Why Asking Good Questions Can Help You Be a Better Project Manager?

As project managers, we have spent 90% of our time with communications. Then communication skills are something that we need to develop and continuously keep in check. WikiJob [6] established the "Top 10 Communication Skills" and selected "asking good questions" to be part of this top 10 list. In this article, I will explain the importance of asking good questions and share a guidance list for formulating your powerful questions.

Some famous geniuses have already spoken about the power of questions:

• “Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers.” - Voltaire.
• "If I had an hour to solve a problem, and my life depended on it, I would use the first 55 minutes determining the proper questions to ask." - Albert Einstein.

Why Asking Good Questions is Necessary?

Improved "questioning" competence can increase our management effectiveness. It is crucial to think about how to frame the right questions. Giving this process some explicit understanding might make you a better project manager.

Have you ever thought that the power of asking good questions profoundly influences the competencies (research, study, learning, solving problems, and making decisions)? For example, how would it be possible to make excellent decisions without capture all critical data? These data will not show up automatically, right? You will have to get it by asking the right questions to your project team. 

American Management Association [1] has listed seven benefits of asking powerful questions below:

1. Inspiring others;
2. Informing others;
3. Getting things done faster;
4. Demonstrating how smart you are;
5. Dealing with challenging people and difficult situations more easily;
6. Showing respect for others;
7. Gaining greater respect from others.

Anthony Robbins, internationally renowned peak performance coach, has listed the power of questions below:

1. Thinking itself is the process of asking and answering questions;
2. Successful people asked better questions - and got better answers;
3. If we want to change the quality of our lives, we should change our habitual questions;
4. The difference between people is the difference in the questions they ask consistently;
5. It is not the questions we ask, but also the questions we fail to ask;
6. Questions immediately change our focus, and therefore our feelings;
7. Questions also change the resources available to us.

Besides these points mentioned above, asking good questions is the most powerful ingredient from an executive coaching session. It makes the coachee understand a problem, define an action plan to move forward to achieve the problem solved. 

Now, I think that you have understood the importance of asking good questions, right?

Guidance List for Formulating your Powerful Questions

Based on my experience and elements published by Huff Post [2], Lifehack [3], Stephen Dupont [4], and Seer [5], I have created an excellent guidance list to formulate your powerful questions:

1. Keep your goal in mind: Keeping your goal in memory will allow you to be intentional with your questions and keep them focused on a purpose. This “why” will serve as your guiding light, especially in severe scenarios.
2. Ask open-ended questions: Beyond yes/no lies the power of the open-ended question. By definition, open-ended questions leave the floor open for the respondent to elaborate. These are usually the most potent questions because the answers can often surprise you. Questions with “who,” “what,” “where,” “when,” “how,” or “why” lead to people giving some thought to their answers and provide much more information.
3. Powerful questions are simple. Complex inquiry can obscure what is being asked. Please keep it simple.
4. Ask questions that help people name what they already know. If we listen closely and carefully, answers to most questions come from inner experience. Allow space for people to connect to this experience.
5. Ask questions about perceptions and feelings, not just the issue at hand. Sometimes answers aren't found in our words but elsewhere in our body, a gut feeling. Ask questions that allow people to connect with this experience.
6. Avoid storytelling or bringing attention to yourself. When listening to others, our heads can get filled with reactions to what a person is saying rather than listening deeply to their words. Stay focused on the other person and their story, not your own. Listen to understand.
7. Dig Deeper. Always consider using follow-up questions. Unless you are looking strictly for the facts, there is some assumption in the answer the person gives you. Ask them a follow-up question such as, “What makes you say that?” or “Why do you think that?.” Follow up questions give you insight and let you make your own opinions about things.
8. Use the power of silence. Start getting comfortable asking a question, waiting for a response, listening to the answer, and then waiting for more. Often, the person you are questioning has more information and will bring it out when you wait for it. You have to be comfortable with that silent period before the dam breaks. Police and military interrogators use silence very effectively. People feel a need to fill the holes in the conversation, and often they will then bring out the critical bit of information you seek.
9. Don’t interrupt. Don’t interrupt the person with whom you are talking. First, it tells the person you don’t value what they are saying. Interrupting stops their train of thought and directs the conversation the way you want, not necessarily how it should go. Ask your question, then let the person answer it in full, even when you think you are not getting the answer you want. Listen fully to what they are saying and use that to direct them back to the topic in the next question when there is a natural pause.
10. Brainstorm questions. To prepare for a meaningful discussion, consider pulling together some of your friends or colleagues, and brainstorming possible questions. Frame up the opportunity or challenge and invite the participants to write down questions that they would ask.
11. Write and re-write your questions. If there is a lost art, it is this. We rely too much on our ability to think on our feet. When you do that, you can end up asking trivial questions, rather than penetrating questions that uncover greater truth. If a conversation is essential to you, spend time writing out, editing, and refining your questions.
12. “Can you give me an example?” People love to share stories, especially of how they developed a solution or overcame a challenge. Asking “Can you give me an example of how you…” can bring more context and texture to a discussion and clarify a more considerable thought.
13. “What questions should I ask?” When interviewing an expert, I always ask, “Because you’ve been in this field for many years, is there a question that you think I should be asking that I haven’t?” This shows deep respect for someone who has devoted a great deal of their life to a particular field, and it may open up a new line of thought that you had not considered.

Bibliography

1. American Management Association. (Nov 2018). 7 Benefits of Asking Powerful Questions as a Business Leader. https://playbook.amanet.org/training-articles-7-benefits-asking-powerful-questions-business-leader/
2. Huff Post. (Nov 2014). 7 Tips for Asking Highly-Effective Questions. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/7-tips-for-asking-highly-_b_6149200
3. Lifehack. How to Be Amazingly Good at Asking Questions. https://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/how-amazingly-good-asking-questions.html
4. Stephen Dupont. (Oct 2017). 15 TIPS ON ASKING MORE POWERFUL AND RELEVANT QUESTIONS. https://stephendupont.co/powerful-relevant-questions/
5. Seer. (Jan 2020). 7 TIPS TO ASK BETTER QUESTIONS. https://www.seerinteractive.com/blog/7-tips-to-ask-better-questions/
6. WikiJob. (June 2020). Communication Skills. https://www.wikijob.co.uk/content/interview-advice/competencies/communication