Every day, business professionals ask questions. But are they doing it as effectively as they can?
Probably not, says David Steinberg, PhD, principal of Reykjavik Sky Consulting and founder of the CLIENT Rules of Engagement (an approach that incorporates journalism, neuroscience, social psychology and physics to teach business leaders and students the art of asking a question). He recently presented to a cohort of Bentley MBA and Emerging Leaders MBA students during a one-day workshop.
“Asking questions is considered a soft skill typically modeled by a supervisor,” says Steinberg. “It’s considered something that you just ‘pick up,’ but it needs to be taught just like other business disciplines, such as finance, leadership and change management.”
So what can you can do to start asking better questions? Here are four tips to get you started.
Follow the Questions Paths
According to Steinberg, one of the key ways to ask better questions is to develop the three levels of what he calls “question paths”:
Level 1: Discover Change Points
Change points are significant turning points associated with the person’s organization, personal or professional life. These key changes can range from launching a new product to getting promoted to achieving a personal goal such as running a marathon.
“When you uncover change points, people’s filters begin to drop,” says Steinberg. “They provide an effective beginning point to engage with that person.”
“Focusing on asking questions at a tactical level leads to a better engagement at a strategic level, so that the relationship with the interviewee can be better facilitated,” says Daniel DeGooyer, MBA ‘16. “An outcome of the conversation is that the interviewer gets better information and a worthwhile relationship with the interviewee.”
Sample Level 1 Question:
“Thinking back to your first day at your company, what is the greatest change you’ve seen in your organization?
Level 2: Explore Change Points
After discovering a change point, use a structure of “what,” “how” and “why” questions to probe the issue further.
“It was very helpful to learn that this structure of short, successive questions can help guide the interviewee deeper into the matter at hand more effectively than often happens through “yes” or “no” questions,” says Ariel Gregory, MBA ‘16. “When combined with appropriate soft skills to create a trustworthy environment, it is possible for the interviewer to produce significant, effective answers, even in a short timeframe.”
Sample Level 2 Question:
“When your agency won an award for your campaign and you became senior vice president of client services, how did your creative process differ from the one you used when you came in second a year earlier?”
Level 3: Explore Change Points with Verbatim Comments
At this most advanced stage of the process, incorporating verbatim comments into your questions allows you to compare and contrast change points -- and helps the person you’re talking to take ownership of what he or she has said.
“Verbatim comments are important because they allow you to explore topics together,” says Steinberg. “They prevent disruptions to the flow of the conversation by preventing inaccurate statements from being introduced, thus forcing the interviewee to feel compelled to ‘go back’ and correct the questioner.”
“I was impressed to learn how the same question can be asked in multiple ways, and how an answer depends on the manner in which a question is asked,” says Olga Soloveva, MBA ‘16. “For example, it is better to ask, ‘What did you feel when it happened?’ instead of ‘How was it?’ This approach gives the interviewee an opportunity to revisit the situation you are asking about and the emotions he or she felt at the time. As a result, you'll get a more colorful, emotional and truthful answer.”
Sample Level 3 Question:
“You once said that throughout your career, you did things that you were not ready to do, and that by overcoming moments of doubt, this was how you grew as a person. As CEO, how would your company be different had you not done something you were not ready to do?”
Watch Video Interviews
Turn on your television or head to YouTube. TV interviews offer a laboratory for anyone to learn how to ask great questions -- and what to avoid. Watch actual interviews and see how they go. Which questions resonate and which fall flat? What wording works?
Prepare Questions in Advance -- With Partners or in Groups
An information-gathering session can provide one of the greatest competitive advantages you will have, allowing you to gain key insights that can develop new partnerships, close business deals and open new opportunities -- and it’s crucial that all parties involved are on the same page.
And yet, Steinberg has found that the question-building element of planning for business meetings is “the least focused on -- too often, I’ve seen professionals preparing their questions in the parking lot.”
Remain in Input Mode
According to Steinberg, input is about having empathy for your interviewee, guiding them into the moment and facilitating conversation. “Regardless of whether you agree with someone or not, it’s important to remember that you’re asking that person to open up to you,” he says.
“You can make yourself memorable simply by asking a carefully crafted question,” says Steinberg. “Knowing how to ask effective questions not only improves your ability to do your job, but enhances your entire career.”