An open-ended survey question lets people answer in their own words instead of picking from a list of options. For example: “What almost stopped you from signing up?” Open questions find the reason behind a score and the problems you didn't think to ask about. Their weak spot is the first answer, which often comes back short and vague (“It was fine”). Below are 66 sample questions to use in any survey or questionnaire, each with the follow-up to ask next.
The pricing page doesn't say whether the price is per person. It cost this buyer a week, and probably cost you the buyers who never emailed.
A good open question still gets “fine” a lot of the time. The fix is one specific follow-up about what they just said, not “Can you say more?”. Here is what that looks like.
The pricing page doesn't say whether the price is per person. It cost this buyer a week, and probably cost you the buyers who never emailed.
Not more networking time: more structure. Hosted tables or topic signs at the breaks, not a longer lunch.
One meeting, not meetings in general. The status call repeats written updates; dropping it gives the late report its hour back.
One missing step in one video. Re-record the field-picking part instead of rebuilding the whole module.
For buyers and regular customers. Asking people who already left? See why customers churn.
When to ask: after a purchase, at renewal, or a few weeks into using what they boughtWhat made you choose us over the other options you looked at?
What tipped it our way over the one that came closest?
What were you trying to get done when you first came to us?
What wasn't working about what you used before?
What almost stopped you from buying?
Was there a point where you left and came back later?
What would you tell a friend who asked whether they should use us?
Is there anything you'd warn them about first?
Tell us about the last time something with us didn't go the way you expected.
What did you do about it at the time: work around it, contact us, or let it go?
If we disappeared tomorrow, what would you use instead?
What would you miss about us, if anything, once you'd switched?
What's one thing that's harder than it should be when you deal with us?
What were you trying to do the last time it happened?
How would you describe what we do to someone who's never heard of us?
Is that how you'd have described it when you first signed up, or has it changed?
What did you expect from us when you signed up?
How close have we come to that so far?
Swap in your product or feature name. These work best a day or two after someone has actually used the thing.
When to ask: after launch, after setup, or when usage dropsWalk me through the last time you used [feature].
Where did you slow down or stop to think?
What's the main thing you use [product] for?
What made you switch from what you used before?
What's the most frustrating part of using [product]?
How do you get around it today?
What did you expect [feature] to do that it didn't?
Where did that expectation come from: the name, a screen, something someone told you?
If you could change one thing about [product], what would it be?
What would that change let you do that you can't do now?
What almost made you give up during setup?
Which step was it?
What's missing that would make you use [product] every day?
What do you use on the days you don't open it?
Which part of [product] would you miss most if it went away?
What would you do instead if it did?
What confused you the first time you opened [product]?
What did you think it meant, before you figured it out?
For engagement and pulse surveys. People say more when they trust where the answers go, so tell them who reads them. Someone already leaving? Use exit interview questions.
When to ask: quarterly, or right after a big changeWhat's one thing that would make your work easier next month?
What's getting in the way of that today?
What gets in the way of doing your best work?
When did that last cost you real time?
What should we stop doing?
If you could stop just one of them next week, which would it be?
What would you change about how decisions get made here?
Think of a recent decision that went that way. What happened?
What do you need from your manager that you're not getting?
What would it look like if you did get it, in a normal week?
What makes you want to stay here?
Has that gotten stronger or weaker in the last six months?
What would make you think about leaving?
Is that something that's happening now, or something you're watching for?
Which process here wastes the most of your time?
When did you last hit it?
What's one thing leadership doesn't seem to know about your day-to-day work?
What would change if they did know?
Ask at 30, 60 and 90 days. New people notice what everyone else stopped seeing.
When to ask: at the end of the first month, then again at 60 and 90 daysWhat surprised you most in your first few weeks?
What had you expected instead?
What do you still not know that you wish someone had told you on day one?
Who did you end up asking, or are you still guessing?
What has helped you get up to speed fastest?
Was that something planned, or something you found on your own?
Tell us about the last time you felt stuck.
What got you unstuck in the end?
How does the job compare with what you heard during hiring?
What's the biggest gap between the two?
Who has helped you most so far?
What did they do that the onboarding didn't?
What would you change about your first week?
What would you have done with that time instead?
Send within a day, while people still remember the sessions and the coffee line.
When to ask: the same day or the morning afterWhat's one moment from the event that stuck with you?
What made that one stand out from the rest of the day?
What will you do differently because you came?
What would stop you from actually doing it?
Which session would you tell a colleague about?
What would you tell them they'd get out of it?
What made you skip the sessions you skipped?
Was it the topic, the time slot, or something else?
What almost stopped you from coming?
What made you come anyway?
What would have made the day more useful for you?
Which part of the day would you trade to get that?
How did the event compare with what you expected when you registered?
What had you hoped to get that you didn't?
What would make you come back next year?
Which speaker or topic would make you register the day it's announced?
For course evaluations, workshops and internal training. Ask about specific lessons, not the course as a whole.
When to ask: at the end of the course, or after each moduleWhat's the most useful thing you learned in this course?
