Message testing template and interview questions
Understand whether your message is clear, relevant, credible and meaningful to your audience.
The short version
- A message test shows whether people understand a message as intended, find it relevant, believe it, and what it makes them expect.
- Ask about their current needs first (Q1 and Q2), then show the message exactly as intended and ask Q3 to Q13.
- Read the answers as a chain, from what you intended to communicate to what people understood, believed, cared about and expected.
- Run it as 15 to 20 minute voice interviews with people who represent the intended audience.
About this research
A product or service can provide genuine value while the message used to explain it fails to communicate that value well.
Message testing helps teams understand what people think a message means, whether it connects with something they care about, and whether they believe it. It also shows what questions it creates, and whether it gives them a meaningful reason to pay attention or learn more.
This study evaluates the message itself, rather than the visual creative used to present it.
Study at a glance
| Study type | Qualitative message testing |
|---|---|
| Method | Moderated or AI-moderated voice interview |
| Average interview time | 15 to 20 minutes |
| Core questions | 13 |
| Best suited for | Marketing, Product Marketing, Brand, Research, Growth and Strategy teams |
When to run this study
Run this research when developing or refining a value proposition, product positioning, campaign message, headline, product description, landing-page message, brand proposition or other customer-facing communication.
Who to interview
Recruit people who genuinely represent the intended audience for the message.
What you’ll learn
- What people think the message means
- Whether the intended value is clear
- Which parts feel most relevant
- Which parts feel less relevant
- Whether the message feels distinctive
- Whether claims feel credible
- What questions or doubts it creates
- What people expect after reading it
- What could strengthen the message
Ready-to-use interview guide
13 questions, in the order to ask them. The numbers are the ones the table below refers to.
Establish context before exposure
Before I show you anything, tell me how you currently think about or deal with [relevant need, category or situation].
What matters most to you when you're considering something that helps with this?
Show the message and test comprehension
What's your immediate reaction to this message?
In your own words, what do you think it's trying to tell you?
What do you think is being offered or promised here?
Was there anything that felt unclear, confusing or open to interpretation?
Probe if needed: What did you think that part meant?
Test relevance and value
Which part of this message, if any, feels most relevant to you?
Probe if needed: Why does that matter to you?
Is there anything in the message that doesn't feel particularly important or relevant to you?
Test differentiation and credibility
Based only on this message, does anything feel different from what you've seen or heard elsewhere?
Probe if yes: What feels different?
How believable does what the message is saying feel?
Probe if needed: What makes you believe or question it?
Understand expectations and response
After seeing this message, what would you expect the product, service or experience to actually deliver?
What, if anything, would this message make you want to know more about?
If you could change one thing about this message to make it clearer or more meaningful to someone like you, what would you change, and why?
Copy all 13 questions as plain text.
What this study can derive
| Research output | What it can tell you | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Message comprehension | Whether people understand the message as intended, and where interpretation differs | Q3–Q6 |
| Value proposition clarity | Whether audiences understand what is being offered and why it may matter | Q4–Q7 |
| Audience relevance | Which parts of the message connect with audience needs and priorities | Q1–Q2, Q7–Q8 |
| Perceived differentiation | Whether the message communicates something meaningfully different from alternatives | Q9 |
| Message credibility | Which claims feel believable, and where audiences need more evidence | Q10 |
| Expectation and interest formation | What audiences expect the offering to deliver, and what they want to explore further | Q11–Q12 |
| Message refinement opportunities | Language, claims or ideas that need clarification, strengthening or reconsideration | Q6–Q8, Q10, Q13 |
How to analyze the interviews
Compare the chain of understanding:
- What we intended to communicate
- What people actually understood
- What they believed
- What mattered to them
- What they expected as a result
Don't treat comprehension and relevance as the same thing. Someone can understand a message perfectly and still think, "This isn't relevant to me." Likewise, a potentially valuable proposition may perform poorly simply because the wording makes the value difficult to understand.
Researcher’s notes
- Avoid: Avoid asking "Is this clear?" on its own. People frequently say yes. Asking them to explain the message in their own words provides stronger evidence.
- Avoid: Don't read "sounds good" as strong message performance. Look for specific perceived value and relevance.
- Do: Test the message without excessive explanation or visual support. Do this if the objective is specifically to understand the strength of the messaging.
- Do: Understand why before you accept new wording. When participants suggest alternative wording, find out why they want it changed before treating their wording as the solution.
If you're testing more than one message
Test each message individually before asking participants to compare them. Where possible, rotate message order across interviews. After individual evaluation, comparative questions can explore these:
- What feels different about these messages?
- Which message communicates something most relevant to your situation, if any? Why?
- Which is easiest to understand? What makes it easier?
- Do any of the messages create different expectations about the offering?
Related
Questions people ask about message testing
What is a message test?
A message test is a study that shows people a message, such as a value proposition, headline or campaign message, and asks what they think it means. It explores whether it feels relevant, believable and different, and what questions it creates. It evaluates the message itself, rather than the visual creative used to present it.
How many questions should a message test have?
This template uses 13 core questions in a 15 to 20 minute interview. Two set the context before the message is shown. The other eleven cover comprehension, relevance, differentiation, credibility and what people expect next.
Why not just ask people if a message is clear?
People frequently say yes when asked "Is this clear?" Asking them to explain the message in their own words gives stronger evidence. It shows where their interpretation differs from what you intended.
How do you test more than one message in one study?
Test each message on its own first, then ask comparative questions, such as which is easiest to understand. Where possible, rotate the order of messages across interviews. The aim is not just to pick a winner, but to understand which messaging principles are working and why.