These are some tactics you can use to get useful answers to your questions.
What Can Go Wrong When Asking Questions
When you ask a vague or underspecified question, three things may go wrong:
- The person explains things you already know
- The person explains things you do not already know but are irrelevant to your question
- The person gives an explanation with confusing terminology which renders it unuseful to you
How to Give Useful Answers
Checking in with the person you are speaking to is especially important in two scenarios:
- You have not explained a concept before
- You do not know the person well
Ask Yes/No Questions
There is a much lower chance that the person you are asking will go off on a tangent
- You tend to get to answers faster and often include a helpful elaboration on the issue at hand
Take A Minute to Think
Stop and ask for time to process the new information you have received
- Incorporate the new data you have gained to form another question
State Your Current Understanding
State your understanding of how the system works to elicit responses and clarify your own understanding
- Remember to state your goal, your understanding as it relates to your goal, and some guesses that people can confirm or deny
It Takes a Little Bit of Confidence
When you find it hard to keep asking questions, remember two things:
- People usually want to help
- If you can get a piece of useful information by the end of the conversation, count it as a victory
Being Good At Extracting Information is A Superpower
Improving how you ask questions is a useful life skill that is worth practicing
- Answers are often only as strong as their questions
Be Willing to Interrupt
Do not waste your time and energy or the other person’s if their explanation is too long and unhelpful
- Try asking a specific question to redirect the conversation and steer it back to relevant territory
Do Not Accept Answers That Do Not Answer Your Question
Keep asking questions to get the answers you want:
- Ask a much more specific question to direct the person toward what you want to know
- Ask the person to clarify terminology you do not understand
