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As of 2025, Highline Beta argues that user interviews only hearing praise indicate you're getting polite answers rather than validating anything, and that negative feedback is actually the most valuable for discovering real problems and opportunities.
User interviews should function as experiments designed to hunt for insight, tension, friction, and surprise rather than confirmation or compliments. Highline Beta emphasizes that people are bad at articulating solutions but excellent at describing their problems, making it crucial to focus conversations on past experiences rather than hypothetical future behaviors. Done correctly, interviews surface painful problems and prove or disprove assumptions, while done incorrectly they mislead teams into building products no one actually wants or needs.
Start with broad, story-based questions like "Tell me about the last time you tried to solve [problem]" instead of asking "Would you use a product like this?" Use neutral phrases such as "What are your impressions of this?" or "What would stop you from using this?" rather than "What do you like?" which invites politeness. Always balance positive feedback requests with questions about what doesn't work well to probe both sides of user reactions.
Present low-fidelity, sacrificial concepts rather than polished mockups to provoke genuine reactions instead of seeking approval. Highline Beta uses stimulus materials specifically designed to focus conversations on underlying needs and pain points rather than UI and UX details. These rough concepts exist to generate honest feedback about core problems rather than surface-level design preferences.
Look for patterns across multiple interviews rather than focusing on isolated comments from individual users. During venture sprints, Highline Beta typically runs 5-10 interviews per problem or concept and uses structured rubrics with predetermined KPIs to score desirability. Single-person feedback that doesn't appear in broader patterns is likely noise that can lead to building overly niche solutions not applicable to the wider audience.
Follow-up questions like "Why?" or "What do you do today?" when someone mentions a pain point often reveal more useful information than scripted questions because they allow conversations to move in directions guided by the user. The most valuable insights typically exist one layer below surface responses, requiring deeper probing to uncover what truly matters to users on an individual level.
Missed last week’s edition - you can find it here.
If you’re doing user interviews and only hearing praise, you’re not validating anything.
You’re just getting polite answers.
Treat interviews like experiments. You’re not searching for compliments or praise. You’re hunting for insight, tension, friction, and surprise. The negative feedback is actually the most valuable feedback you’ll get, whether it helps straight-out invalidate something, or pushes you to iterate and improve on an idea or concept.
Done right, interviews will surface painful problems, prove/disprove your assumptions, and point to real opportunity.
Done wrong, they’ll mislead you into building something no one actually wants or needs.
Let’s ensure they’re done right.
You’re not trying to “confirm” your idea. You’re trying to learn and iterate.
Which means:
Remember: People are bad at articulating solutions. But they’re great at describing their problems.
That’s what you’re listening for.
Here are five principles we follow in every Discover and Validate sprint:
1. Start broad. Ask for stories.
Don’t ask: “Would you use a product like this?”
Ask: “Tell me about the last time you tried to solve [problem]…”
Let them walk you through what they did, not what they might do. People are able to talk much more accurately about what they’ve done in the past than they are about predicting what they might do in the future.
2. Use stimulus, not sales pitches
We show low-fidelity, sacrificial concepts—not polished mockups. They exist to provoke reactions, not win approval. Presenting something too polished can focus the conversation on UI and UX rather than the underlying needs and pain points associated with the concepts.
3. Stay neutral
Phrases like “What do you like?” invite politeness or falsely positive responses.
Try: “What are your impressions of this”,“What’s missing?” or “What would stop you from using this?”
If you do ask questions to understand specifically what users like about something or what works well, always make sure to ask about what they don’t like or what they think doesn’t work well. This ensures you’re probing on both the positive and negative aspects of a concept.
4. Dig deeper
If someone says, “That’s a pain,” follow up: “Why?” or “What do you do today?”
The gold is always one layer below the surface. Follow-up questions are often more useful than what’s directly included in an interview guide. They allow you to move the conversation and feedback in a direction that’s guided by the user and learn more about what matters to them on an individual level. Never be afraid to dig deeper into what someone’s saying or veer away from prewritten questions.
5. Separate signal from noise
Don’t fall into the trap of lasering in on something that was said by one person. If it’s not part of a larger pattern of feedback, it’s likely just noise. When you become overly focused on one piece of isolated feedback, you can end up overly confident. Or you can end up building something totally niche that’s not applicable to the broader audience. Always look for patterns in what you’re hearing to anchor your decision making.
Like any exploration, interviews should be:
Remember: If everything is an assumption, your job is to test those assumptions with intent and honesty.
That’s what interviews are for—not consensus, not flattery. Just honest, directional learning that informs next steps.
During venture sprints, we typically:
That’s how we cut through noise, validate real problems, and move forward with confidence.
If your interviews aren’t making you uncomfortable, you’re probably doing them wrong.
Get to the tension. That’s where the insight lives.
Want our detailed interview guide?
We’re happy to share, just reach out to hello@highlinebeta.com.
Coming up in next week’s edition we are going to talk about, "What Users Say vs. What They Do."
