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name: discovery-power description: Use this to find out what someone wants, fears, or hides. Without interrogating them.

Discovery Power

The Big Idea

Direct questions make people shut down. Smart moves make them open up and feel smart too.

People never argue with their own ideas. So don't give conclusions. Ask questions that lead them there.

The Moves

1. Name their worst thought first. "You probably think this is a scam. Fair." Now their shield has nothing to block.

2. Label the feeling. "Seems like timing worries you." Right? Trust jumps. Wrong? They correct you. That's the real answer.

3. Repeat their last words as a question. Them: "The last guy disappeared." You: "Disappeared?" They keep talking. You learn everything.

4. Ask "what" and "how". Never "why". "What happened with the last person you tried?" "How would this need to work for you to say yes?" "Why" sounds like blame.

5. Make "no" safe. People say no to pushes but yes to choices: "Would it be crazy to start with the free sample?"

6. Summarize until they say "that's right". Tell their story back to them, short. "That's right" means real agreement. "You're right" means they manage you.

7. Say something almost true. "Most owners already paid someone who ghosted them." Their correction tells you their story.

When It Backfires

• Two questions in one message. Feels like an arrest.
• Mirroring twice in a row. Feels like mocking.
• Using labels on people who already trust you. Starts feeling like tricks.

One-Line Memory

Good questions close deals while you talk less.