How to talk to users
5-PART SERIES
"Talk to users." It's the most repeated advice in the startup world. But rarely does that advice come with instructions.
This is a complete, practical guide — from finding the right people, to asking the right questions, to knowing what to do with everything you hear.
. . .
THE FULL SERIES
"Would you use this?" is the most dangerous question.
Asking people to predict the future leads you astray. There's a simple one-question swap that gets you a story instead of a forced "maybe" and stories are the kind of data you can actually build from.
Start with the person, not the product.
The most valuable part of a user interview happens before you show anything. Understanding someone's context, workflows, and workarounds is what unlocks what to actually build.
User interviews are a chess match.
While great interviewers make it look effortless, there's a chess match happening in their heads. Learn how to play — adapt in real time, stay focused, and catch yourself before you bait the answer.
Are you talking to the right people?
One bad decision based on bad data can send you down the wrong path entirely. A practical guide to finding the right people, even on a tight budget.
You've talked to users. Now what?
Good conversations are only half the work. With AI making it faster than ever to build, the pull to skip straight from insight to shipping is stronger than ever. Here's how to go from a pile of notes to a clear decision about what to build.
Want to practice all of this in
real time?
I work with founders and product teams who are ready to ask better questions and actually build from what they learn.