how to get rid of hiccupsMuch of an executive workday is spent Asking others for information--asking status updates from a staff leader, for example, or
questioning a counterpart in a tense negotiation. Yet unlike professionals such as litigators, journalists, and physicians, that
are taught how to ask questions as an essential part of their instruction, few executives consider questioning as a skill that can
be honed--or consider the way their own replies to queries can make conversations more productive.
That is a missed opportunity. Questioning is A uniquely powerful tool for unlocking value in associations: It spurs learning and
also the exchange of ideas, it fuels innovation and performance improvement, it builds awareness and trust among staff members.
And it can mitigate business risk by uncovering unforeseen pitfalls and dangers.
For many folks, questioning comes readily. However, most of us do not ask enough questions, nor do we pose our inquiries in an
optimal manner.
We obviously improve our emotional intelligence, which in turn causes us much better questioners--a virtuous cycle. In this guide,
we draw on insights from behavioral science research to research the way the way we frame questions and choose to answer our
counterparts may influence the outcome of conversations. We provide advice for selecting the ideal type, tone, sequence, and
framing of questions and for determining what and how much information to share to reap the most benefit from our interactions,
not just for ourselves but for our organizations.
Do not Ask, Do Not Get
"Be a good listener," Dale Carnegie advised in his 1936 classic How to Win Friends and Influence People. Other person will enjoy
replying." Over 80 years later, most folks still Fail to heed Carnegie's sage advice. When one of us (Alison) started studying
Discussions at Harvard Business School many years back, she immediately arrived At a foundational insight: People do not ask
enough questions. In fact, one of The most common complaints people make after having a dialog, like an Interview, a first date,
or a work interview, is"I need [s/he] had asked me more Questions" and"I can't believe [s/he] didn't ask me some questions"