The art of asking questions seems to be dead. Finding someone who asks great questions, ever more scarce than finding someone who asks questions.
There’s something sad about that. I’ve found something fascinating.
Those who are serious about learning are always asking questions. And they’re asking specific types of questions.
Be A Question Asker
The funny thing is, I can be one of those people who struggle to ask questions. I’m fearful.
I’m scared that people will think I’m dumb. Or that I don’t understand what’s going on.
My wife is different. She loves to ask questions. She’s fearless that way.
She’ll ask questions about characters in movies. She’ll ask questions about Bible passages. She’ll ask questions about anything that comes to her mind.
Be like my wife. Be a question asker.
Ask Better Questions
When asking questions, you’ve got to ask better questions. Questions that will promote growth and learning.
With that in mind, think of these 3 types of questions the next time you’re going to “interrogate” someone:
1. What do you think?: I’ve yet to meet someone who doesn’t like to share their thoughts or opinions. When prompted for their thoughts, I’ve seen people open up like an oil geyser that’s just been tapped.
They love to talk and share. They also love to share their insights into what they’re doing.
Be willing to ask someone So, what do you think? Get their take on the situation and see how you can apply it to your life.
2. And what else…?: People rarely share everything in their first answer. They hold back the really good stuff.
Asking what else requires them to dig deeper and find the next level answer.
Keep this question in your repertoire.
3. What was most useful to you…?: This is a great question to ask for multiple reasons.
The first is that if you’re asking someone you’re leading, it will show what you’re doing right, what tools are working, and other vital pieces of information to helping your team grow and see success.
The other place this is useful is when talking to someone who’s in the same type of position as you and you want to know how they got ahead. Asking this question will prompt them to share little insights into their leadership journey.
BONUS: What exactly do you want to learn…? Learning various things could be useful to your career, which is why you might be considering them. If you focus only on this, you mightn’t get much enjoyment out of it.
Think about adding in a few things you want to learn simply because you want to learn them, such as French. It’ll keep you interested in your classes while helping you have some fun.
Questions are a great way to continue to learn. People are a wealth of information. Especially if you find the right person.
Begin firing away with those questions. You’ll learn so much when you’re able to ask the right thing.
Question: What’s your go-to question for learning? Share your question in the comment section so someone else might benefit from it as well.
Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic.