Lenny Rachitsky: preference

Transcript context

…And the way that I think about it is that I'm building an arc in that conversation. And so it starts, like you said, it's just chit-chat about the weather and where you are and whatever. Do I care what the weather... I don't care what the weather is like, but what I'm trying to do is build some rapport fast with somebody. Again, it gets back to this idea of humble inquiry where I'm trying to build a connection with the person. I'm trying to make them feel comfortable, because they usually are showing up, they want to make you happy, but they don't really understand... It's awkward. It's super weird. Like, "I'm going to talk to this weird dude. He's paying me to tell him what turns out to be a bunch of personal stuff, and we're never going to talk again. But am I doing a good job?" It's odd. And so I'm trying to put them at ease and I'm trying to encourage them and make it clear they're the expert in this situation, but they don't really know what's going to happen. And so I'm building this arc slowly, hopefully not too slowly, to get them talking. So one of the most important things is when you're doing that interview, smile. You have to start with the big smile. Even if you're on the phone, it totally changes the way your voice sounds. And what I'm often looking for in those first few minutes is, are they smiling back? Can I get the person to smile back at me? And then I'm like, "Okay, we're good. I'm getting them responsive and getting them talking." I love that tip. And again, I think a lot of people that aren't researches are just going to, "Oh, I don't know. This feels weird." Something that should be reassuring is mostly, you're just asking questions. It's on them. You're just asking questions and your job is not to say anything, almost, just keep asking questions. Yeah, and to be really genuinely curious. I think that's really... Again, it's to this mindset, this difference between selling... I have to genuinely want to understand and see the world and my product through their eyes. And you're going to hear stuff that is wrong, you know doesn't make sense, or you're like, "That's weird. What is that?" And you just have to, not dismiss that, but dig in and try to understand, like, "Why do you think that? What gives you that impression?" That's what you're trying to learn, right? And just smile, genuine curiosity, and focus on that person in front of you will get you pretty far.…

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