Wanna know something I do that sometimes pisses people off?
I ask (a lot of) questions.
Some think my questions mean I doubt or don’t trust them. Or others would rather not have to defend their statements with my curious and innocent questions.
The truth is, I’m addicted to questions.
I’m convinced that asking better (and more) questions is critical in life and marketing (I got this idea from the book Questions are the Answers by Hal Gregersen).
When facing a problem, I’ve often found that asking questions helps me find the real problem. So instead of instantly searching for an answer, I pause and ask different questions about the issue.
Dan Nelken, author of A Self-Help Guide for Copywriters, says something similar:
“What separates the great from the good, or the unexpected from the expected, are the people who solve slightly different problems. And you do this by asking slightly different questions.”
In the passage, he refers to great ads and how people create them. He believes it comes from asking different questions to gain different answers.
Most of us defer to solution mode when tasked with a problem. We instantly figure out how we can solve it. This results in never solving slightly different problems.
Make asking questions your default instead. Pause, and think about the problem in a new light by asking different questions about the problem.
It will initially feel awkward and possibly counterinitiative, but give it a try.
Do you believe in the power of questions?
🧠 + ❤️ // JO