good questions
“A little secret:
You don't need the right answer to start. You can start by asking a question. Simply asking, “How can I be a better friend?” or “How can I be a healthy person?” will call forth answers naturally.
In the beginning, just repeating the question is enough.”
You don't need the right answer to start. You can start by asking a question. Simply asking, “How can I be a better friend?” or “How can I be a healthy person?” will call forth answers naturally.
In the beginning, just repeating the question is enough.”
James Clear • 3 Ideas, 2 Quotes, 1 Question (December 26, 2019) | James Clear
To make our communications more effective, we need to shift our thinking from “What information do I need to convey?” to “What questions do I want my audience to ask?”
Dan Heath • Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die
What’s working, and how can we do more of it?” Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Yet, in the real world, this obvious question is almost never asked. Instead, the question we ask is more problem focused: “What’s broken, and how do we fix it?
Dan Heath • Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard
Around 2019, my focus shifted from asking “who’s fucking with me?” to asking “how do I continue to fuck with myself?” Once you finally break away from seeing other people your most important puzzle to solve, then I think you can move on to more interesting puzzles, and eventually you put the puzzles on a high shelf, breathe in the air, and savor... See more
Talking about friendship with Heather Havrilesky
Big questions interrupt the daily routines people fall into and prompt them to step back and see their life from a distance. Here are some of my favorite questions that do that: “What crossroads are you at?” At any moment, most of us are in the middle of some transition. The question helps people focus on theirs. “What would you do if you weren’t
... See moreDavid Brooks • How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen
From there, I have a few go-to questions that I have found create reliably engaging discourse:
• What's your connection to [insert current place or event]?
• What are you most excited about currently?
• What's lighting you up outside of work?
• What’s your favorite book you’ve read recently?
Note: Always avoid "What do you do?" as a question. It's
... See moreTypical open-ended questions are variations on “Tell me more” and “Help me understand better ….”
Roger Fisher • Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most
“The beginner chases the right answers.
The master chases the right questions.”
The master chases the right questions.”