Customer Interview Tip #1

DON'T ASK LEADING QUESTIONS

Many people know this one but still fall into a trap. Let's take a look...

"What do you like about X?"

Bad. This presumes that the respondent actually likes something about X and many will seach for something positive to say just to be nice.

"Is there anything you like about X?"

Better, but still bad. You've added a soft qualifier but it still nudges towards a positive response.

"Is there anything you particularly like or dislike about X? It's fine if nothing comes to mind."

Now we're talking! This is a powerful because:

• It's bidirectional
• Doesn't signal a preferred answer
• Creates space for indifference to emergy naturally

(that last point is important because sometimes the absence of strong feelings IS the insight)

"Is there anything that comes to mind about X?"

Now we've gone too far in the other direction. The respondent may not know what dimensions they're supposed to be evaluating on and you'll often get vague or low-signal responses.

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So there you have it. If in doubt:

1. Keep it bidirectional - don't signal a preferred response.

2. Explicitly permit a "nothing / no opinion" response

3. Don't go so far that your question becomes vague and meaningless.

Good interviewing is often less about asking clever questions than it is about removing accidental pressure from the conversation.