Here are some of the best questions for a conference participants survey about future topics interest, along with smart tips on crafting them. We recommend using Specific to quickly build your own conversational survey—just generate your survey and start gathering insight.
Best open-ended questions to uncover future interests
Open-ended questions get participants talking—perfect for discovering what really matters to your conference audience. These questions give people the freedom to express thoughts, experiences, and new ideas in their own words, providing richer feedback than simple “yes/no” responses. The downside? They take a bit more effort to answer, and nonresponse rates can be as high as 18%, compared to just 1-2% for closed-ended questions. Still, if you want detailed insights and unique perspectives, open-ended formats are a must. [2][3]
What topics would you most like to see featured at future conferences?
Can you describe a current trend or issue within your field that deserves more attention at our events?
What session from this conference made you think differently about your industry, and why?
Is there a specific speaker or area of expertise you hope is included next time?
Which skills or knowledge do you wish you could develop at future events?
How could our conference better help you stay ahead of industry changes?
What challenges in your work should future sessions address?
Describe a memorable conference session you attended (anywhere) and what made it impactful.
Are there emerging technologies or methodologies you want explored in upcoming conferences?
If you could design your ideal conference session, what would it cover?
Best single-select multiple-choice questions to quantify preferences
Single-select multiple-choice questions are invaluable when you need clear, quantifiable feedback on preferences or priorities. They streamline the response process for participants and help you quickly spot trends. These are easy to analyze en masse, ideal for reporting moments and heat maps. They also serve as great conversation starters, since many people find it easier to react to choices before diving into fuller explanations. Mix these with open-ended questions for the best results. [5]
Question: Which of these future topics are you most interested in?
Artificial Intelligence and Automation
Sustainability and Green Innovation
Remote Collaboration Tools
Health Tech Advances
Other
Question: What format do you prefer for in-depth exploration of new topics?
Panel Discussions
Workshops
Hands-on Demonstrations
Keynote Presentations
Question: How likely are you to attend a session about emerging industry trends?
Very likely
Somewhat likely
Not likely
When to followup with "why?" After a participant picks an option, following up with "Can you share why you chose that?" peels back the next layer. For instance, if a participant selects “Sustainability and Green Innovation,” asking “why is this most important to you?” uncovers valuable context that can shape your future content strategy.
When and why to add the "Other" choice? Always include an "Other" option when your topic list isn't exhaustive—especially in fast-changing fields or diverse audiences. A follow-up with “Can you describe what you had in mind?” can reveal needs or interests you didn’t anticipate during survey design, surfacing trends before they go mainstream.
NPS for future topics: Should you use it?
NPS (Net Promoter Score) is traditionally used to measure loyalty or satisfaction, but it's also valuable for conference participants surveys. By asking how likely someone is to recommend your event based on its focus on future topics, you uncover both advocacy and hesitancy—and can ask targeted follow-ups to understand the score. Given that post-event survey response rates among conference attendees average 10-20%, NPS offers a fast, quantitative checkpoint, especially when paired with more conversational questions. Try generating an NPS survey for conference participants.
The power of follow-up questions
Follow-up questions are where real learning happens. By using AI-powered, automated follow-ups (as explained in our deep dive on follow-up questions), your survey becomes an actual conversation. Specific’s AI smartly asks tailored follow-ups based on the context of each reply—so you capture clarifications, motivations, and edge cases in real time, just like a human researcher would. This leads to richer insights without the back-and-forth of email or the ambiguity of incomplete answers.
Conference participant: “I’d be interested in seeing more technology topics.”
AI follow-up: “That’s great—can you share which specific technologies or trends you’re hoping to learn about?”
How many followups to ask? Usually, 2-3 well-placed followups are enough. The key is to stop when you’ve got the context you need to act, but always give participants the option to move on. Specific lets you control this setting, so your survey remains conversational, not overwhelming.
This makes it a conversational survey. The experience feels like a real chat—not a form—driving better completion rates and honest, detailed feedback.
Qualitative data, automated insights. Thanks to AI survey analysis tools (see how AI survey response analysis works), reviewing hundreds of open-text responses is no longer daunting. AI finds patterns, summarizes responses, and even lets you chat with your results to quickly surface actionable insights—even when your data is mostly unstructured text.
These automated followup questions are truly a new step forward—generate a survey and experience the difference firsthand.
Using GPT prompts for better survey questions
To generate great survey questions for conference participants about future topics interest, try starting with this simple prompt:
Suggest 10 open-ended questions for conference participants survey about future topics interest.
But AI always gives better output with more context. For more tailored results, add details about your audience, your conference’s history, and your strategic goals:
We organize annual tech conferences focused on emerging trends in healthcare and fintech. Our audience is comprised of industry leaders, innovators, and researchers. Suggest 10 open-ended questions to identify what topics they want to see at next year’s event, emphasizing practical applications and future challenges.
Next, ask the AI to structure your questions for even more coherence:
Look at the questions and categorize them. Output categories with the questions under them.
After reviewing these categories, decide which areas you want to dig deeper into and prompt the AI:
Generate 10 questions for categories such as "Technology Disruption" and "Workforce Innovation."
What is a conversational survey?
Conversational surveys are a new class of feedback tools that feel more like instant messaging, not dry forms. Unlike manual survey builders—where you draft question after question and pray the inputs make sense—a conversational survey driven by AI (like those created in Specific) adapts to the participant’s answers, navigates ambiguity, and asks sharp follow-ups in real time. This mirrors a real interview, resulting in clarity and higher-quality insights.
Manual Survey Creation | AI-Generated Conversational Survey |
|---|---|
Static question list—same for every respondent | Questions adapt dynamically to each reply |
Requires extensive manual setup and editing | Create in seconds via a single prompt or chat, edit questions by just describing your changes (AI Survey Editor) |
Follow-ups are predefined or require separate rounds | AI asks smart follow-ups for context or clarity in real time |
Hard to analyze open text at scale | Built-in AI analysis summarizes and structures qualitative insights (see AI-powered survey analysis) |
Impersonal, often feels like a “form” | Feels like a natural conversation—a familiar chat experience |
Why use AI for conference participants surveys? AI survey generators like Specific slash the time and effort required to build, deploy, and analyze your surveys—letting you focus on strategic decision-making instead of admin work. If you want to see how to create a survey for conference participants, check out our how-to guide for survey creation.
With best-in-class user experience and conversational survey logic, Specific makes giving and gathering feedback seamless—no training needed for respondents, and instant, actionable insights for you.
See this future topics interest survey example now
Don’t miss your chance to learn exactly what your participants want next—see what a dynamic, AI-powered conversational survey can uncover. Act now to turn open feedback into clear strategic direction, fast.