Here are some of the best questions for a user roundtable attendee survey about topics of interest—and tips for crafting these questions the right way. If you want to build your own in seconds, Specific lets you generate a conversational survey instantly.
The best open-ended questions for user roundtable attendee surveys
Open-ended questions are your best bet for gathering rich, qualitative insights. They let attendees freely describe their opinions, experiences, and motivations. You should use them when you care about depth over metrics—when you don't want to constrain responses to a set of predefined options.
They do come with a tradeoff: open-ended survey questions can result in higher nonresponse rates (sometimes up to 50%), but they capture detail you simply can’t get with closed options. And those details matter—a Danish study found that management found these qualitative responses “very useful” over 80% of the time. [1][2]
What motivated you to join this roundtable?
Which topics did you find most engaging or valuable in today’s session?
Were there any topics you felt were missing or underexplored?
Can you share a specific insight or takeaway you gained from the discussion?
What would you like to see covered or discussed at future roundtables?
How do you plan to use what you learned in your role or organization?
Did anything surprise you during the session?
If you could change one thing about the format or content, what would it be?
Is there a challenge you’re currently facing that you hoped this roundtable would address?
Do you have any feedback for the facilitators or moderators?
Open-ended questions help you surface what’s really top-of-mind for attendees—sometimes sparking new directions for future sessions.
Best single-select multiple-choice questions for roundtable attendee surveys
Single-select multiple-choice questions are super useful when you need to quickly quantify feedback or identify patterns at a glance. They’re easier for attendees to answer (faster, less cognitive load), and make summary stats a breeze for analysis. Sometimes, picking from 3-4 options also gets the conversation started—then you can dig deeper with a followup.
Question: Which session topic did you find most valuable today?
Industry trends
Best practices
Emerging technologies
Case studies
Other
Question: How likely are you to attend another roundtable on similar topics?
Very likely
Somewhat likely
Not likely
Question: What is your primary area of interest when joining roundtables?
Learning from peers
Industry updates
Networking
Exploring solutions to challenges
Other
When to follow up with "why?" Often, after someone picks an option, our first instinct should be to ask "why?" That followup reveals the reasoning or context—making the difference between surface-level data and a real insight. For example, after "Not likely," the followup could be, "Why do you feel hesitant about attending future roundtables?" That’s how you get actionable feedback, instead of stats with no story.
When and why to add the "Other" choice? Always give respondents an “Other” option if your listed choices might miss something important. Follow up with, “What would you add?” This is where unexpected (sometimes game-changing) insights surface—especially for diverse audiences. These open responses keep your survey inclusive and actionable.
Should you use an NPS question for user roundtable attendee surveys?
The Net Promoter Score (NPS) question—“How likely are you to recommend this to a peer?” on a scale of 0–10—is a proven way to benchmark attendee satisfaction. For roundtables, it’s straightforward to add. It quickly signals how well you’re meeting attendees’ needs and can help you track improvements over time.
If you want a head start, check out our NPS survey builder for user roundtable topics. A good NPS score signals you’re on the right track, and asking followups for low-scoring responses uncovers exactly what to fix.
The power of follow-up questions
Follow-up questions turn a generic survey into an insightful, dynamic conversation. We designed Specific to master this process. With automated AI-driven followups, the survey asks smart, context-aware questions in real time—just like an expert moderator would.
User roundtable attendee: "I liked the peer-sharing session but felt rushed."
AI follow-up: "Could you share more about what felt rushed? Was it the timing, facilitation, or something else?"
Without the followup, you’d have no idea if the issue was the schedule or the structure. We’ve seen over and over: a single probing followup uncovers what’s actually going on—and drives strategic improvements.
How many followups to ask? We recommend 2–3 followups per open-ended question—usually enough to capture depth without overwhelming the respondent. Specific’s settings let you choose when to move on, so you won’t annoy participants or collect filler data.
This makes it a conversational survey: respondents don’t just fill out a form; they chat naturally, clarifying points and building insight in real time. That’s the difference between stale feedback and a true two-way exchange.
Easy AI survey analysis: The best part? AI helps you analyze complex replies, even when you have lots of messy free-text data. You can summarize, tag, and uncover trends—faster than ever before.
Try creating a survey on Specific and experience how automated followups transform clarity and speed in your interview process.
How to prompt ChatGPT for custom survey questions
If you want to brainstorm survey questions with AI, start simple, then add more context. Here’s an easy entry point:
For a quick generated list:
Suggest 10 open-ended questions for user roundtable attendee survey about topics of interest.
You get better results if you add context, as in:
We’re running a user roundtable for software product managers who want actionable insights on emerging tech. Our goal is to identify trending topics and session ideas for next quarter. Suggest 10 open-ended survey questions.
Next, ask the AI to structure your questions by category:
Look at the questions and categorize them. Output categories with the questions under them.
Once you have your categories, drill into the topics you care about most:
Generate 10 questions for categories "Peer learning" and "Future trends".
Prompts like these enable you to use ChatGPT or any AI survey builder to develop a research-grade survey quickly.
What is a conversational survey?
A conversational survey is more than just a digital form—it’s a chat-based, back-and-forth exchange. Specific’s conversational surveys use AI to ask, clarify, and respond in natural language, just like a human moderator would. That means greater clarity, deeper responses, and a dramatically better experience for respondents.
Here’s how traditional manual survey creation stacks up to using an AI-powered survey generator:
Manual Survey | AI-Generated Survey |
|---|---|
Time-consuming to write and organize questions | Instant generation from a simple prompt |
Fixed wording, no dynamic probing | AI follows up, clarifies, and adapts in real time |
Hard to update or revise later | Edit by chatting with the AI survey editor |
Poor at capturing nuance and depth | AI explores context, reveals “why” behind answers |
Why use AI for user roundtable attendee surveys? Because AI-powered conversational surveys boost completeness, encourage honesty, and reveal themes you may not have anticipated. Respondents engage naturally, leading to higher quality data and better outcomes for your events. If you want a walkthrough, check our guide on how to create a conversational survey.
Whether you’re looking for an AI survey example or ready to use an AI survey generator to streamline your process, Specific gives your attendees the best-in-class experience—making it easier than ever to engage and learn from your audience.
See this topics of interest survey example now
Jump in and experience an AI-driven, engaging survey that adapts to your feedback. Craft insightful, conversational interviews and surface the themes that matter most to your user roundtable attendees—no manual effort needed.