How to ask better questions

I previously shared my thoughts on asking better questions. And a recent experience encouraged me to revisit this topic and explain it from another angle.

I recently posted a comment on someone’s LinkedIn post in response to her question. My comment included something along the lines of “I love bringing people together and connecting people to job opportunities”.

Someone responded to my comment with the simple line of “can you please connect me to people?”. I was quite surprised by what a poor questions this was. Sure, I can assume what the person meant and hoped for, but that was a very poorly executed pitch for my time and I didn’t respond.

But I LOVE helping people and the best and easiest way for me to help more people and help them more effectively is when they ask very specifically for what they want and why they want it. That way I can determine whether I’m even the right person to help them and how I might do that.

In this week’s video I share my suggestions for asking better questions. It’s all about practice. I certainly haven’t mastered it yet but I am getting better. The tricky situations are when you’re put on the spot and you need to think quickly. I’m much better with some preparation time which really gives me a chance to come up with a plan.

Next time you ask your colleague for information or for help with a task or project, try some of the tips from this video and see whether it gets you to your goal faster and with fewer misunderstandings.