Think Leadership Ideas

7 Terrific Questions



Is there anything so valuable as the right question?
Mark Twain remarked that the difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lighting and a lightening-bug. The same could be said about the right question.
The following are seven questions useful for networking, customer management, or teambuilding - questions that are useful for gaining insight and developing relationships.

"How about you?"
You’re at a premier networking event, and you find yourself starting a conversation with someone you expect to be a great contact. She gives you an opening by asking "What do you do?" or "Tell me about your company." She’s good with follow-up questions, one right after another, and seems very interested in what you have to say.
“How about you?” is a great way to avoid expounding on and on about yourself.
Providing a brief answer to the questions, followed with "...and you?” gives the other person an opportunity to talk about herself - and gives you a chance to be a good listener. Listening is a more powerful path to building relationships than providing endless information about yourself.

What are you most proud of?
You are having a conversation with a new team member, a potential customer, or that key opinion leader. You have the beginnings of a good relationship, and you want to understand what motivates this person. “What are you most proud of?” is a great conversation question. The answer will provide big clues to what the other person values and feels is important.

How do you want to be remembered?
Here’s another question to quickly uncover or establish meaningful goals and values, but one better suited to team-building sessions. Everyone will one day leave an organization of which they are a part (at the ultimate level, everyone will leave this planet). When that time comes, how do you want to be remembered? It’s an excellent way for people to put their personal goals on the table and align them with team and organization objectives.

What Do You Want?
Who hasn’t had to deal with someone ranting about some wrong they have endured. Angry Customers. Disgruntled employees. Disillusioned colleagues. The typical trap for people in a rant is their thinking is stuck on what is not wanted, leaving them unable to articulate what is desired. Sometimes just asking, “So, what do you want?” can lead to a much more constructive dialogue, be it simple acknowledgment of an offense or problem-solving a solution.

Have You Already Decided?
Anytime someone says they want to discuss tough decision, one of my first questions in response is, “Have you already decided?” If they answer is "yes" then we have gone straight to the heart of the issue and can start to discuss consequences of the decision, not what the decision should be. If the answer is "no", then a good next question is, “What do you need to know in order to decide?”

If you had no constraints, what would you do?
Tackling problems without exploring possibilities can be an innovation killer. Often our thinking is blocked by over-evaluating ideas before they can hardly be articulated. An endless list of obstacles gets in the way - not enough money, time, people, equipment, whatever. Thinking about something without constraints lets an idea come into full form so it can then be evaluated.
Alternate versions include the ‘magic wand’ question, i.e. “what would you do if you had a magic wand?” Another is “What would you do if you had perfect freedom of action?” The appropriate follow-up question to this is, not surprisingly, “What’s stopping you?”

"What else should I ask?"
Whether interviewing someone about their company’s service, or simply inquiring about a new gizmo – a standard wrap-up question is some version of, “Is there anything else that I should ask about?” This often leads to pieces of information that would never have otherwise been obtained or considered.

So now you have some great questions to tuck in your back pocket, questions to help with networking, customer service, managing others, and building relationships. How are you going to use them?


Tom Stevens (c)2008
Tom helps leaders create and sustain extraordinary organizations that make a difference. For information on his
The Power of Inquiry workshop, contact Tom at (919) 245-1026, toll free at (800) 727-9788, or email tom@thinkleadershipideas.com.
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