I have shopped since January and I am very focused and serious about shopping. Its my only source of income and there are several areas I enjoy, however audits and demonstrations are pretty well covered around here. Mystery shops are, of course, in abundance and I am working to improve. I have started to audio record my shops(yup, legal in my state because I satisfy the minimum 1 person in the know) because I want to be sure I am accurate in my reports and fair to the client and Location/people of interest. Specific then to mystery shopping, I have noted a few things and would like some advice. I talk too much. Oh.my.God. I simply chat away and I think there are several reasons and I can only address a few. I am distractible and I can address that but also I am super conscious of trying to get all my questions answered for the survey. If I try to let them lead it seems they often aren't talking about the things I am to report on and I struggle for a smooth transition back. I suspect many locations employees know they are shopped and if I start to ask those key survey questions, its like I see a little light ding on and it feels artificial after that. Its sometimes the survey as well. I think its difficult to go in asking generalized questions and giving vague answers, then pop up about quad 4 speakers. I also wonder if its me specifically. I was not aware the average consumer went to a store and asked wide open questions such as recommending a laptop or other items of importance and value. I am working to stop thinking about what they are saying and just be sold to. Is that the idea? I have had some really great interactions but then waffle at the decline to buy stage. When I shop places I am personally highly interested in, like luxury beauty , then I sorta forget I am shopping and just shop. I offer that those are the exact shops I would like to submit because my interaction is genuine and my recall is excellent and I dont act all weird, but I often fail to ask at least one of the critical questions which I estimate to be of specific concern to the client. With all that in mind, are there some videos or any other means anybody would suggest to improve my shopping (not personality deficits)? If I could find a model to practice from I could adapt. I am open to suggestion, up to and including that I discontinue shopping. Thank you for the help.

If you miss a critical question...well, here's what I do. I go out to my car, go over my notes/questionnaire to make sure I hit everything I was supposed to. If I didn't, I either call the store and say "oh, I was just in, and I just have one quick stupid question, would you tell me please......?" OR just walk back into the location and ask the question. If I really, really REALLY screwed up, I reschedule the shop.

As for "leading"...just SHUT UP. It takes practice, I know. Shut up, look at the guy, raise an eyebrow like "hey, buddy, what's next here?"; most people can't BEAR the silence, and will soon start talking. THEN you lead.
You actually don't ask your question until you're absolutely certain the salesperson is done but has not covered the salient points. At that point, I say something along "but I read in Consumer's Report that....."...or "do you know how I can check to see if there have been any recalls on this?".

Videos on youtube are mostly aimed at people picking up jobs at base pay. I really believe you can't make a living doing this on $4 shops.

The Penny Hoarder has several excellent articles on shopping.

You can also take Jacob's free e-zine about shopping.

And HAUNT, HAUNT, HAUNT all the sticky threads in the new shoppers section.

Oh, and stop "estimating" which question is important to the client. Treat every single question as of equal importance -- i.e., if you don't get an answer to it, your report will be unacceptable. That means if you're supposed to have safety features explained, and the guy doesn't touch on them, you MUST ask, "what safety equipment do you sell to go with this?" and if they don't sell it at all, you report exactly that. "They don't stock or sell any safety equipment, so the salesman was unable to go into safety equipment in depth. He did say the safety equipment is available at Walmart, and doesn't cost much."

That's just me, though. I hope other shoppers will contribute their 2CW!!!!!

I suspect you are doing fine. Don't give up. Wanting to improve is great.
Their are certification courses from MSPA and IMSC that can help. Also, sometimes editors give useful feedback, too.
Unless the guidelines say otherwise, you don't have to bring up the key points. That is their job. You should let the interactions happen how ever they happen. You would just report on whatever happens. Allowing the conversation to stray a little from the topic can be considered building rapport.