10 brilliant questions to ask in different situations
1. Silence
That's not the question but silence is often one of the best questions. The technique is to repeat the last few words that someone said and then let silence do the work for you.
For example, you're negotiating a salary and your potential employer says your salary will be $90k. You then say "$90k" with no inflection or tone. The trick here is to stay silent.
2. And what else?
A Michael Bungay Stanier question that helps you dive deeper into a situation.
Say your friend is telling you about a problem they're having. You think they're not telling you everything so you decide to probe deeper "and what else is going on?" or "and what else is bothering you?"
3. What evidence could I present to change your mind?
The debate question. If you can't present any evidence to change the other person's mind then stop wasting your time.
4. If you say yes to this, what would you have to say no to?
The strategic question from Michael Bungay Stanier
5. What problem are we solving with the change?
The change management question every project manager needs to ask.
6. Have I provided you with what you need to achieve a successful outcome?
The mentoring question.
7. What was most helpful to you here?
The feedback question. Always good to get feedback on what worked and what didn't.
8. What am I seeing that's important that's not mentioned?
The probe question to get at underlying assumptions or problems.
9. Are there any reasons why we shouldn't proceed?
The risk management question. This question will get at underlying risks and issues.
10. How can I help?
The question to get directly at how you might be able to help the other person
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