Founder course Course 24 of 24

Talk to users without leading the witness.

In customer discovery, ask about a recent real situation before pitching a solution. Follow the person's account, clarify what happened and distinguish their words from your interpretation. Useful research can challenge the idea you hoped to confirm.

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Type this when Cadence asks what you want to learn

I want to talk to users respectfully and make better decisions from what I learn.

Change any word so it fits your situation. The course is built from what you type and a few setup questions.

A standing column and fallen structures connected by a long arc. — Discovery **Talking to users**
30 short lessons. Day 1 is ready.

Best for: Founder & business
Prerequisites: No formal prerequisites
Course length: 30 daily lessons
Lesson pace: About 10 minutes a day
Total learning time: About 5 hours in total
Access: Available on the App Store and Google Play, with an optional early testing list

An original website exercise

Replace a leading question with a recent-event question.

Use a fictional question about team handovers: "Would an app that makes handovers easier save you lots of time?" Rewrite it so the person does not have to agree with your proposed benefit.

01

Ask for a real occasion

Try "Tell me about the last handover you worked on." Let the person describe what mattered before introducing your preferred problem.
02

Follow the sequence

Ask what happened next, who was involved and how they handled any difficulty. Do not invent a difficulty when the process went smoothly.
03

Separate notes from conclusions

Record what the person said or showed, then label your interpretation and unanswered questions. Avoid recording or retaining personal material without appropriate permission.

Worked example, not a learner result

Interviewer: "Tell me about the last handover." Participant: "The shared document was enough." Follow-up: "What made it work well that time?" This fictional exchange can reveal an effective existing alternative, not just a problem to sell against.

Check that the opening question does not contain your product or a promised benefit. One conversation cannot establish market demand. Use the account to refine the next question and preserve evidence that contradicts your hypothesis.

Want a guided learning path? Start free in Cadence and look for Evidence-Driven User Conversations, the in-app name for this course. This website exercise is an introduction, not an excerpt from an app lesson.

Right for now

If any of this sounds familiar, start here.

Every lesson connects to a conversation, decision, or habit you can change between lessons.

You get polite answers

Move from opinions to behavior.

You accidentally pitch

Ask before explaining your idea.

You need product evidence

Synthesize patterns, risks, and next tests.

You are validating a bet

Know whether the conversation changed what you believe.

Inside the course

Your first three days are already mapped.

The course follows a daily sequence, so the next practical move is waiting when you come back.

Question quality

Ask about behavior, stakes, and workarounds.

Signal detection

Separate pain from curiosity and praise.

Conversation control

Keep discovery from becoming a demo too early.

Synthesis

Turn notes into decisions and next questions.

Course preview 30 short lessons

Evidence-Driven User Conversations

Day 1 Treat Warm Feedback as a Starting Point

Recognize when a friendly response needs more context without dismissing or decoding the participant.

Day 2
Ask What Happens After Yes

Follow a positive response with questions about context, current behavior, and voluntary next steps.
Day 3
Test Whether Praise Connects to a Need

Test whether a positive comment connects to a concrete experience, need, or outcome.

Course arc

From vague intention to repeatable moves.

Cadence turns the course into a returnable habit: short lesson, quick check, review, and the next useful step.

01 / 04

Avoid false signal

See why compliments mislead.

Ask about behavior

Use recent examples and current workarounds.

Probe stakes

Understand urgency, cost, and constraints.

Synthesize the pattern

Decide what to test next.

Full syllabus

30 lessons, arranged as one clear path.

Plan and run respectful user conversations, ask neutral questions about real behavior, and interpret qualitative evidence without mind-reading or false certainty. Finish with a bounded research readout that supports a real decision.

Module 01

Read Evidence With Respect

Treat warm, vague, negative, or hesitant responses as starting points for inquiry rather than verdicts about the participant.

Day 1 Treat Warm Feedback as a Starting Point
Day 2 Ask What Happens After Yes
Day 3 Test Whether Praise Connects to a Need
Day 4 Turn Complaints Into Testable Friction
Day 5 Understand Stakes Without Pressure
Day 6 Checkpoint: How Strong Is the Evidence?

Module 02

Ask Neutral Questions

Build questions that invite context, recent examples, choices, and consequences without steering or pressuring.

Day 7 Ask for Examples, Not Opinions
Day 8 Get Users to Describe What They Did
Day 9 Surface Preferences With Neutral Comparisons
Day 10 Probe Without Steering the Answer

Module 03

Triangulate Without Mind-Reading

Compare words, actions, context, workarounds, and stakes while keeping alternative explanations visible.

Day 11 Review: Where Evidence Got Thin
Day 12 Compare Words With Actions
Day 13 Treat Workarounds as Clues
Day 14 Do Not Guess From Silence
Day 15 Cross-Check Words, Actions, Stakes

Module 04

Plan an Ethical Interview

Define the decision, recruit relevant participants, handle consent and privacy, and prepare a flexible guide.

Day 16 Define the Decision and Research Question
Day 17 Recruit Relevant Participants
Day 18 Handle Consent, Privacy, and Recording
Day 19 Build a Flexible Interview Guide
Day 20 Run a Complete Practice Interview

Module 05

Conduct and Synthesize

Facilitate accessible conversations, preserve context, separate observation from interpretation, and find bounded patterns.

Day 21 Facilitate for Access and Difference
Day 22 Separate Observation From Interpretation
Day 23 Preserve Context and Disconfirming Cases
Day 24 Find Patterns Without Fake Precision
Day 25 Triangulate Beyond Interviews

Module 06

Decide With Appropriate Confidence

Triangulate evidence, report limitations and disconfirming cases, and choose the next decision or test.

Day 26 Write Bounded Findings
Day 27 Decide Whether More Research Is Needed
Day 28 Choose the Decision or Next Test
Day 29 Assemble the Research Readout
Day 30 Checkpoint: Is the Decision Responsible?

How learning works

Read, listen, check your understanding, then keep going.

Short daily lessons

Each lesson is designed around about 10 minutes of focused learning.

Reading and audio

Read the lesson or play its audio when listening fits your day better.

Checks when useful

Lessons can use quizzes, written responses, or guided practice. A lesson can also teach without adding a forced exercise.

Progress and support

Track completed lessons, keep a streak, set reminders, and ask the in-lesson coach for help.

Know the limits. Cadence supports guided self-learning. It does not award an accredited degree or professional certificate, and important AI-generated claims should be checked against reliable sources.

Free to read first

Guides on the same skill.

Course questions

What to know before you start.

Who is Evidence-Driven User Conversations for?

Every lesson connects to a conversation, decision, or habit you can change between lessons. It is listed in the founder & business part of the Cadence course library.

Do I need any prior experience?

No formal prerequisites are required. The course is designed for guided self-learning, and it is most useful when you bring a real situation or goal to the lessons.

How long does the course take?

Evidence-Driven User Conversations contains 30 lessons designed around 10 minutes each. You open lessons in sequence and can move at your own pace.

What is the learning format?

Lessons can be read or played as audio. The course includes quizzes or practical checks where the lesson calls for them, plus progress tracking and Ask Coach inside lessons.

Does this course award a certificate or degree?

No. Cadence is for practical self-learning and does not award accredited degrees or professional certification.

Start today

Day 1: Treat Warm Feedback as a Starting Point

Get Cadence and type the sentence above when it asks what you want to learn, or choose Evidence-Driven User Conversations ready-made under Browse starter courses. Day 1 is already written.