Where do you expect to use it first?
Which part was hardest to follow?
What would have helped right at that point: an example, more time, or something else?
What would you cut from the course?
What made that part feel less worth the time?
What did you expect to learn that wasn't covered?
Where did you end up learning it, if you did?
How did the pace feel to you?
Which session felt most off?
What's one thing you'll use at work in the next month?
What's the first situation where you'll try it?
What would you tell someone thinking about taking this course?
Who shouldn't take it, in your view?
At what point did you find it hardest to stay focused?
What was happening in the course right then?
For discovery before you build or rewrite a page. Ask about what people did, not what they think they'd do.
When to ask: before a launch, a redesign or a pricing changeWalk me through how you handle [task] today.
Which step takes the longest?
What's the hardest part of [task]?
What have you already tried to fix it?
What made you start looking for a new way to do [task]?
What happened that week that made it urgent?
What did you look at before you decided?
What put you off the one you almost picked?
What would have to be true for you to switch from what you use now?
What would switching cost you that we might not see?
How do you decide whether something like this is worth paying for?
Who else has a say in that?
Tell me about the last tool you tried and stopped using.
What was the moment you decided to stop?
When you first heard about us, what did you think we did?
Where did that idea come from?
No research department, just you asking your clients, readers or members. Pick two or three and send them tonight.
When to ask: after a project wraps, or once a quarterWhat's one thing I could do to make working with me easier?
What were you waiting on the last time it felt hard?
What made you hire me instead of someone else?
What would have made you pick the other person?
What's one thing I did on this project that you'd want again?
What made it useful to you, specifically?
What made you subscribe?
Is that still why you read, or has it changed?
Which recent issue was most useful to you?
What did you do after reading it?
What's something you'd like me to write about that I haven't?
What are you trying to figure out?
What made you join?
How much of that are you getting now?
What would make you show up more often?
What usually gets in the way when you don't?
Closed questions count. Open questions explain. Most good surveys use both: a closed rating, then one open “why”.
| You want to | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Track a number over time | Closed | “How likely are you to recommend us, from 0 to 10?” |
| Know why the number moved | Open, right after the rating | “What's the main reason for your score?” |
| Compare groups | Closed | “Which plan are you on?” |
| Find problems you didn't know about | Open | “What's harder than it should be when you use us?” |
| Check a hunch with lots of people | Closed | “Did you use the export this month? Yes or no.” |
| Explore a topic before you can write the options | Open | “Walk me through the last time you [task].” |
Pairing a 0–10 score with one open question is the classic NPS setup. See NPS follow-up questions.
Most of the cons come from the vague first answer and the reading. A specific follow-up fixes the first; a summary of themes fixes the second.
Six rules, each with a before and after. Then plan what you'll ask next: follow-up questions that work.
Two topics in one question get one answer, and you won't know which topic it was about.
Wording that assumes a feeling gets that feeling back, politely.
A specific moment is easier to describe than a general feeling.
A wide-open box gets a blank stare. A narrow question gets someone started.
Internal names mean nothing to the person answering. Describe what they saw or did.
Every text box takes effort. Put the open question that matters most right after a rating, and cut the rest.
The plain method, by hand or in a spreadsheet.
Open questions cost you twice. First, the answer is often vague: “fine”, “good overall”, “more communication”. A form can't ask what they meant, so you guess.
Second, someone has to read them. Sorting a few hundred answers into themes by hand is slow, tedious work, and the vague ones don't tell you anything once you've sorted them.
Spoke fixes the first problem where it starts. In an agent survey, it reads each answer as it comes in and asks the follow-up on the spot, like the examples above, so two people can get two different follow-ups. Then the Agent Results Brief pulls the themes together with supporting quotes and the number of people behind each one, so you read the answer instead of every reply.
“What almost stopped you from signing up?” is open-ended: people answer in their own words, and there's no list of options to pick from.
Good ones ask about one thing, point at a real moment and don't hint at the answer, like “Walk me through the last time you used [feature].” The groups above have 66 to copy, each with a follow-up.
In a form, two or three is the usual advice, because each text box takes effort. In an agent survey you can send one open question and let the follow-ups go deeper.
A closed question gives people options to pick from, such as a scale, yes or no, or multiple choice. An open question lets them answer in their own words, so closed questions count things and open questions explain them.
Typing takes more effort than tapping an option, especially on a phone, so some people skip the box or write a few words. Short, specific questions placed right after a rating get more answers.
Read them, group similar answers into themes, and count how many people are behind each theme, keeping a quote or two as evidence. In an agent survey, the Agent Results Brief does that grouping and shows the quotes behind each theme.
Usually optional. A required box tends to fill up with “n/a” and “fine”, which is worse than a blank because it looks like data.
They take longer to answer and to read, and the first answer is often vague. A specific follow-up fixes the vague part; a summary of themes fixes the reading.
Spoke asks the follow-ups for you, with every person. Free to start, no card. Your first ten agent surveys are on us.
