Hi, everybody. This is Mike Staver. This is Mondays with Mike, a weekly video series, where we answer questions from people just like you. Here’s this week’s question.
“Dear Mike, I realize asking great questions is important. What are some indications that I’m asking good questions and not just being annoying?”
That’s a good question. Yes, that’s a good question.
One of the indicators that you’re asking good questions is that you ask open-ended questions, that you ask questions about interest, that you questions like, “Tell me a little about what you think about this.” That is an indication of a great question. A good question is not an interrogation. Have you been around somebody that you felt like you were taking a test when they were asking you questions, or they were trying to lead you down a path, or you were going to get hit with a hammer when you got to the end? Those aren’t good questions. Number one, they’re not sincere. They’re not sincerely curious.
One of the ways that you know you’re asking good questions, an indication is that you’re genuinely curious, that you’re really interested. I’m really interested when I ask Johnny or Marty a question about what they think about these questions. They’ve never seen these until right before we start to shoot, just like me. I’m genuinely interested in what they think, otherwise I wouldn’t ask them. The other night I was at dinner with some people, I was really amazed at how interested they are.
Remember, you’ll ask good questions if you’re more focused on being interested than being interesting. If you’re asking questions so that you can get an answer in, that’s probably not going to be a very good question. I always start with open-ended. I always check myself before I wreck myself so that I can be sure that I’m generally coming from curiosity, and then I always ask a follow-up question. I think asking a follow-up question is really important in a one-to-one conversation or a group conversation so that you can move the ball down the field a little bit from a question perspective.
Interrogating is always rough, but actually this is a great question. What are some indications I’m asking good questions and not just being annoying? You hear how open that is, how that it stimulates conversation if we would be in the question. My question for you is, what are you going to do written in the next few days to explore the notion of being curious so that you can create better outcomes for you and the conversations that we’re in? Go do that.
That’s it for me. I hope that was a really good answer for you.
We’re getting more and more questions. I think my guys here must be helping us out a little bit to get more popularity. That’s good. I’m not jealous, don’t think I am. Until next time, take care. I’m Mike Staver, be courageous.
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