Great insight moves your career, organization, or business forward. The problem? Most people are terrible at asking questions. Learn from the pros how to do it right.
Ask yourself: If you could interview like Walter Cronkite, would you get more value from your meetings? Would your mentors become more valuable? Would your chance encounters with executives in elevators and thought leaders in conferences yield action items and relationships?
The answer is yes.
The following advice can make you a much better interrogator, not to mention conversationalist:
1) Don’t Ask Multiple-Choice Questions
Good: “What would you do?”
Bad: “Would you do X?”
Terrible: “Would you do X or Y or Z or Q or M or W or ... ?”
2) Don’t Fish
Good: Do you like Spotify’s new discovery feature?
Bad: What do you think of Spotify’s terrible new discovery feature?
3) Interject With Questions When Necessary
4) Field Non-Answers By Reframing Questions Later
5) Repeat Answers Back For Clarification Or More Detail
6) Don’t Be Embarrassed
The worst kind of question is the one left unasked.
Read all on fastcompany
Ask yourself: If you could interview like Walter Cronkite, would you get more value from your meetings? Would your mentors become more valuable? Would your chance encounters with executives in elevators and thought leaders in conferences yield action items and relationships?
The answer is yes.
The following advice can make you a much better interrogator, not to mention conversationalist:
1) Don’t Ask Multiple-Choice Questions
Good: “What would you do?”
Bad: “Would you do X?”
Terrible: “Would you do X or Y or Z or Q or M or W or ... ?”
2) Don’t Fish
Good: Do you like Spotify’s new discovery feature?
Bad: What do you think of Spotify’s terrible new discovery feature?
3) Interject With Questions When Necessary
4) Field Non-Answers By Reframing Questions Later
5) Repeat Answers Back For Clarification Or More Detail
6) Don’t Be Embarrassed
The worst kind of question is the one left unasked.
Read all on fastcompany
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