One of the biggest mistakes I’ve made in user research is thinking that asking more questions would automatically lead to better insights.

It doesn’t.

A 60-minute interview can produce very little useful information if the questions are too broad, leading, or focused on hypothetical situations.

Good research isn’t just about getting customers to talk.

It’s about asking questions that help you understand what actually happened.

Ask About the Past, Not Just the Future

One of the most common questions in research is:

“Would you use a feature that does X?”

The problem is that people are usually poor at predicting their future behaviour.

Instead, ask about something that already happened.

Rather than asking:

“Would you use automated reporting?”

Try:

“Tell me about the last time you needed to create this report.”

Now you can explore what they did, what tools they used, how long it took, and where they struggled.

Past behaviour usually gives you stronger evidence than hypothetical preferences.

Ask “Why” Without Interrogating the Customer

“Why?” is a powerful research question, but repeating it five times can make an interview feel like an interrogation.

Instead, use follow-up questions naturally.

If someone says:

“We need bulk upload.”

You could ask:

“What are you uploading today?”

“How do you handle it currently?”

“How often do you do this?”

“What happens when you have to do it manually?”

You’re trying to understand the problem underneath the request.

Ask About the Workflow

Customers often describe a problem without explaining the surrounding context.

That’s where workflow questions become useful.

Ask:

“What happens immediately before this?”

“What do you do after that?”

“Who else is involved?”

“Where do you typically get stuck?”

“What happens if something goes wrong?”

These questions help you understand the complete experience rather than one isolated interaction.

Avoid Leading Questions

It’s easy to accidentally tell customers what answer you want.

For example:

“Do you find this dashboard confusing?”

You’ve already suggested that the dashboard is confusing.

Instead:

“How do you find this dashboard?”

Then follow up based on what they say.

Neutral questions give customers room to surprise you.

And sometimes the most useful insight is discovering that your original assumption was wrong.

Ask About Consequences

Not every problem matters equally.

If a customer says something is frustrating, understand what happens because of it.

Ask:

“How often does this happen?”

“How much time does it take?”

“Who is affected?”

“What do you do when this happens?”

“Has this ever caused a bigger issue?”

The consequence helps you distinguish an inconvenience from a meaningful customer problem.

Ask About Workarounds

Workarounds are often some of the richest sources of product insight.

If users are exporting data to spreadsheets, maintaining separate documents, sending information through email, or using another tool alongside yours, ask why.

A workaround tells you that the customer has a problem they care enough about to solve themselves.

It can also reveal what the product is currently failing to support.

Ask One Question at a Time

A surprisingly common mistake is asking multiple questions together.

For example:

“How do you use the feature, what do you like about it, and what would you change?”

The customer has to decide which part to answer.

Instead, slow down.

Ask one question.

Listen.

Then follow the thread that seems most useful.

The best insights often come from unexpected follow-up questions rather than the questions you prepared beforehand.

Don’t Try to Validate Your Idea

This is perhaps the most important mindset shift.

The purpose of research isn’t to prove that your idea is good.

It’s to learn whether your understanding of the problem is correct.

If customers disagree with your assumption, that’s useful.

If they use the product differently than expected, that’s useful too.

Good research reduces uncertainty.

It doesn’t confirm what the product team already believes.

Final Thought

Better user research doesn’t necessarily require better interview scripts.

It requires better curiosity.

Ask about real experiences.

Explore the workflow.

Understand consequences.

Look for workarounds.

Challenge your assumptions.

And most importantly, be willing to hear something you didn’t expect.

The best research question isn’t always the one that gets you the answer you were looking for.

It’s the one that helps you discover that you were asking the wrong question in the first place.