I have recently had the privilege of attending a number of inspiring conferences. These experiences left me brimming with a host of fresh ideas and deep insights but also a little concern. That concern relates to how we, as humans, ask questions.
How a question is framed and worded inevitably conditions how it is answered. In essence, our questions reflect our intention in asking it.
Indeed, it feels that when we are discussing and debating there is a continuum from “Asserting an opinion” to “Eliciting another person’s views”. Our questions, intentionally or otherwise, fall somewhere along this spectrum, either as veiled statements or as genuine attempts to understand another person’s viewpoint.
I can’t help but feel that our discussions and debates would be more productive if we separated our opinions from our questions. It would create more space for genuine enquiry.
The first step is probably becoming more mindful of how we pose questions. To help with this, I have put together a short guide that examines questions from a host of perspectives in an attempt to understand what the question might be saying as well as asking.
