The most underrated skill in business

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Now, onto Issue 07.

Today’s Issue

In today’s issue, we’re going to explore the most underrated skill in business:

Asking effective questions.

We’ll learn the simple framework of one of the world’s experts on getting information out of people, and you’ll be able to immediately apply it to whatever you do.

Let’s dive in.

The most underrated skill in business

Google the most valuable business skills.

You’ll see things like:

• Sales

• Marketing

• Leadership

• Negotiating

• Customer service

• Project management

• Financial management

All of them are extremely valuable.

But there’s one glaring omission from these lists.

Asking effective questions is the most underrated skill in business (and life).

To do any of the above skills well, you must ask effective questions.

Asking questions helps you:

• Close deals

• Solve problems

• Build relationships

• Understand your market

• Connect with customers

• Manage and develop people

And many other things.

But here’s the problem.

Almost nobody is trained on this skill.

So, let’s give you some starter tools to fix that.

How to ask effective questions

I studied journalism in college and began my career at ESPN.

In my first week at ESPN, I attended a seminar led by John Sawatsky.

You probably don’t know John, but you should.

He’s a world-class journalist and an expert on interviewing.

For 2+ decades, he’s trained journalists on how to ask questions to get insightful information out of people.

Nearly every host, reporter and analyst to come through ESPN in the last 20+ years has attended a Sawatsky workshop.

Sawatsky’s framework for asking effective questions has 3 parts:

1. Open

2. Neutral

3. Lean

Let’s unpack what each mean.

1. Open

Effective questions are open-ended.

Open questions invite deeper dialogue.

They encourage the person to expand.

Closed questions (yes/no) do the opposite.

Open question start with words such as what, how and why.

Closed questions start with words like did, is, are and should.

Examples of open-ended questions:

• What is exciting you right now?

• Why do people struggle with that?

• How would you solve this problem?

These questions are probing for conversation.

They generally can’t be answered with a yes/no.

Examples of closed-ended questions:

• Did you buy the truck?

• Is the steak here good?

• Are you going to the game?

• Should we go on a hike today?

These questions are transactional.

Most times they will lead to a quick response that lacks depth.

Ask open-ended questions as often as possible.

2. Neutral

Effective questions are neutral.

Neutral questions don’t “lead” the subject.

They allow them to naturally follow their curiosity.

Non-neutral questions are often called “loaded questions.”

Consciously or subconsciously, they are biased.

Examples of neutral questions:

• What inspired that?

• What happened next?

• How did you decide that?

• Why did you do it that way?

• How would you explain this?

These questions have no bias.

They are objective and curious.

Examples of non-neutral questions:

• Why do you get defensive so easily?

• How were you able to show such courage?

• What makes your company the best in the industry?

These questions carry an assumption or opinion.

Positively or negatively, they are “loaded.”

Ask neutral questions as often as possible.

3. Lean

Effective questions are lean.

Complex questions are hard to answer.

Simple questions produce thoughtful insight.

Make it easy for the subject to answer your question.

Examples of lean questions:

• What happened then?

• What did you do next?

• How did it go?

• Why?

Most people are far too verbose when asking questions.

Be simple and direct, then get out of the way.

Example of a non-lean question:

• There’s so many awesome people on Twitter. Who are your favorite follows, why and what is one great thing you’ve read from each of them?

See the problem?

There’s a statement followed by three separate questions.

If you’re answering this, you don’t even know where to begin.

Summary

Sawatsky’s 3 principles for effective questions:

1. Ask open-ended questions

2. Keep them neutral

3. Make them lean

Action item for you:

Start paying attention to how you ask questions.

It’s okay if you’re not nailing these three principles right now.

Like any skill, this will take time to develop and the first step is awareness.

Once you’re aware of how you tend to ask questions, make a deliberate effort to ask open, neutral and lean questions.

I find it helpful to pause an extra second or two before asking a question. That gives me the space to think about how I can reframe the question to align with these principles.

With questions, less is more.

Practice this every day, and you’ll be shocked at the results.

Teddy’s Recommendations

There’s a new infrared sauna place by our house.

I’ve been working the sauna into my weekly health and wellness routine over the last month, and I already feel a noticeable difference in sleep, stress management and overall mood.

Do any of you use a sauna consistently?

I highly recommend giving it a shot (any kind of sauna will do).

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Thanks for reading.

See you next Sunday.