The Art of Asking Questions

We have to acknowledge that we have never quite mastered the art of asking questions. Though questions do have the power to reshape and transform destiny, a lot depends upon how we ask them. It is not wrong to say that the quality of questions decides the quality of answers. 

And yet when it comes to asking questions we are never quite able to nail it. We struggle to frame them properly. Therefore, it does not come as a surprise when Einstein says that if he were given an hour to solve a problem he would spend fifty-five minutes defining it and use only five minutes to solve it. it speaks volumes about the importance of asking the right questions.

It is not that we are totally averse to asking questions. Journalists, lawyers, law agencies, doctors, scientists and researchers amongst others have to be really good at asking questions. Everything that they do depends upon the types of questions asked. Though questions are relevant and pertinent for all of us at each and every stage of life, we are rarely taught how to ask them. Moreover, many times we are reluctant and hesitant to ask questions.  The reasons for this vary, from ego to overconfidence to the fear of being seen as incompetent we hesitate to ask questions, let aside framing them right. Call it our ignorance or arrogance at times we may not see any value in raising them. That though is scariest of all, not seeing any value in asking questions. 

The right way to start seeing value in questions is to start asking them and get better at the art of asking questions. Here are some of the following ways to practice the art of asking questions

1. Be curious. Be inquisitive.

Developing an interest in particular fuels our desire to know and understand the how's and why's. It's a good way to start the journey of asking questions.

2. Seek to clarify and understand.

It opens up avenues for a healthy dialogue and paves for better decisions. More importantly, it puts the defensive mechanism on the backburner. Clarifying questions help to understand the intent behind the actions and decisions.

3. Use open-ended questions.

Open-ended questions help you find more than what you might have asked for. They lead to insights, assumptions, rationale, strategies that you might have not expected.

4. Use adjoining questions. 

Such questions help us explore areas or topics that have not been explored or may have been ignored. They help us look at content in a different context or setting.

5. Use funneling questions.

They help us deep dive and help us understand how we arrived at a particular solution or why we need to challenge our assumptions.

The sooner we start practicing the art of asking questions the better we will get at finding better answers and for that, we need to "Question everything", as Albert Einstein rightly said.