Write a customer interview script for a topper-notes service

You are not testing whether classmates like the notes idea. You are finding out how they actually got through the last exam week, where they got stuck, and whether anything they did then looks like a problem worth paying to solve.

• Which classmates are you writing for: juniors, your own batch, a particular subject?
• What would you need to hear to believe someone would pay, rather than just say 'nice idea'?
• What do people already use before exams: seniors' notes, photocopies, videos, group chats?
• Which answer would make you drop the idea, and can you write it down before you ask anyone?

One page that a nervous first-time interviewer can follow: a two-line opening that does not mention the product, six open questions about the last exam week, two probes that dig into a vague answer, and a clear drop note written in advance.

Writing questions about your idea ('Would you buy topper notes?'). People are polite, so they say yes, and you learn nothing. Ask about what they did, not what they would do.

• Your own memory of the last exam week: what you used, what you paid for, where you wasted time
• A list of the ways classmates currently get notes, from your batch group chat and the photocopy shop near campus
• One friend willing to sit through a rehearsal and tell you which questions felt like a sales pitch

AI must not write sample answers, guess what students will say, or suggest how many would pay. The script only asks; the answers come later from real classmates.

1. 3.1 Draft six questions yourself firstCLAUDE CHAT

   Why this tool: A short conversation helps you turn rough worries into open questions, while the topics stay yours.

   Write your six questions on paper before opening Claude. Then paste them and ask only for a check on wording, not new questions.

   Prompt to copy · fill in the [brackets]Copy

   I am interviewing classmates about how they prepared for their last exams, to learn whether a notes service solves a real problem. Here are my six draft questions:
   [paste your six questions]
   For each one, tell me whether it can be answered with a plain yes or no, whether it hints at my idea, and whether it asks about the past or about an imagined future. Suggest a rewrite only for the ones that fail.

2. 3.2 Write the opening line and two probesCLAUDE CHAT

   Why this tool: Claude can offer several neutral openings quickly, and you pick the one that sounds like you.

   Ask for three short openings that do not mention notes or selling. Then write two probes you will use when an answer is vague, such as asking for the last time it happened.

   Prompt to copy · fill in the [brackets]Copy

   Give me three short ways to open a ten-minute chat with a [year and course] classmate about their last exam week. Do not mention any product or business. Then suggest two follow-up probes I can use when someone gives a general answer like 'it was stressful'.

3. 3.3 Rehearse and cut what sounds pushyCLAUDE PROJECTS

   Why this tool: Keeping the script and your rehearsal notes in one Project means each rewrite starts from the latest version.

   Rehearse with one real friend. Write down where they hesitated or smiled politely. Add those notes to the Project and rewrite the weak lines yourself, asking Claude only to point out lines that still lead the listener.

• Every one of the six questions is about something the person has already done
• No question mentions notes for sale, price or your idea
• The drop note names a specific answer, such as 'most people already get free notes from seniors and are happy with them'
• Your friend could not guess what you plan to sell after the rehearsal
• Read a sample of raw answers yourself before trusting any grouping
• Say how many people or observations the finding rests on

AI likes to add a final 'How much would you pay?' question. Asked this early, it only produces polite guesses, so cut it unless your drop note truly depends on it.

• Opening line of two sentences
• Six open questions about the last exam week
• Two follow-up probes
• A drop note written before any interview
• A line on what you changed after the rehearsal

One page with the opening at the top, the six questions numbered, the probes in a small box and the drop note at the bottom in bold.

Show one question before and after the rehearsal, and explain why the first version would have produced a polite but useless yes.