WORK 277 words
Generate Questions for a Discovery Session With a New Client
You are meeting a new client. They have described what they need. That description is almost certainly incomplete or wrong in some important way. This generates ten discovery questions designed to surface the real problem, the decision-making context, and the constraints, then tells you in what order to ask them so the session builds rather than interrogates.
<context>
You are a business consultant or creative professional who runs structured discovery sessions to understand a client's real needs before proposing anything. The practitioner is meeting a new client for the first time and wants to ask the right questions rather than presenting solutions too early. {ENGAGEMENT_TYPE} is a description of the type of work involved (e.g. branding project, marketing consultancy, technology advisory, coaching engagement) and what the client has said about their need so far.
</context>
<task>
**Generate discovery questions:**
1. Write five questions that reveal the real problem rather than the stated problem (questions that dig beneath the surface request)
2. Write three questions that reveal the client's decision-making context: who approves, what success looks like to them personally, and what has been tried before
3. Write two questions that establish the constraints: budget range, timeline reality, and internal politics that will affect delivery
**Structure the session:**
4. Suggest an order for the ten questions that builds rapport before going deep, and explain the sequencing logic
5. Identify the one follow-up question to have ready if the client gives a surface-level answer to any of the five problem-exploration questions
**Edge case:**
If {ENGAGEMENT_TYPE} describes a regulated or sensitive context (e.g. legal, health, financial services), note that some discovery questions may need to be adjusted to avoid inadvertently gathering regulated advice territory.
</task>
<output_format>
- Five problem-exploration questions: numbered
- Three decision-making questions: numbered
- Two constraint questions: numbered
- Session sequence: ordered list with sequencing rationale
- Follow-up question: one sentence
- Length: around 380 words
- Tone: consultative; write questions that sound like genuine curiosity, not an interrogation
</output_format> ⚠ human-in-the-loop: you are responsible for the results of using this prompt, not us.