Simple Question, Simple Answer?

24 Aug Simple Question, Simple Answer?

Simple question, simple answer?

I’ve had a lot of opportunities. 

A lot of positions, roles and jobs.

Here’s what I know about getting the information asked about.

Sometimes asking a question is more about the other person’s response than getting a response to the question.

And, soft skills, in my experience can be highly layered and complex.

So let me frame this another way. 

Asking a question can be more about verifying or not verifying a series of energies than knowing a single outcome.

Testing what you know, against what you think you know.

So when I asked a simple question to a colleague, more than once—a question I could guess the answer to, and wanted to confirm, I received so much more than the simple answer. 

I received a confirmation that she assumed I didn’t know how to do a simple task. 

This seemed perfectly natural to assume.

However, I received a lot of other information too.

I received a confirmation that she thought that because I didn’t know how to do it, that I might not be right for the next step, the bigger task at hand. 

I also received a confirmation that she felt that answering my question was beyond her responsibilities at least in the given moment.

I got too, that she didn’t have the patience to answer, or the respect to answer me and give me a second or third shot at retaining the info. 

So when we ask a question, often there is so much more being asked than the question.

Information is multilayered and if you are empathetic and you understand energetic calibration, and you automatically try to understand more than the dialogue, you will get more information than the linear answer to the question.

You will unlock the key to understanding people.

And this answer is more valuable than any face-value question can unveil.

Let me know. How do you frame questions that provide the answers you are seeking?