Why Question Asking is Better than Question Answering
In the American school system, you鈥檙e rewarded for being the best question answerer. For memorizing multiplication charts, the year the Lusitania sunk, how to spell onomatopoeia. Those aren鈥檛 bad things to know, they just aren鈥檛 the most helpful types of things to keep in the deep recesses of your memory. A quick calculation, Google search or dictionary reference鈥揳ll of which now fit inside our pockets with smartphones鈥揷an give us the answers we鈥檙e looking for. Unfortunately, we鈥檙e rarely rewarded for being the best question askers鈥揳 far less common skill and one that will serve you for a lifetime. Anyone with an internet connection can find the right answer. Few people can asking well-crafted questions that drive conversations, create genuine connections and get to the root of problems. We haven鈥檛 been trained to be good question askers, and we as a society need to fix that. No one likes a know-it-all. Everyone loves a listener. I think question asking is a key to humility as well, because it shows you care what others think. Question asking is the easiest-to-develop yet most-under-valued skill in communication. Asking great questions is the key to understanding people, gaining their trust, developing deep relationships and creating real friendships. It鈥檚 an invaluable business skill as well, especially in sales. I鈥檓 not a question asking expert, but I want to be. So, I鈥檝e started observing how great question askers do what they do. I鈥檓 working on this process of asking better questions, and here are a few things I鈥檝e notice that the best question askers do. ...