Why ask questions? Why should we? We constantly hear about the value of asking questions, but why is it so important? A little insight into why may very well instantly influence your style to becoming a more questioning individual.

A master teacher understands the power of questions. Any successful speaker asks questions. An effective leader asks questions. Negotiations are all about questions. Mothers and fathers reach out to their children when asking candid questions. Conflict requires questioning. If all these statements are true, then how come? Why are questions so important?

The more training I do, do you know what I find? I discover how poorly we make use of that one critical skill that makes communication really flow. And what is that skill? It's asking questions. What would happen if we asked more questions? Here's what I see - every day; every question asked immediately improves all aspects of communication.

	What happens when we make the switch to increasing the number of questions? Here are some examples: We listen more We "appear to be" more understanding Empathy comes to us almost by itself We learn more, judge less Eye contact improves But these are only the beginning of a long list of benefits that questions seem to foster.

Why is it so important to ask questions? What is it about asking questions that so dramatically improves communication? When should we ask questions? How should we ask questions?

Questions Trigger Thoughts

What do skilled speakers do? The best speakers ask questions all the time. Even when communicating in monologue, questions lubricate the message. Ask them, then answer them yourself. Why? Because the question that is being raised and spelled out clearly sharpens the attention of a listener. What can we learn from this? Our first conclusion is: Always ask questions, regardless of what you do!

Here's a list principles that encourages asking a lot of questions:

• The question decides the topic. If you want to set the agenda, be the first to ask a question.
• Questions give you more information and information equals power.
• Questions give you time to think.
• Questioning leverages "an open style", and people appreciate your asking for input and feedback.
• Questions encourages the other person to talk. People love to talk (...about themselves).
• Questions combine thoughts and brains, leveraging synergy (1+1 = 3 or much more).
• Questions trigger the unconscious creative brain power in both the speaker and the listener.
• Questions rule out misunderstandings. (Research indicates that summarizing and checking for understanding up to 11 times adds value to mutual understanding.)
• Questions and silence relieves you of responsibility (i.e. speaking reveals your opinion and immediately holds you accountable).
• And quite possibly most of all, asking a question is still the best way to trigger a conversation.

Indeed, and in fact, it is the question that holds the real information. How? By how something only can really be understood when the question is clearly formulated. Anyone can come up with "answers" and suggestions, but it takes a master to ask the question that reveals true understanding and insight. What do inventors do? Inventors ask questions. That's how they invent. What does science do? Science asks questions. That's how new theories appear.

Albert Einstein, among others, brought this principle to our attention when he said: "No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it". Slightly paraphrased in simpler language; "a problem can never be solved at the level we were at when we created it."

Is it any wonder then that Jesus and Socrates were such fans of asking questions? Why not ask more questions?

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