The Power of a Question
David Freund, Chief Leadership Officer
Have you ever thought about the power of a question? Questions are priceless and allow us to open a dialog that is vital to all human relationships. I’d like to share just a few examples from my life that show the power of a question.
As a trainer, I engage my classes with questions. There is nothing worse than death by PowerPoint (okay, maybe that’s an overstatement, but you know what I mean). Nobody wants to sit in a class and be lectured at from someone reading PowerPoint slides. To make things more interesting and get people involved I like to ask questions. It helps me connect with the attendees. They feel that they are part of the story that I am sharing with them. Questions also help me assess if the class is grasping the content that I am teaching. If I don’t hear the answers I am expecting, I go back and restart the topic.
As an executive coach, questions allow me to help a person see self-limiting beliefs or issues that they may not be recognizing. I’m not giving answers or direction; I’m simply asking very simple questions that allow the person to think on a deeper level. In fact, the session starts a few days in advance when I send the participant a session prep form that has seven questions on it. The more time the participant puts into the questions on the form, the more impactful the coaching session will be.
As a husband, questions allow me to strengthen my relationship with my wife. By asking questions about her day, her life, her opinions, or her feelings, I can experience a portion of what she is experiencing. This is an area of my life where I need to improve, but any effort in this area is communicating to her that I care. That’s one of the most powerful aspects of great questions; they demonstrate that we care.
How about you? Are you asking great questions? Not only will you be much more likable, but you will also learn something every day. Just remember, we only get answers to the questions we ask.
Join Marisa and me on The Next Page podcast as we discuss this further.
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