The question behind the question

Most interviews go wrong in the first two minutes, not because the questions are bad, but because we take the first answer as the truth.

Someone says the checkout is confusing. We write it down and move on. But confusing is a label, not a reason. The interesting part is what sits behind it.

Slow down after the first answer

When someone gives you a neat answer, that is your cue to stay, not to move on. I count to three before I say anything. Often the person keeps talking, and the second sentence is the one worth hearing.

Ask about the last time, not the usual time

People are poor at describing what they always do. They are very good at telling a story. So I stop asking how do you normally do this and start asking tell me about the last time you did it. The story brings back the detail that the summary sanded off.

Trade why for walk me through

Why makes people justify themselves. They tidy up the messy real reason into something that sounds sensible. Walk me through that does the opposite. It asks for the sequence, and the reason falls out on its own.

Let silence do the work

The hardest habit is the simplest. Ask the question, then stop. The pause feels long to you and normal to them. Fill it and you will get your own words back. Hold it and you will get theirs.

None of this is clever. It is mostly the discipline to not rush the good part.