{
  "schema": "vedokrok.public-item.v1",
  "release_id": "MHC-RPUB-20260920-75ad787a",
  "url": "/knowledge/use-neutral-wording-when-the-answer-could-embarrass-or-contradict-you",
  "id": "MHC-D-RESEARCH-0752",
  "version": "0.1.0",
  "title": "Use neutral wording when the answer could embarrass or contradict you",
  "summary": "If the safe answer is visible inside the question, agreement is weak evidence.",
  "kind": "heuristic",
  "body": "Remove praise, blame and the expected direction from the prompt. Ask what happened, what the person noticed, what options they considered or what made the task difficult or easy. Let evaluation appear in the answer rather than in your wording.",
  "limits": [
    "Some factual yes/no questions are appropriate. Neutrality matters most when interpretation, evaluation or blame is at stake."
  ],
  "topics": [
    "union-question-design-and-evidence-elicitation"
  ],
  "intents": [],
  "source_ids": [
    "RS-8C87115E8FFA48A7",
    "RS-CE35AEE29F18689F"
  ],
  "evidence": [
    {
      "claim": "GOV.UK interview guidance recommends open, neutral questions, asking for real stories and examples, listening carefully, and using follow-ups when meaning is unclear.",
      "source_id": "RS-8C87115E8FFA48A7",
      "role": "supports",
      "note": "Neutral wording reduces one source of bias but does not make interview evidence objective or representative by itself.",
      "locator": "Do the interview"
    },
    {
      "claim": "GOV.UK moderated-testing guidance recommends realistic tasks and neutral instructions that do not reveal the intended answer or route.",
      "source_id": "RS-CE35AEE29F18689F",
      "role": "supports",
      "note": "Task neutrality does not remove product familiarity, social desirability or observer effects.",
      "locator": "Plan tasks and instructions"
    }
  ],
  "use_when": [
    "The question contains your preferred answer, a judgement word or a status difference that may make agreement easier than correction."
  ],
  "avoid_when": [
    "Some factual yes/no questions are appropriate. Neutrality matters most when interpretation, evaluation or blame is at stake."
  ],
  "example": "A manager asks 'Did the instructions make sense?'; a neutral version asks the employee to explain what they understood they needed to do.",
  "check": "A reasonable person can disagree with your hypothesis without first contradicting the premise of the question.",
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "RS-8C87115E8FFA48A7",
      "title": "Using in-depth interviews",
      "url": "https://www.gov.uk/service-manual/user-research/using-in-depth-interviews"
    },
    {
      "id": "RS-CE35AEE29F18689F",
      "title": "Using moderated usability testing",
      "url": "https://www.gov.uk/service-manual/user-research/using-moderated-usability-testing"
    }
  ],
  "relations": [
    {
      "from": "MHC-D-RESEARCH-0752",
      "to": "MHC-D-RESEARCH-0753",
      "type": "useful_with",
      "url": "/knowledge/follow-labels-with-observable-detail"
    }
  ],
  "collections": [
    {
      "id": "RC-F3F88D2D9DC3D150",
      "title": "Ask questions that produce usable evidence instead of polished generalities",
      "url": "/collections/ask-questions-that-produce-usable-evidence-instead-of-polished-generalities"
    }
  ]
}