While this probably has never been the subject of a scientific study, I believe the most-successful people of all time form the same crowd as the most-successful question askers of all time.
In some disciplines, this is self-evident: teachers, trial lawyers, philosophers, scientists, inventors, sales people, and market researchers come immediately to mind.
In those disciplines, the master-players all excel at The Art of Good Questions.
How about your discipline...your chosen field of business?
Could you and your people learn the Art of Good Questions?
The answer is - Yes.
Consider buying & selling as one example and think about it this way…
- You are a sales person. You are on one side of a chasm…a wide, deep, dark, bottomless crevice…it looks like a mini-Grand Canyon, except it is pitch black and you can see nothing when you stand on the edge and look down
- Your probable client is on the other side…too far to jump to be with you
- You and probable clients have been here and there before…lots of your probable clients are in that wide, deep, dark, bottomless crevice…somewhere
- You can do one of two things:
- You can do and say the same old things you have always done and said
- You can ask a terrific question that magically launches your probable client over the wide, deep, dark, bottomless crevice…over to your side
If you picked #2, well done, you know the The Art of Good Questions.
Reader comments (11)
Comments from the original blog platform, 2008–2021.
Rick ·
"If you do not know how to ask the right question, you discover nothing." W. Edwards Deming
Rick ·
"You should not ask questions without knowledge." W. Edwards Deming Auto Sector Genius, (1900-1993)
Rick ·
"However, truly effective salesmanship is all about asking the prospect the right questions and demonstrating that you can help them solve a particular problem or issue. That means you need to direct ALL of your attention on their situation and resist the opportunity to talk about your company or your offering." Kelley Robertson Author, 'The Secrets of Power Selling'
rick baker ·
“If we go through life like an interrogation point, holding an alert, inquiring mind toward everything, we can acquire great mental wealth, wisdom which is beyond all material riches.” Orison Swett Marden ‘Pushing to the Front’, (1911)
rickbaker.ca ·
Pingback from rickbaker.ca Rick Baker's Thoughts | Thought Tweet #431
rick baker ·
"I keep six honest serving-men (They taught me all I knew): Their names are What and Why and When And How and Where and Who." Rudyard Kipling, 'The Elephant's Child', (1902)
rick baker ·
"All questions are attention-directing devices. We could easily drop out 'questions' and instead ask people to direct their attention to specific matters." Edward de Bono `Teach Yourself To Think`, (1995)
rick baker ·
"Plain question and plain answer make the shortest road out of most perplexities." Mark Twain
rick baker ·
"There is frequently more to be learned from the unexpected questions of a child than the discourses of men." John Locke British Philosopher (1632-1704)
rick baker ·
“I am not a genius, I am just curious. I ask many questions. and when the answer is simple, then God is answering.” Albert Einstein
rick baker ·
"You gotta ask 'why' questions. 'Why did you do this?' A 'why' question you can't answer with one word." Larry King