Most discovery conversations go sideways in the first ninety seconds, when the founder explains the problem they are solving. From that moment on, the other person is responding to your framing instead of describing their own.
Ask about the day instead
- Walk me through the last time this came up. What happened first?
- Who else was involved, and what did they do?
- What did you use to get through it — a tool, a spreadsheet, a person, nothing?
- What happened after? Did anyone notice or care?
- How often does this happen, and what does it cost you when it does?
None of those questions mention your idea. That is the point. You are trying to collect behavior — what people actually did, in order, with what — because behavior is the part you can build on. Opinions about your concept are the part that changes the week after you ship.
If they describe their day and your product never comes up, that is a finding, not a failed interview.
Save your pitch for the end, if at all. The conversation is worth more to you than the impression.