How to Answer AI Coaching Questions (So the Insights Are Actually Accurate)
Better answers create better insights. Use three high-quality response templates, avoid four common low-quality patterns, and learn what “be specific” really means—without oversharing.
When an AI-guided conversation feels “off,” it’s rarely because you’re “bad at introspection.”
More often, it’s because your answer doesn’t contain the information needed to extract stable patterns:
- decisions,
- trade‑offs,
- constraints,
- and what actually happened.
Here’s how to answer in a way that produces usable insight.
Three high-quality answer templates
You don’t need to be eloquent. You need to be concrete.
Template 1: Episode → action → reasoning → cost
Use this when asked about a success or proud moment.
- Context: what was the situation?
- Action: what did you actually do (step-by-step)?
- Reasoning: why did you choose that approach?
- Cost: what did it take (time, stress, conflict)?
This reveals your “how you succeed” mechanism.
Template 2: Friction episode → trigger → what drained you
Use this when asked about burnout, anxiety, or bad fit.
- Context: what was the environment and pace?
- Trigger: what specifically started the decline?
- Drain: what was heavy (lack of autonomy, unclear evaluation, constant context switching)?
- What helped (even a little)?
This builds decision rails.
Template 3: Choice point → criteria → why you chose → outcome
Use this for decisions (major, job, project, collaboration).
- What were the options?
- What criteria did you use (explicitly or implicitly)?
- Why did you choose what you chose?
- What happened next?
- What would you do differently now?
This makes your decision model visible.
Four low-quality patterns (and how to fix them)
Pattern 1: Generic statements
“I like challenges. I’m a hard worker.”
Fix: add one episode.
Pattern 2: Performing for the tool
Answering as “the person you want to be,” not the person you are.
Fix: describe behavior, not identity. Use “In that situation, I did…” not “I am…”
Pattern 3: Information dumping
A long biography without decisions and trade‑offs.
Fix: pick one episode and go deep. Depth beats breadth.
Pattern 4: Oversharing sensitive data
Names, addresses, ID numbers, employer details, private medical information.
Fix: keep it non-identifying. Replace specifics with general labels (e.g., “a small team,” “a fast-paced role,” “a family conflict”).
“Be specific” has a boundary
Specificity doesn’t mean revealing secrets.
Useful specifics:
- what you did first,
- what you prioritized,
- what you refused,
- what feedback you got,
- what drained you.
Not useful (and risky):
- identifying personal data,
- details about other people,
- anything you would regret being logged.
If you want the system to be accurate, give it episodes
Deep Q&A is essentially an interview. The raw material is your lived examples.
- Start the assessment: Start Assessment