How to ask better questions - Deepstash

How to ask better questions

  • Ask open-ended questions: they unlock more information from people
  • Ask “why” 3 times:  the easiest way to deepen the level of a conversation
  • Ask about specifics, not generalizations
  • Frame questions around a person’s reactions to experiences
  • Pay attention to answers and ask follow-up questions to dig deeper
  • If you want to learn from somebody, the easiest way is to ask them what they’ve learned
  • The most interesting information is found in stories, so ask people to tell you one
  • Ask what else you should ask.

452

1.42K reads

CURATED FROM

IDEAS CURATED BY

harleyjj

Deep thinker. Like talking about the world, religion and politics.

The idea is part of this collection:

How To Be Good at Parties

Learn more about communication with this collection

How to network effectively

How to read body language

How to find common ground with others

Related collections

Similar ideas to How to ask better questions

Ask better questions

We like to talk about topics that interest us. But to have better conversations, step out of yourself for a moment and think more about the other person.

Ask open-ended questions, starting with who, what, when, where, why or how. "What was that like?" "How...

7. Ask Questions

The key, however, is to ask open-ended questions . That is, ask questions that don’t have a simple “yes or no” answer.

It’s the difference between Do you like living here? and What do you think about living here? Or the difference between Where did you...

How to get beyond small talk

Ask open-ended questions that invite people to tell stories, rather than one-word answers.

Instead of "How was your day?" try, "What did you do today?" Other open-ended questions to try:

  • "What's your story?"
  • "What's the ...

Read & Learn

20x Faster

without
deepstash

with
deepstash

with

deepstash

Personalized microlearning

100+ Learning Journeys

Access to 200,000+ ideas

Access to the mobile app

Unlimited idea saving

Unlimited history

Unlimited listening to ideas

Downloading & offline access

Supercharge your mind with one idea per day

Enter your email and spend 1 minute every day to learn something new.

Email

I agree to receive email updates