What is the Answer to the Question?
By Rick Welling, USAREC, Doctrine Division
Dec. 22, 2014
Life is full of questions. There are good questions, silly questions, important questions, embarrassing questions and life-altering questions. Questions can build rapport or trust or foster suspicion and dislike. Questions can open up a conversation or slam it closed. Questions can generate information or stimulate conversation. Questions are the heart of communication. They pump fresh life into conversations.
Asking good questions is particularly important in organizations where working well together depends upon everyone understanding each other clearly. Organizational effectiveness is grounded in the organization’s ability to ask the right question. Questioning how things are accomplished, why, who is responsible and when they are due, enable the organization to see itself better and improve organizational performance. Imagine launching a new product, putting together a budget, improving a process, implementing a new policy, or reviewing employee performance without asking questions. The Information Age could not exist without questions.
So why do we ask questions?
The standard response to that question is, “Because we want to know something.” But questioning has a much richer payoff than just information transfer. There is an old story about a sales instructor preparing to teach a classroom full of recruiters. As he was sitting in the waiting room, the command sergeant major came in and started asking him about his approach to sales. The CSM, stubbornly skeptical, finally demanded: “Well, then, sell me something!” The sales instructor looked around the room and spied a nice pen lying on the table.
The following conversation occurred:
Instructor: Do you like this pen? (He hands the CSM the pen)
CSM: Yeah, sure.
Instructor: What do you like about it?
CSM: (Scribbles on a piece of paper). Well, it writes smooth, has a good feel and grip, and seems like it fits my hand perfectly.
Instructor: What else do you like about it?
CSM: Well, it writes black and it fits into my pocket.
Instructor: How much do you think a pen like this is worth to you?
CSM: I do not know... maybe $4.
Instructor: Sold!
With just a few questions, the instructor was able to find out why the CSM would buy the pen and what price he would be willing to pay for it. While sales are not always this easy (as all experienced recruiters know), the story illustrates how powerful questions are as a tool for getting information. In fact, questions are at the heart of any information gathering process. Here are just a few of the reasons we ask questions:
To gain information – Information transfer depends on questions. Who, what, where, when, why, how and how much are all staples of information gathering. Recruiters use this reason to ask questions during prequalification and when making initial contact with a lead, turning the lead to a prospect.
To stimulate conversation – Imagine attending a social function where no one could ask a question! There would be no: “How are you?” “Have you heard...?” “Did you see...?” “Can you believe...?” “What do you think...?” It would be a strange gathering. Recruiters constantly use this reason to ask questions to initiate a conversation while face-to-face prospecting and mingling during social events.
To gain the other’s views – When you need to know what someone else is thinking you might ask. “What do you think about that?” or “Can you tell me how you feel about that?” Recruiters use this form of questioning as a temperature check during the Army Interview. Recruiters master these questions quickly. However, these questions lack the power of using questions to check agreement.
To check agreement – What does the other person think about what you have discussed? “Do you think we’re on the right track?” “Can you support this decision?” “Are we in agreement?” “Do you have any objections?” “How does this sound to you?” “Do you want to join the Army?” This question technique recruiters must master and use every day - It starts the recruitment process.
To build rapport and trust – Rapport and trust are built by showing support for the other person’s goals and objectives. How can I help you? What can I do to help you meet your objectives? What would you like to accomplish? Tell me about your goals/dreams/objectives. Building and maintaining rapport and establishing trust is another critical task that a recruiter must accomplish to be successful. This method of questioning assists the recruiter to show a genuine interest in someone’s future or personal success allowing recruiters to discover an applicant’s true interests and goals.
In addition to knowing what type of question to ask, and practicing when to ask each, recruiters need to understand how to phrase questions properly. Phrasing a question correctly is just as important as asking the proper type of question. Recruiters, for the most part, should phrase their questions to spur an open dialogue and to discover facts. Open-ended questions tend to support and trigger open dialogue where as close-ended questions trigger yes or no answers.
Recruiters use many methods of questioning at different times and for different purposes to get to the answer they want to hear most – “Yes, I do want to join the Army.”
