Ditto Training: Reasons not Predictions

When you ask someone, “Will you buy this?” most people want to be polite and optimistic, so they will offer a polite guess. Researchers call this the social desirability bias.

Stay with what’s real instead. Try, “Walk me through the last time you made a decision like this. Why that option, not the other one?” As they talk, you’ll hear the trade‑offs.

Maybe the budget was tight.

Maybe a colleague preferred a different tool.

Maybe onboarding felt risky.

Keep people in the world they already know: reference past choices, current constraints, use real language.

When they’re done, play back what you heard using their words. Those reasons become your levers for product and messaging.