Why Every Professional Should Leverage the Hidden Power of a Question

 

Nick is a master question asker. Most people do not recognize this incredible skill. He will get people talking for hours and bring out so much in them they don’t even realize.

It’s a skill he’s developed over the years because he sees the hidden power in a question.

Yet most people are elementary at asking questions. They receive but rarely give ironically enough.

My four-year old son, Kaleb, is a great example of a question asker. He’s so curious about the world and has such a desire to learn right now. Everything has a genuine question for Kaleb and he really makes me think to the depth of his little curious mind. I only hope I can encourage his questions as he grows up.

But at some point, kids lose this desire to ask questions and become the average adult who has lost this curiosity.

I continue to be amazed at how few questions people ask in a conversation. Almost everyone is happy to answer any question given (whether out of a sense of obligation or truly want to answer the question).

But so many times the conversation dies because a question is not returned.

I didn’t like questions for the longest time. I would give shallow evasive answers and sadly get defensive. And I missed years of the leverage a simple question can give to you at any given moment.

Now that I’m in the professional world, I’ve recognized this secret hidden power.

 

Here are Five Reasons Why Every Professional Should Leverage the Hidden Power of Questions?

 

1. Leverage a Question to Find Similarities

I travel a ton and meet so many new people. Asking questions allows me to seek for common ground.

There are so many easy conversation starters with a question if we’re just observant. Sometimes it’s as simple as what they’re wearing, carrying, or their accent.

Simple questions like “where did you grow up?” or “where did you go to school?” or “what do you do for a living?” or “do you have a spouse or kids?” leads to a myriad of additional questions.

Often one of those answers will lead to a commonality that completely changes the distance in the connection.

And this connection can take you further than you could possibly imagine and one I leverage almost more than any other type of question.

People ultimately do business with people they like and people they trust. If you can make a genuine connection by similarities, you’re light years ahead of most professionals. 

 

2. Leverage a Question to Learn

To uncover what you want to know about someone / something is key and also rare in the professional world. We often only learn when we have to (reactively) not because we want to (pro-actively).

Thomas Berger once said, “The art and science of asking questions is the source of all knowledge.”

It’s both an art (subjective) and science (objective) that makes a question sought to learn so appealing.

People are open to sharing what they know if you ask them with a genuine desire to learn. This comes from a sense of curiosity and humbleness.

For example, I work with engineers often and I let them know up front “I’m a bachelors degree short of my engineering degree” so they know I’m not trying to be a poser and genuinely want to learn from them. It’s amazing after that one-liner how open they are to respond to my questions and learn from them.

“He who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; he who does not ask a question remains a fool forever.” – Chinese proverb that is incredibly powerful and speaks to the need to leverage a question to learn.

 

3. Leverage a Question to Challenge

I’ve been in business long enough to know there’s a right and wrong way to challenge someone.

Most handle a challenge with a statement: “I couldn’t disagree more” or even “You’re wrong.”

But what if you could challenge with a thought-provoking question especially if the end goal is to make them think and possibly change their mind or direction?

What if you guided your challenge with a question that elicits a genuine conversation instead of confrontation?

Robert Half once said, “Asking the right questions takes as much skill as giving the right answers.” I absolutely love this quote because of skill level required to asking the right questions. And this often most important when challenging someone else to see another’s point of view or consider a completely different path.

I’m a challenger by DNA and want people to improve and reach their full potential. And this often happens by leveraging challenging questions. It’s listening and getting to the heart of the issue to challenge them to reach their potential through a thought-provoking and challenging question.

And you know what? It almost always works and they rise to the challenge. Love it!

 

4 Leverage a Question to Probe and Investigate

 

Asking a probing question to investigate is different than learning. You’re using this type of question to understand a situation.

This question allows you to navigate through a situation without assumptions or having all of the facts.

It also allows you to listen before you speak so you’re not back-peddling or regretting your initial Ready-Fire-Aim approach.

A probing and investigative question may allow you to learn or even challenge and will give you the insight where to take the conversation.

It’s a unique question that is meant to explore not put someone on the defense so you know how best to keep going in the conversation.

Be careful when using this question. It can turn on you if someone feels your motives are not genuine.

 

5. Leverage a Question to Control the Conversation Direction

Asking questions puts you in charge of the conversation because you guide its direction.

My father used to say often, “Son, ask people questions and they will talk to you for hours…”

If I’m in a situation that I’m unsure of to start, I’ll plan to ask questions to know how to navigate the conversation. What do they know? Not know? What is their angle? These are my internal questions and give me control of the conversation to know how best to respond.

The key is not to be manipulative but allow you to navigate and give you leverage how best to respond in the situation.

 

Self-Questions…?

One last thought. Some of the best questions are ones you pose to yourself to develop and improve. Here are two posts of self questions to improve your productivity and impact within your day:

 Five Productivity Questions I Ask Every Single Day

Six Engaging Questions to Measure the Quality of Your day 

 

Closing Challenge…

Motivated professionals find power in their words. But unfortunately, most are in statements and not in questions.

I’m so impressed with a good question-asker let alone a great one. When someone asks me questions I feel like they care about me and want to get to know me especially if they’re looking for similarities.

And if they remember in a future conversation, something they asked, my appreciation and respect for them only grows. Can that be said of you?

Even more so as we interact with people on a daily basis, we could leverage the hidden power of a question to genuinely get to know someone, learn, probe and investigate, and be more in control of the conversation for the good. 

 

Closing Question… (ironically enough)

How can you leverage the hidden power of a question in your next conversation?