How to ask good questions
Parent Post
if you want useful answers, learn to ask better questions
Be it getting helpful information from a colleague, looking up the right thing, or probing a potential customer: lots of the work we do relies on us asking good questions.
So if you want useful answers, learn to ask better questions.
The most important tip
The most important tip is simply to ask more questions.
Of course, the tone, framing, and sequence of your questions will have a huge impact, but asking more questions is the best way to practice and ultimately get these right.
By asking good questions, your conversations will be more productive and more enjoyable.
You will be able to generate better ideas and, ultimately, cultivate your curiosity.
Asking good questions is
Asking good questions is an incredibly powerful tool to do your best work.
Asking lots of questions unlocks learning and improves interpersonal bonding. And while asking good questions comes naturally to some people, anyone can learn it.
Here are five guidelines to start asking good questions.
Use the right wordingAvoid
Use the right wording
Avoid leading questions and use a neutral tone instead. Refrain from hinting at your opinion or the answer you’d like to get. If you want honest opinions or accurate information, don’t prime your interlocutor with loaded questions.
Keep them open-ended, so they have the option of giving you an answer you didn’t expect.
Know your purposeIt’s easy
Know your purpose
It’s easy to get distracted during a conversation. Try to make sure that every question you ask helps you gather either facts or your interlocutor’s opinion.
Avoid empty questions to fill the time. Instead, genuinely try to know more about them, and frame your questions accordingly.
Build a hierarchyThese will
Build a hierarchy
These will help the conversation flow more naturally.
- Follow general questions with specific ones.
- Focus your questions so they ask one thing at a time.
- Use something in the answer you got to frame your next question.
Start by listeningBe a
Start by listening
Be a good listener and ask questions the other person will enjoy answering. It is important to understand the responder’s thought process.
You can’t ask good questions if you don’t listen to what the person has to say.
Interrupt wiselyIt’s not about
Interrupt wisely
It’s not about never interrupting the person you’re chatting with. It’s about ending fewer sentences with a period and more with a question mark.
Don’t worry about asking the wrong question. Not asking enough is more detrimental to building a relationship than asking one poorly phrased question.