Good question

I believe that a good question—especially in a group setting—should benefit the responder, the listeners, and the asker. It should push the responder to think more deeply, give the audience a shared understanding, and offer the asker something they can use to grow further.

I used to misunderstand what makes a good question. I thought good questions had to sound smart—technical, complex, full of jargon. Without realising it, many times I wasn’t actually asking a question at all. I was just trying to steal the spotlight from the speaker. I asked questions that already contained answers. I asked because I felt insecure with silence. And that meant I didn’t actually learn anything new. But here’s the truth: if you’re not learning, how can you ever really become smarter?

Now I think a good question begins with good listening. Listening to what the speaker is really trying to say (reading between the lines). Listening to the overall atmosphere of the room (reading the room). Listening to myself to understand what I genuinely want to learn.

A simple technique I use to check myself is this: Is this a question everyone can understand? More often than not, simple questions are far more powerful than ones that only sound clever. Even if the question has no ready answer, if it invites everyone to think together and enjoy the process, then it creates both energy and memorable moments. Don’t you agree?