Any Questions…?

At the end of the workshop we often say “Any questions” and no surprise no-one really wants to ask anything. They have been listening for a while and they are keen to get back to their day job and there is also that feeling of “I don’t want to be the only one!!”

Ozan Varol in a recent Pinkcast with Dan Pink, says we need to put people at ease and use better language. We can do this by asking a better question:-

Example:- “The content was really confusing at times and I am sure there are plenty of questions and now is the time to ask?”

Reframing the fact that the content was confusing, helps to normalise the fact that everyone will have questions.

Another example, if you are in a team meeting or just at your own one to one meeting with your line manager and you asked have you had “Any challenges” the default is to say “no”. However if the Manager positions it with everyone having challenges you are better placed to share with each other.

Example:- “It has been a tough quarter and there have been loads of challenges, would love to understand yours…?”

This is a great example of creating a psychologically safe environment where everyone has a voice and everyone feels they can share successes and failures. Bréne Brown suggests we use the language of brave spaces, where you can show up and share everything. We will only share if we are asked a better question and it will solicit better answers.

Tomorrow I will be running a workshop and I will finish with something very different to “Any questions”

Please do get in touch bev@nuggetsoflearning.co.uk