Lesson 2 · 20 min
The diagnosis has already been agreed on; now comes the conversation that decides whether it will be a good one. You show up prepared, ask to record and say what it's for, ask 15 questions always in the same order, and let the owner talk. The real pain shows up in a case from last week, almost never in the first answer.
Start the lesson
Goal: run the diagnosis interview with the 15 questions, ask for recording with clear consent, and tell real pain from false pain.
Five moments, always in this order. Click each one.
This is the delivery interview. The call that sells the diagnosis is a different one and is covered in Selling with AI 2.
Three questions per block, in 5 blocks. The order matters more than the wording.
Start with what the owner likes to talk about: what the business does, how it started, who is on the team.
Then the customer's path, from first contact to payment, and what stalls when the owner isn't there.
Only once the owner is at ease: the most tedious task of the week, where customers get lost, what gets redone every week.
This is where the candidates for an assistant show up. Write them down, don't propose anything.
Dream before fear: what needs to be different in 12 months, what they would do with free time.
Last: what has already gone wrong with technology, what worries them about AI, and who else needs to agree.
Real pain has a recent case, a cost (in time, lost customers, or money), and some urgency. False pain sounds like a speech: "I'd like to improve everything a little."
When in doubt, ask three questions: "give me an example from the last time," "how much does that cost you in time or customers," "if nothing changes, where will you be in 6 months."
Don't guess. Agree on a simple count for one week (a sheet of paper at the front desk, a tally mark for each missed message) and use that number in the report. It becomes the baseline: the starting point for comparing later.
Copy them, adapt them to the niche, and bring them printed. Swap whatever is between < > for your own details.
# Diagnostic interview — <business> — <date> # Preparation (20 min): 3 pain hypotheses + 2 specific questions Hypotheses: 1) <...> 2) <...> 3) <...> Specific questions: a) <...> b) <...> ## Block 1 — Context 1. Tell me in one sentence what <company> does and who it's for. 2. How long have you been in business? How did it start? 3. How many people are on the team today? What's your role day to day? ## Block 2 — Flow 4. Walk me through the path of a <client/patient> from the moment they find you until they pay. 5. Which channels do they use to reach you? How many messages come in on a normal day? 6. When you're not there, what stops? ## Block 3 — Bottleneck 7. What's the most annoying thing about your week, the one you wish you didn't have to do? 8. Where do you lose <client/patient>: before, during, or after the service? 9. Is there any task you redo every week? ## Block 4 — Dream 10. 12 months from now, what needs to be different for you to be satisfied? 11. If you gained a few free hours a week, what would you use them for? 12. What kind of <client/patient> would you like to have more of? ## Block 5 — Fear 13. Have you ever tried a technology that didn't work out? What happened? 14. What worries you when you think about AI serving your <client/patient>? 15. Who else needs to agree for us to move forward? ## Exact phrases (write them down in quotes) - "<...>" ## Numbers they mentioned / that we are going to count - <...>
Before we start: may I record our conversation? It's just so I don't miss a single thing you say when I put the report together. - Who listens: only me (and the transcription tool processes the audio). - Tool: <tool name> will turn the audio into text; <does or doesn't keep the audio; does or doesn't use it for training>. - Where it's kept: <folder/account>, not shared with anyone. - When I delete it: the audio after <N> days; the text stays only until the report is delivered. One request: please don't say any patient's or client's name; say "a patient," "a client." If you'd rather I not record, no problem: I'll take notes by hand. May I record? [record] Consent given on <date, time>, by <name>, for <purpose>.
Summary: "Let me give back to you in 3 sentences what I understood: <1>, <2>, <3>." Validation: "Is that right? Is anything important missing?" Delivery: "In <N> business days I'll show you a page with what I found and a recommendation." Schedule: "What's your next free time slot so I can present it to you live?" Task: "Until then, the front desk will mark on a sheet of paper <what we're going to count>, all right?"
Your voice and what the owner tells you are personal data. At a clinic, the conversation can touch on a patient's health data, which LGPD (Brazil's data protection law, Law 13,709/2018, art. 5, II) calls sensitive data.
That's why you ask them not to mention names, and why there's a deadline to delete. To choose the transcription tool with data in mind, see the Data guard in the Auditor course (link at the end of the lesson).
This is a simulated, fictional conversation, for practice. Choose what you would say; the comment appears right after.
Choose your answer. The feedback appears right after, and the conversation continues based on your choice.
Use Vila Serena (fictional) or a real business that has authorized you.
Copy the 15-question script and swap the words for the niche's vocabulary (patient, student, buyer). Fill in the 3 hypotheses and the 2 Vila Serena-specific questions.
Done when: the script has the 15 questions in the 5 blocks, in order, with the niche's vocabulary and the hypotheses filled in.
Adapt the consent script with the tool you actually use and a deletion deadline you will actually keep.
Done when: the script states the purpose, the tool, where it is stored, and when it is deleted, and it has the line for recording consent.
Do this lesson's simulated interview until you reach the "Diagnosis with a foundation" ending.
Done when: your best score in the simulated conversation is the maximum number of points.
Question 1 of 4
Why does the fear block come last in the interview?
Question 2 of 4
The owner says, "I'd like to improve everything a little." What do you do?skill
Question 3 of 4
The owner doesn't know how many messages go unanswered. What goes in the report?
Question 4 of 4
What does a complete recording consent tell the owner?skill
Pick an answer. The explanation shows up after you try.