The Sixty-Second Value Interview

Pair two willing people and give the speaker sixty seconds to describe a recent inexpensive purchase without naming its brand, price, or star rating. The listener records three signals only: frequency of use, friction removed, and willingness to replace the item if it vanished in a tiny but impeccably mannered puff of smoke.

Before hearing the description, the listener guesses value from a five-star score; afterward, the listener guesses again from the three signals. The hypothesis is that a concrete account of use will change or strengthen the judgment more often than a bare rating. Repeat with reversed roles to reduce the influence of one person’s storytelling fireworks.

The protocol measures a change in judgment, not objective product quality. A reproducible write-up should publish the prompt, number of pairs, changed-versus-unchanged guesses, and unanswered cases without presenting a friendly conversation as market research for everyone alive.

The protocol gives usefulness verbs and lets the stars wait outside.