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Changing conversations by asking better questionsEd KlessGN-23Thursday, July 30th, 1:30pm – 2:15pm @edkless
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Language was invented to ask questions. Answers may be given
by grunts and gestures, but questions must be spoken.
Humanness came of age when man asked the first question. Social
stagnation results not from a lack of answers but from the absence of
the impulse to ask questions.
-Eric Hoffer
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Basics of questions
• Questions determine the quality of our experiences.• Questions determine how well we understand others.• Questions determine how we relate to the world.• Questions determine what is important and what is not.• Questions determine our course of actions and direct
the actions of others.
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What is an effective question?
• Have valued answers.• Have a purpose.• Are effectively delivered
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Bad questions
• Manipulate• Try to gain power• Intimidate• Boast• Confuse• Contain jargon• Make yourself look bad• Ask "How" too early
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How? vs. What matters!
BECOME:How do you do it? What refusal have I been postponing?
How long will it take? What is the commitment I am willing to make?
How much does it cost? What is the value of it to me?
How do you get those people to change? What is my contribution to the problem?
How do you measure it? What is the judgment I need to make?
How have other people done it successfully? What do we want to create together?
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Setting up great questions
• Create a distinction from the past• Give permission for unpopular answers• Avoid advice and replace it with curiosity• Think about the risk order• Possibility and dissent come earlier• Ownership, commitment, and gifts come later
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Great questions• Engage people in a intimate way• Confront them with their freedom to make a choice• Invite them to create a new possibility in the future• Have an impact even if the person refuses to answer them• Express that change is difficult and unpredictable• Three qualities Ambiguous Personal Edgy
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Best questions
• Would it be appropriate at this time to ask you a few questions?
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Effective Questioning – Getting to Value
Recognize a “measurable” word
• Revenue• Cost• Customer satisfaction• Quality• Performance• Productivity• Et al.
Ask Mahan Khalsa’s Five “Golden Questions”
• How do you measure it?• What is it now?• What do you want it to be?• What is the value of the
difference?• Over time (usually one year)?
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Best questions
• Would it be appropriate at this time to ask you a few questions?• What is the crossroads you face at this time?• What is the story you keeping telling about the problems you
face?• What is your contribution to the very thing you complain about
most?• What is the value that your organization can create for your
customers?• Who are your heroes and why?
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Changing conversations by asking better questionsEd KlessGN-23Thursday, July 30th, 1:30pm – 2:15pm @edkless
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Questions?
• Send any questions you may have about this session to the following email by August 15:
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Session survey
• Complete a survey for this session!
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http://goo.gl/2MUPWW
Session code: GN-23Session title: Changing conversations by asking effective questions