By Rick Welling, USAREC, Doctrine Division
Dec. 22, 2014
Life is full of questions. There are good questions, silly questions, important questions, embarrassing questions and life-altering questions. Questions can build rapport or trust or foster suspicion and dislike. Questions can open up a conversation or slam it closed. Questions can generate information or stimulate conversation. Questions are the heart of communication. They pump fresh life into conversations.
- What time is it?
- Where do you live?
- What can I do to support you?
- What are your future goals?
- Can you see yourself in a new car?
Asking good questions is particularly important in organizations where working well together depends upon everyone understanding each other clearly. Organizational effectiveness is grounded in the organization’s ability to ask the right question. Questioning how things are accomplished, why, who is responsible and when they are due, enable the organization to see itself better and improve organizational performance. Imagine launching a new product, putting together a budget, improving a process, implementing a new policy, or reviewing employee performance without asking questions. The Information Age could not exist without questions.
So why do we ask questions?
The standard response to that question is, “Because we want to know something.” But questioning has a much richer payoff than just information transfer. There is an old story about a sales instructor preparing to teach a classroom full of recruiters. As he was sitting in the waiting room, the command sergeant major came in and started asking him about his approach to sales. The CSM, stubbornly skeptical, finally demanded: “Well, then, sell me something!” The sales instructor looked around the room and spied a nice pen lying on the table.
The following conversation occurred:
Instructor: Do you like this pen? (He hands the CSM the pen)
CSM: Yeah, sure.
Instructor: What do you like about it?
CSM: (Scribbles on a piece of paper). Well, it writes smooth, has a good feel and grip, and seems like it fits my hand perfectly.
Instructor: What else do you like about it?
CSM: Well, it writes black and it fits into my pocket.
Instructor: How much do you think a pen like this is worth to you?
CSM: I do not know... maybe $4.
Instructor: Sold!
With just a few questions, the instructor was able to find out why the CSM would buy the pen and what price he would be willing to pay for it. While sales are not always this easy (as all experienced recruiters know), the story illustrates how powerful questions are as a tool for getting information. In fact, questions are at the heart of any information gathering process. Here are just a few of the reasons we ask questions:
To gain information – Information transfer depends on questions. Who, what, where, when, why, how and how much are all staples of information gathering. Recruiters use this reason to ask questions during prequalification and when making initial contact with a lead, turning the lead to a prospect.
To stimulate conversation – Imagine attending a social function where no one could ask a question! There would be no: “How are you?” “Have you heard...?” “Did you see...?” “Can you believe...?” “What do you think...?” It would be a strange gathering. Recruiters constantly use this reason to ask questions to initiate a conversation while face-to-face prospecting and mingling during social events.
To gain the other’s views – When you need to know what someone else is thinking you might ask. “What do you think about that?” or “Can you tell me how you feel about that?” Recruiters use this form of questioning as a temperature check during the Army Interview. Recruiters master these questions quickly. However, these questions lack the power of using questions to check agreement.
To check agreement – What does the other person think about what you have discussed? “Do you think we’re on the right track?” “Can you support this decision?” “Are we in agreement?” “Do you have any objections?” “How does this sound to you?” “Do you want to join the Army?” This question technique recruiters must master and use every day - It starts the recruitment process.
To build rapport and trust – Rapport and trust are built by showing support for the other person’s goals and objectives. How can I help you? What can I do to help you meet your objectives? What would you like to accomplish? Tell me about your goals/dreams/objectives. Building and maintaining rapport and establishing trust is another critical task that a recruiter must accomplish to be successful. This method of questioning assists the recruiter to show a genuine interest in someone’s future or personal success allowing recruiters to discover an applicant’s true interests and goals.
In addition to knowing what type of question to ask, and practicing when to ask each, recruiters need to understand how to phrase questions properly. Phrasing a question correctly is just as important as asking the proper type of question. Recruiters, for the most part, should phrase their questions to spur an open dialogue and to discover facts. Open-ended questions tend to support and trigger open dialogue where as close-ended questions trigger yes or no answers.
Recruiters use many methods of questioning at different times and for different purposes to get to the answer they want to hear most – “Yes, I do want to join the Army.”