Your users aren’t therapist. Stop making them diagnose your product.
Most users won’t tell you the truth. Not because they’re dishonest, but because your questions lead them there. Politeness, guesswork, and on-the-spot pressure distort answers.
You’re not getting bad answers.
You’re asking the wrong questions.
“Do you like it?”
They’ll say yes to be polite.
“Would you use this feature?”
They don’t know. You’ve put them on the spot. They’ll guess.
The format of your question is the insight.
“Tell me about the last time you tried to do this.”
Now you’re in their world. Not yours.
“What did you expect would happen when you clicked that?”
Now you see the gap between their brain and your product.
“What did you want to happen?”
Now you’re not just uncovering usability, you’re revealing unmet desire.
Bad questions make users perform.
Good questions invite them to remember, feel, reflect.
“Why did you stop using us?”
Too direct. Defensive.
“What changed in your life that made our product less useful?”
That one lands different, doesn’t it?
If your question leads them to your answer, scrap it.
If it leads them to their own story, keep it.
Insight doesn’t live in yes or no.
It lives in memory, frustration, expectation, relief.
Ask better. Listen slower.
And let the truth surprise you.