Ask Effective Questions

BursaSnipers

Publish date: Sat, 27 Oct 2018, 02:06 PM

6 Everyone asks questions. But how many of us elicit the information we actually seek by using the right words and tone?

The way in which you frame your inquiries largely determines whether you’ll get revealing responses. If you adopt an aggrieved or negative stance, you lower the odds of eliciting substantive answers. And if you show little interest in listening, you’ll shut down the kind of fruitful exchange that leads to learning and insight.

Adept questioning requires keen situational awareness. Context and timing play big roles, along with your ability to build rapport. To pose winning questions:

Inject surprise. If you habitually ask the same questions to the same people, you risk becoming predictable. Colleagues may tire of having to address similar issues over and over.

“Ask questions that you don’t normally ask,” said Terry Fadem, senior fellow at the Mack Institute for Innovation Management at the Wharton School in Philadelphia. “You want to force people out of the box that they’ve built for answers they’re expecting to give.”

If you like to ask detail-oriented, closed-ended questions, for example, surprise your team by launching a hypothetical that starts, “What if we . . . ?”

Keep at it. After you pose one good question, keep plugging away. Drill down to gather more information.

“You have to know what to do with the answer,” said Fadem, author of “The Art of Asking.” “Ask good follow-up questions based on what you hear.”

Even if you’re satisfied with the response to your initial question, invite the speaker to elaborate. By giving others a second chance to address the topic, you enable them to divulge more of themselves and admit what they might otherwise withhold from you.

Consider the setting. Calibrate your questions to fit the situation. If you’re too accusatory or pushy, you can alienate potential allies. And if you’re too bossy or opinionated, you risk silencing subordinates who might be ready to open up to you.

“You can get away with a lot more in private than in public, where you have to be careful about embarrassing others,” Fadem said. Behind closed doors, you can ask a blunt question while looking someone in the eyes; in public, you may want to modulate the question to spark debate.

Watch your wording. A loaded question communicates your bias and telegraphs the answer that you’re seeking. You’re less apt to learn if your question doubles as a thinly disguised opinion.

“It’s better to ask questions without judging,” said Michael Marquardt, professor emeritus at George Washington University. “You want your questions to empower others, to be positive” so that respondents feel comfortable leveling with you.

Marquardt suggests asking, “What did we learn?” and “How can we increase our success?” rather than “What went wrong here?” and “How can we avoid another failure?”

Stay silent. Once you ask a question, demonstrate your desire to hear the answer. If you keep talking or answer your own question, you might muzzle others.

“If you ask a subordinate a question, that person starts liking you as a leader,” said Marquardt, the author of “Leading With Questions.” “It dignifies the employee while bringing out your humility,” so keep quiet and wait patiently for the reply.

Muster your curiosity. Questions work best when they flow from an eagerness to learn. If you’re just going through the motions — or reading from a script — you’re less likely to stoke a lively back-and-forth.

“Be committed to learning,” Marquardt said. “Leaders recognize they need to help those around them,” and they ask questions to offer support and gain ideas.

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