would make future events more useful to you?
Participant 1
“I like the sessions, but I rarely manage to attend.”
Follow-up question
What makes attending difficult?
Participant 1, continuing
“The start time overlaps with caring responsibilities. A later session once a month could help.”
Participant 2
“Travelling is the difficult part for me. An online option would help.”
Participant 3
“I value being in the room. In hybrid sessions, remote participants can be hard to hear.”

Illustrative themes

Access constraints differ: timing for one participant, travel for another.
Remote access could help some people, while the quality of the in-room experience matters to another.

These excerpts do not establish how common each view is.

The host’s review

Could we test a later start? How would remote participation work for everyone? Who is missing from this input?

These are possible next steps to explore before choosing the programme. The host makes that judgment.

From contributions to interpretation.

Harmonica supports the listening round. Your research design, analysis and professional judgment connect it to the wider work.

Design the listening round

Decide what you need to learn, shape your questions and invite people who can speak to them. Recruitment and explaining the purpose remain part of the work.
Review themes against contributions

Use the synthesis as a starting point. Check original responses, look for different views and ask whether a theme gives a fair account of what people said.
Bring it into your wider research

Export responses and combine them with interviews, survey data or other material. Use your own analysis tools when you need coding, counts or a different lens.
Decide what needs further listening

Ask who is missing, what remains unclear and which interpretations need checking. You decide what to explore next and what the evidence supports.

Questions you might start with

Adapt these examples to your purpose and participants:

What is working well, and what would you change?
Can you describe a recent experience that shaped your view?
What should we understand before making this decision?

Before inviting people, explain who can access contributions and outputs, and what identifying information you ask for. If cross-pollination shares other participants’ perspectives, explain how that may influence the conversation.

FAQs

How can we help?

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How is this different from Typeform or Google Forms?

Typeform supports AI-powered clarification questions. Harmonica is built around one-to-one facilitated conversations and synthesis across participants. Compare the interview flow, group outputs and facilitator controls you need, rather than assuming that follow-up questions are unique to either tool.

Can I use this alongside an existing survey?

Yes. A conversation can help explore the context behind a response, while a fixed questionnaire keeps a consistent set of questions. Choose the combination for your research question. Changing wording or follow-ups can affect what you can compare over time.

How do I analyse the responses?

Harmonica brings participants’ perspectives together into a synthesis for you to review. Check themes against the original contributions and look for disagreements or missing context. Export responses for further analysis when useful. A synthesis is not a substitute for coding open responses when you need defensible counts.

Does a theme tell me what most people think?

Not on its own. A theme describes input from the people who took part; it does not establish how common a view is in a wider population. Consider who was invited, who participated, who is missing and how responses were analysed before making a broader claim.

How should I explain participation and access?

Tell people the purpose of the conversation, who can access their contributions and outputs, and what identifying information you ask for. Do not promise anonymity based on a link or display-name choice alone. If you use cross-pollination to share perspectives between participants, explain that those perspectives may influence later responses.

Can you help me set up a listening round?

Book a 30-minute co-design call to discuss your questions and where Harmonica could fit. For product guidance, visit the Help Center or message Telegram support.

Listening in practice

In December 2024, CMI used Harmonica for a multilingual stakeholder consultation informing its 2026–2029 programme. The published case describes that engagement; it is not a comparison of response rates or research methods.

Read the CMI case study

Plan your first listening round.

Start with the question you need to explore, or work with us on the design of your engagement.

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