The Socratic Method and Consumer Understanding: Asking Better Questions with Sarah Montgomery
August 19, 2025
The most valuable consumer insights often emerge when we’re willing to challenge our own assumptions and those of others.
In this episode of The Curiosity Current, hosts Stephanie and Victoria sit down with Sarah Montgomery, Director of Human Insights at The Coca-Cola Company, to explore how the Socratic method can help researchers question ingrained beliefs, push beyond confirmation bias, and uncover the deeper truths that move businesses forward.
In this episode of The Curiosity Current, hosts Stephanie and Victoria talk with Sarah Montgomery, Director of Human Insights at The Coca-Cola Company, about using the Socratic method to uncover deeper truths in research. Drawing on her work with brands like Vitaminwater, Smartwater, Dasani, Simply, and Honest Kids, Sarah explains how disciplined questioning helps challenge assumptions, avoid confirmation bias, and bridge the gap between corporate jargon and consumer reality. She shares techniques for addressing uncomfortable insights without damaging trust, and why intellectual courage is essential for moving past consensus-driven decision-making. The discussion also explores how to balance speed and rigor in an AI-driven research environment while maintaining focus on what truly matters. Sarah underscores the importance of broad curiosity beyond data and into culture, as a tool for better understanding human behavior. It’s a practical guide for turning research into a strategic driver rather than just a source of answers.
What You’ll Learn:
- What the Socratic method is and how it sharpens critical thinking in market research
- How disciplined questioning helps researchers avoid confirmation bias and surface deeper insights
- Why intellectual courage is essential for delivering inconvenient truths that challenge the status quo
- How to reintroduce “the vernacular of real people” into research and brand decisions
- Ways to deliver difficult findings constructively, preserving collaboration with creative and brand teams
- The risk of mistaking speed for meaning in agile, AI-enabled research environments
- Why cultivating broad curiosity, in art, literature, history, and beyond, makes you a better researcher
- How to build stakeholder relationships that move you from “order taker” to trusted thought partner
Episode Resources:
- Sarah Montgomery on LinkedIn
- The Coca-Cola Company Website
- Victoria Waldman on LinkedIn
- Stephanie Vance on LinkedIn
- The Curiosity Current: A Market Research Podcast on Apple Podcasts
- The Curiosity Current: A Market Research Podcast on Spotify
- The Curiosity Current: A Market Research Podcast on YouTube
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