How To Ask The Right Questions
Half a year into the pandemic, people became comfortable making video calls. Maybe a bit too comfortable.
“No, please, not another video call!” If you have uttered those words in agony, demanding mercy, you are not alone. There is a meeting madness going on. People want to connect too frequently, at inconvenient times, in a badly-run fashion.
How many times did you leave a meeting questioning why you were even summoned in the first place? What was the objective of the call? What was the organizer trying to achieve?
Attending to too many meetings suffocate both your and your clients’ productivity and morale. You wasted valuable time and effort.
What’s right for a meeting is also true for a branding project. Chances are you have been part of some mandates that did no go anywhere. Luckily, there is a simple and elegant solution to this problem. Here is what you should do before starting a new project.
Why do we waste time?
One of the reasons why we waste so much time and effort is the lack of direction. Imagine for a second that you are a pilot and you are going to fly an airplane. The first thing that you should know is exactly where you are going to land. Otherwise, disaster would ensue, right?
Likewise, when you set a meeting or manage a project, you have to know precisely what you want to accomplish and how to define success.
Setting the right objective is simple but not easy. So the real question is: “How can you make sure that you have the right goal?” The answer lies in asking the right questions.
“If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on the solution, I would spend the first 55 minutes determining the proper question to ask, for once I know the proper question, I could solve the problem in less than five minutes.”
— Albert Einstein
You can liken a problem to a locked door and a question to a key. By asking the right question, you can unlock the door. We often spend too much time answering questions and too little time asking the right question.
Questions are like a Russian doll.
Questions are a bit like a babushka doll: Each successive doll is encapsulated in the larger doll. Likewise, in each question, potentially lies a deeper question.
There are Yes-No questions, one-sentence-questions, and finally, powerful questions. The most potent questions have three common attributes.
First, they are constructed in a way that makes us think differently, forcing us to broaden our minds. They make us consider the inconsiderable, think the unthinkable.
Pay attention to the quality of answer that the following two questions demand:
- Are we satisfied with our team’s performance?
- Why has our team’s performance been declining over the last three months?
The “why” question opens more doors, generating a wealth of insights.
Narrow down your scope
Second, powerful questions have a narrow focus. As a rule of thumb: the more significant the scope, the vaguer the answer.
While setting your meeting’s or your project’s objective, be realistic about what is within your reach and what is beyond your boundary. Avoid asking too much. Again consider the following questions:
- Why has our team’s performance been declining over the last three months?
- Why has our West Coast sales team’s performance been declining over the last three months?
Both questions are valuable. But the second one demands a deeper analysis and a sharper answer.
Search the third way
Finally, powerful questions challenge current assumptions. We often ask questions either to confirm our existing beliefs or to assign blame.
Powerful questions, however, forces us to elevate our thinking. See how the below questions are leading to a third way.
- How can we beat our competitors?
- How can we become more than a company?
The first question is dualistic (us vs. them) combative (fighting, defeating, beating) and restricting (limiting the focus to what it is instead of what is possible.) The second one, though, pushes us outside our comfort zone. It forces us to consider the inconsiderable.
Too many meetings and projects end up being a waste of time. Before starting a project — or accepting the next video call — ask yourself, “What are we trying to achieve? What are your aspirations?” Align your goals with your ambitions. Ask more “why” and “how” questions instead of “what” questions.
