Do you want to understand people better?
Do you want instant feedback on something you have said?
Do you want to make an impact and stand out from others?
Do you want to have great conversations?
Do you want people to think of you as ‘interesting’?
Then ask questions.
Questions connect you with others.
They do this because they amplify your impact when they remove barriers to being understood.
They also do this by helping you truly engage your audience.
Finally, they help you be mission focussed, helping you check that you are making others think, feel and then do what you were aiming for.
If you really want to become a super communicator, ask better questions.
You can do this by:
Following up a previous question with another question
Being interested in other people 1: Ask them about their needs, goals, beliefs and emotions (don’t worry, this can just be about what they like best about their job rather than anything too deep and meaningful to begin with)
Being interested in other people 2: Get people to talk about their experiences that have been important to them in their lives, so they start telling stories
Loop for understanding (this means summarise what you heard the other person say, then ask if you got it right)
Give it a go and see how your conversations are much more rewarding for everyone involved.