Best questions for masterclass attendee survey about expectations

Here are some of the best questions for a Masterclass Attendee survey about expectations, plus tips on how to design them for actionable insight. You can instantly build a tailored, conversational survey with Specific—just provide your prompt and let our platform do the heavy lifting.

Best open-ended questions for a masterclass attendee survey about expectations

Open-ended questions can unlock rich, nuanced feedback from respondents. They let you dig into motivations, concerns, and ideas that you might otherwise overlook—crucial when you want honest insight into attendee expectations. While they require more effort to answer (and sometimes yield fewer responses than multiple-choice), their value lies in surfacing the "unknown unknowns." In fact, 81% of respondents in a recent cross-industry study raised issues using open-ended questions that structured grids never uncovered [3]. Still, it’s smart to balance open-enders with easier questions to keep completion rates high [1].

Here are 10 of the best open-ended questions for this type of survey:

1. What are you hoping to gain from attending this masterclass?

2. Are there any specific topics or skills you want to see covered?

3. What challenges led you to sign up for this masterclass?

4. How do you plan to use what you learn in your work or life?

5. Can you share any previous experiences (positive or negative) with similar masterclasses?

6. What would make this masterclass a “success” in your eyes?

7. Is there an unanswered question you hope this session will address?

8. How do you prefer to participate—through group discussion, hands-on activities, or listening to lectures?

9. What concerns do you have (if any) about the format or content?

10. Is there anything else you’d like to tell us before the masterclass begins?

Using open-ended questions lets attendees describe their needs in their own words. This approach is invaluable for discovering expectations that may not be on your radar and for identifying hidden pain points you can address to improve delivery. And per research in healthcare, the overwhelming majority of management teams (80.7%) find open-text answers useful for quality improvements [2].

Best single-select multiple-choice questions for a masterclass attendee survey about expectations

Single-select multiple-choice questions are perfect if you want to quantify major themes or “break the ice” with easier, low-effort items before diving into qualitative insights. Sometimes, picking from options is less intimidating than typing a paragraph. This is handy for respondents who might otherwise skip open-ended prompts entirely, and it gives you clean, segmentable data for analysis.

Question: What is your primary motivation for joining this masterclass?

• To learn a new skill

• To deepen existing knowledge

• To network with peers

• For professional development

Question: How familiar are you with the topic of this masterclass?

• Beginner

• Intermediate

• Advanced

• Expert

Question: What is your preferred learning style for this masterclass?

• Interactive group work

• Hands-on exercises

• Lecture-style presentations

• Other

When to follow up with "why?" Use follow-up "why" questions when you want to get context behind a choice. For example, after someone selects "interactive group work" as their preferred learning style, asking "Why does this style work best for you?" turns a quick pick into actionable insight.

When and why to add the "Other" choice? Whenever you suspect your predefined answers might not cover everyone’s perspective, include "Other." Some of the most interesting feedback surfaces only when you explicitly invite it. Follow-up questions for "Other" responses can uncover unique expectations or needs you didn’t think to ask about.

Should you use an NPS-style question for expectations surveys?

Adding a Net Promoter Score (NPS)–type question to your survey is a smart move when you want a benchmark for attendee sentiment and likelihood to recommend your masterclass. NPS cuts through the noise and gives you a simple, predictive score—from 0 to 10—on how likely your participants are to recommend your session to others. This not only measures expectations but tracks loyalty and perceived value over time. Try generating a ready-made NPS survey for masterclass attendees with Specific if you want to see how easily it fits into your expectations survey flow.

The power of follow-up questions

If you want truly meaningful data from your masterclass attendee survey, smart follow-up questions are the key. We use powerful AI-driven logic—as explained in our overview of automated follow-up questions—to ask just the right clarifying probes, based on each respondent’s specific answer, in real time. This captures the context and nuance that static surveys miss. Automated follow-ups save tons of time compared to chasing down incomplete responses by email, and they keep the conversation flowing naturally.

• Masterclass Attendee: “I want to get practical advice.”

• AI follow-up: “Can you share what kind of practical advice would be most valuable for you at this stage?”

If you don’t ask for details, you end up with vague points that are tough to turn into improvements. That’s why Specific AI acts like a live researcher, probing when more detail is needed—but never being intrusive.

How many followups to ask? In our experience, 2–3 follow-up questions strike a good balance between depth and fatigue. With Specific, you can set the maximum number of follow-ups for each topic and auto-skip when you’ve gleaned what you need.

This makes it a conversational survey: Instead of static forms, the survey engages attendees conversationally, much like a friendly, attentive interviewer would.

AI response analysis is simple: Even with all this open text, analyzing responses is stress-free. You can use Specific’s AI survey response analysis to instantly summarize and explore themes in all your data—no matter how qualitative or complex.

Try generating your own survey using Specific and experience just how much richer and more natural these conversations—and insights—can be.

How to compose prompts for AI to generate great masterclass attendee survey questions

When asking ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, or any GPT-based AI to create survey questions, start simple but add detail for better results. Here’s the basic prompt to try:

Suggest 10 open-ended questions for Masterclass Attendee survey about Expectations.

The AI will do better if you include context about your goals, audience, and specific needs. For example:

I'm running a masterclass for early-career professionals in the design industry. The topic is "Growth Strategies for 2024." Suggest 10 open-ended questions I should ask attendees before the event to understand their expectations, challenges, and preferred learning styles.

Once you have the draft questions, you can prompt:

Look at the questions and categorize them. Output categories with the questions under them.

Then, pick the most relevant categories and drill deeper with:

Generate 10 questions for categories [Preferred Learning Styles], [Specific Professional Challenges], and [Desired Outcomes].

Refining your prompt like this will help the AI focus on what truly matters for your particular event and audience.

What is a conversational survey?

Unlike old-school surveys—think static lists of radio buttons—a conversational survey mimics a real chat. Each question feels like a message, and the survey adapts in the moment, with follow-ups driven by the respondent’s earlier answers. Respondents can skip to what’s relevant, take a break on mobile, and share more than they typically would in rigid forms. This fast, natural interplay captures more context and richer insight, especially for nuanced topics like attendee expectations.

Why use AI for masterclass attendee surveys? AI survey builders like Specific let you generate, customize, and analyze every kind of attendee expectation survey in a fraction of the time—and with far less cognitive load—compared to manual methods. Want to see an AI survey example for masterclass attendees? Check out the AI survey generator with preset prompts or start fresh based on your needs with the AI survey maker.

Our platform delivers the best-in-class user experience for conversational surveys, making sharing, editing, and analyzing feedback smooth and enjoyable for everyone involved. If you want step-by-step instructions, here’s a guide to create your masterclass attendee survey about expectations in minutes.

See this expectations survey example now

Your best attendee insights start in moments—see how quickly you can capture and analyze expectations with conversational, AI-powered surveys. Start now and transform your next masterclass with actionable feedback.