In Ask More, Frank Sesno explains how developing “the power of questions” can help almost anyone to achieve both short- and long-term objectives, whatever they may be.
For example, peak performers in executive search claim that they learn much more about candidates from the questions they ask than from their responses to questions.
Note: All of the recent research that I have examined indicates that, in a face-to-face interaction, body language and tone of voice determine 75-80% of impact; what is said only 20-25%.
Sesno identifies and explains eleven types of questions – “driven by its own approach and listening skills” — and devotes a separate chapter to each. They are:
Diagnostic: The focus is on the given situation. “What’s the problem?” “When did it begin?” “What are we missing?” “What do we know for certain?”
Strategic: “What are you trying to accomplish?” “How?” “Why?” “Obstacles?” “Options?” “How will you know when you succeed?”
Empathic: These questiuons establish and then (hopefully) strengthen a relationship on an emotional level. “What’s going on?” “How are you feeling?” “How can I help?”
Bridging: These are “questions without question marks” (brief remarks, actually) that connect with people who are wary, reluctant, perhaps even hostile or menacing. “That’s an interesting perspective.” “A number of people share that view.” “I hadn’t looked at it that way until you mentioned it.” You get the idea.
Confrontational: “Were you there when it happened?” “Are you responsible?” “Was that what you intended?” “Why didn’t you stop it?” Take the given allegation and, add a question mark, and throw it at the accused.
Creative: Help people to think beyond the familiar, the obvious, what everyone knows or thinks they do. “If you had a magic wand, what would you change? Why?” “What’s the next Big Thing?” “What would you like to be able to say about your organization in twelve months that you can’t say now?”
Mission: These questions seek to determine a common goal, shared values, and opportunities to turn a challenge into an opportunity. “What is most important to you? Why?” “What drives your career?” “How can we work together to achieve the objectives we share?”
Scientific: These questions focus on which is verifiable or at least probable. “What is possible?” “How much, how fast, how big, how far?” “Which of our assumptions and premises create the most problems?” These questions are “building blocks, which often raise more questions along the way, allowing you to explore the unknown.”
Interview: These questions look into the future. “What would you really like to do?” “What are you proudest of?” “What’s the biggest setback you’ve had and what did you do about it?”
Entertaining: These are three-course questions that can spice up a conversation. They can reveal what is interesting, fascinating, previously unknown (to you). “What is the one thing in the world that blows you away?” “If the human race were able to travel to Mars, would change?” “Which people throughout history would you most like to meet and have a conversation with? Why? What would you most like to know?”
Legacy: These questions focus on the past. That is, people known, defining moments, greatest successes and failures, etc. “What are you proudest of?” “What do you know now that you wish you knew when you graduated from high school?” “What is the most valuable lesson you’ve learned from your failures?”
These types of questions can be asked of others but also also of ourselves. Long ago, during his trial, Socrates asserted that an unexamined life isn’t worth living. Obviously, Frank Sesno agrees with him. He is an award-winning American journalist, former CNN correspondent, anchor and Washington bureau chief, and director of the School of Media and Public Affairs at The George Washington University.
Ask More: The Power of Questions to Open Doors, Uncover Solutions, and Spark Change was published by AMACOM (January 10, 2017).