Just Answer the Question!
It's simple. You ask a question. You want an answer to the question you asked, otherwise you wouldn't have asked it. What happens next may be frustrating, stressful or cause you to shake your head in confusion.
More and more today, when you ask a question, people don't respond with an answer to the question and may ignore the question altogether. They typically respond with something that either doesn't answer the question or has nothing to do with the question you asked.
Recently I was asked by a blog to write free articles for them for "exposure" (that's the topic of a future article - exposure) and I asked them where they found me and a couple other questions. They ignored the questions and provided some other response. I asked the "where did you find me?" question 4 times before I got a response.
I have had issues with the head shot that is on my book being used in marketing for my speaking. It's not on my website anywhere especially not the meeting planner page with my approved head shots. I always send that link to those who book me to speak to use in their marketing. There have been a few times where people have used the old head shot from my book cover without my knowledge until I visit the site for the event and see it there. I always ask where did you get that photo? So I can get it taken down if it's on a site that features speaking info about me. One organization I had to ask about 4 or 5 times before they told me where it was.
On another occasion I described a problem that I had had with an airline to their complaints department. Instead of addressing the question or responding they simply sent me a policy. When I said that didn't address the question, they said they had to elevate it to their "leadership" who I never heard back from.
It seems most of the people we come in contact with are trained to give you an answer that is benign in hopes you will give up and go away. Most people give up and get frustrated with the red tape or bureaucracy that they don't push back to get the answer. I could spend hours upon hours writing examples of these kinds of things both in business or personal life.
How have we gotten to the point where people don't answer the questions we ask or give us the information we want? The only thing that comes to mind is laziness or incompetence. It makes no sense to me whatsoever. How do we stop it from happening? I don't think there is a way to stop it but there is a way to make sure you get your question answered. "Squeaky Wheel Gets the Grease" is a Think Like A Negotiator Strategy. You simply have to keep asking it over and over again until you get the answer.
You have to be relentless to get the information you need and not let them ignore you and blow you off. Persistence pays off. Keep Thinking Like A Negotiator!