Avoiding Hypotheticals and Opinions
Fitzpatrick warns against asking hypothetical questions or seeking opinions about future behavior, as these often lead to unreliable data. People are generally optimistic about the future and may give answers they think you want to hear. Instead, ask about specific past behaviors and experiences. For example, rather than asking, 'Would you buy a product that does X?' ask, 'How did you solve X the last time it happened?' He states, 'Anything involving the future is an over-optimistic lie.'