Values Hierarchy Interview
Elicit priority words, test them, and communicate through what matters most.
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 6
- Confidence
- 99%
The Values Hierarchy Interview elicits a person's real priority language through ordinary conversation. Instead of asking, “What are your values?”, choose a concrete topic and ask what is most important, enjoyable, or interesting about it. The superlative forces a hierarchy. Listen for words that carry extra emphasis, then feed those candidate words back and observe recognition through agreement, nods, blinks, or elaboration. Show acceptance with eye contact, a gentle smile, nodding, and brief positive sounds. Finally, reuse confirmed words and ideas naturally when explaining something to the person. Bowden's mechanism is that deeper values tend to remain fairly consistent across choices, so language drawn from one domain can help communication in another. The method also includes a boundary: unfamiliarity can create gut discomfort, but genuine cognitive opposition to a value may justify ending the interaction.
Origin
Bowden demonstrates the interview live by asking Hala Taha what matters when choosing podcast guests and when buying clothing, then tests the emphasized words she gives him.
Core principles
- 01Direct questions about values often produce socially desirable labels.
- 02Priority questions reveal a hierarchy rather than a generic list.
- 03Emphasis and repetition expose words with unusual value.
- 04Acceptance builds connection before those words are reused.
- 05A value pattern found deeply enough often transfers across contexts.
How to run it
- 1
Open a concrete topic
Ask about a familiar choice, activity, or experience rather than values in the abstract. Keep the subject natural enough to invite unrehearsed language.
Pro tip Weekend activities, purchases, and work choices provide useful openings.
Watch out A direct request for someone's values may produce words they think they should say.
- 2
Elicit the hierarchy
Ask what is most important, most enjoyable, or most interesting about the topic. The word “most” pushes the person to rank what matters.
Pro tip Go deeper on one subject instead of collecting a shallow list across many subjects.
- 3
Capture weighted words
Note the words that receive emphasis, repetition, or energy. Treat them as hypotheses about value rather than final conclusions.
Pro tip Write down exact words instead of translating them into your own vocabulary.
Watch out Not every word in an answer carries equal value.
- 4
Test for recognition
Feed a candidate word or idea back naturally and observe the response. Agreement, nodding, blinking, or deeper explanation can indicate that the word resonates.
Pro tip Test subtly in normal use rather than announcing a diagnosis of the person's values.
Watch out One response is a clue, not certainty.
- 5
Signal acceptance
Use attentive eye contact, gentle smiling, nodding, and small positive sounds while the person describes what matters. Make understanding feel safe before trying to influence anything.
Watch out Acceptance of the person does not obligate you to adopt every value.
- 6
Speak through their language
Include the confirmed words or underlying ideas naturally when responding, recommending, or explaining. Use them to make relevance clearer, not to disguise a poor fit.
Pro tip Preserve the person's wording when it accurately describes the value they expressed.
Watch out Mechanical repetition will feel conspicuous and manipulative.
In the wild
Bowden asks Hala what is most important when she chooses a podcast guest. She emphasizes specific expertise, strong opinions, deep knowledge, and the ability to go deep. He feeds “specific” back into the conversation and watches her nod and blink in recognition.
→ He identifies and tests language that reflects how she evaluates quality.
When asked what matters when buying clothing, Hala names fashion, fit, high quality, and style. Bowden then says he wants to give her a specific, high-quality answer, applying her own priority language to their interview.
→ A casual topic supplies language that can strengthen relevance in a different context.
Common mistakes
Asking for values directly
Abstract questions can trigger respectable-sounding labels rather than the language a person uses in real choices.
Treating every word equally
Recording the whole answer without noticing emphasis misses the hierarchy the interview is meant to expose.
Confusing discomfort with opposition
A gut reaction may signal unfamiliarity rather than a value that deserves cognitive rejection.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for conversations where understanding someone's decision criteria will improve trust, fit, or communication.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal when questioning is covertly used to exploit a person's priorities or override informed consent.
From the transcript
“we need kind of an interview technique that will or some questioning that will elicit from them um a hierarchy. Of what is most important…”
“I'm testing out these valuable words, which which may hint towards I'm not saying I've got this exactly right, but I'm on the path now…”
“you want a question that will elicit the most valuable, the most important, the most interesting.”
From the episode
Mark Bowden: Make a Powerful First Impression
Mark Bowden