The Hidden Value in Asking Great Questions
When I chose to go to college for Public Relations, little did I realize that I would be so aligned with one of the components of that role. Specifically, within PR, there is a natural inquisitiveness much akin to the motivation of a keen journalist digging for a story.
As a self-proclaimed problem finder, as well as proactive problem solver, I consider it a great achievement when my clients compliment me after I ask a probing question that changes the framework of our discussion.
While never planning it, I just follow the breadcrumbs from our discussion to lead us to their next conclusion or aha moment. Sometimes direct and honest, but never mean, I throttle back and stay present to keep the quiet space as they consider and ponder.
My most recent curious questions include (in no particular order):
What are your 3 big rocks for next week?
What are you afraid of? What would it look like to do it afraid?
What’s the next big dream?
What problem do you solve?
Why are you psyching yourself out on this big opportunity? How is it any different from any other client/project that you’ve served in the past 20 years?
Through reflection from my experiences getting coaching and being a consultant/coach/trainer, I am committed to:
Trying not to assume.
Not having an opinion this way or that.
Getting their permission prior to sharing a perspective.
I am also very comfortable not knowing all the answers. In fact, I credit my ability to not know with the capacity to explore the unknown.
So that’s enough about me. What about you?
Do you want to advance your proactive problem finding and solving skills by asking great questions? Reach out to me if you’d like to explore this topic further at dlandry@authentizity.com.
Also, please visit www.bddynamics.com as this is one of the many attributes that we discuss in the exploration of the business development process for success.
NOTE: An aspect of this topic was covered in a prior blog post several years ago, Curiosity Never Killed This Cat. (See: https://authentizity.com/curiosity/.)
