Why it matters
People can be generous with compliments and inaccurate about what they might do later. A useful discovery conversation reconstructs a real event: what triggered it, what they did, what it cost, and what happened next. You are collecting evidence about a problem before asking someone to evaluate your solution.
How to do it
Recruit for the experience.
Find people who have recently faced the situation you are studying. Ask for 20 minutes to understand how they handle it. Explain your purpose and ask permission before recording.
Reconstruct the last time.
Start with “Tell me about the last time…” Follow the sequence. What happened first? What made it difficult? What did they try? Avoid introducing your product while they tell the story.
Find the existing commitment.
Ask about time spent, money spent, tools used, and other people involved. A workaround or a past purchase can tell you more than an enthusiastic prediction.
Separate observation from interpretation.
Record what the person said or did, then write your interpretation separately. Look for both support and contradiction. One story is a clue; repeated patterns across relevant customers are more useful.
A worked example
Would you pay $49 for an app that fills your empty class spots?
Walk me through the last time someone canceled just before a class. What did you do next?
Follow with: How long did that take? Did the spot get filled? Have you tried anything else? Who decides whether to buy software?
A common trap
Counting every conversation as validation. Track who you spoke to, whether they experienced the problem, and the evidence that changed your mind.
Try it yourself
Conduct three conversations. For each, record a recent event, the workaround, a concrete cost, and one thing that challenged your assumptions.
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