10 Ways to Ask Great Questions
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Identify Your Discovery Roadmap
Before launching the fact-finding session, determine the essential details you seek, and build each one into the ensuing discussion. -
Limit Your Assumptions
Remember: The more you think you know, the less you'll find out. -
Ask Open-Ended Questions
Open-ended questions which begin with words like "what," "how" and "why" will help eliminate dead-end "yes" or "no" responses and other unhelpful one-word replies. -
Listen Actively
That's when you physically engage the other person with eye contact, posture and comforting gestures to make them know that their input is important. -
Don't Overwhelm
Each question should address a singular line of inquiry, not three, four, etc. -
Reload the Question
If you have suspicions about an earlier answer, repeat the same question with altered wording later in the conversation to see if the response remains consistent. -
Don't Ask Leading Questions
That's when you supply an answer that you think you're looking for. But you may prevent a more truthful and valuable narrative disclosure this way. -
Embrace Smart Silence
Not saying anything in a one-on-one conversation can cause the other person to keep talking, thereby dispensing useful information. -
Always Opt for Face-to-Face
Yes, you can get good information from a phone call or text, but you'll always get more in person. -
Eliminate Distractions
Go somewhere where there will be no interruptions, with no computers in sight and smartphones turned off.
Let's face it: Most of us love great interrogation scenes in movies or TV shows. From countless detective shows to 24 to the climax of A Few Good Men ("You can't handle the truth!"), we get a vicarious rush when we see a protagonist grasp the essence of reality under adverse conditions. In real life, of course, running an IT department is seldom this dramatic. However, CIOs need to routinely conduct inquiries in which actionable information is sought, which an often challenging pursuit. In the book Find Out Anything from Anyone, Anytime: Secrets of Calculated Questioning From a Veteran Interrogator (Career Press), author James O. Pyle (with co-author Maryann Karinch) reveals how the quality of your questions directly translates to the usefulness of the responses you receive. Combining the power of well-chosen words with techniques proven in military, intelligence and legal circles, Pyle illustrates how to make the most out of extended inquiries—whether during a job interview or a discovery effort to learn how a promising IT project failed. Pyle is a human intelligence training instructor who has served at multiple levels of the U.S. Army, including the United States Army Intelligence Center and School. For more about the book, click here.