When people ask you a question, you have an opportunity with you to stretch their mind beyond their question and paint a larger holistic picture. The issue is then whether to paint the picture first and then answer or vice-versa.
The problem with painting the picture first is that they may think you are just wasting their time because big pictures are not something that can be achieved quickly, it is a long process. So telling them about this may frustrate them as they may not even be interested in it. Even if they were, the description of the long journey lying ahead might dishearten the faint of heart. This strategy, however, is likely to yield results if the asking party highly values the opinion of the party being asked, perhaps because the person asked is an institution on the topic asked. Based on my observation, experts on a topic, seem to take this path.
On the contrary, a new comer or novice to the field may consider the approach of painting the big picture only after grabbing the interest of the person who asked, by first straight-diving into the answer. If you notice that they understood the answer, then you have a shot at helping them to go further than their question. However, if you think that they are the type who are just happy with the answer, then save your ATPs from being burned in helping them venture into the unknown.
©2021 KAM
