How to get useful answers to your questions

How to get useful answers to your questions

These are some tactics you can use to get useful answers to your questions.

What Can Go Wrong When Asking Questions

When you ask a vague or underspecified question, three things may go wrong:

How to Give Useful Answers

Checking in with the person you are speaking to is especially important in two scenarios:

Ask Yes/No Questions

There is a much lower chance that the person you are asking will go off on a tangent

Take A Minute to Think

Stop and ask for time to process the new information you have received

State Your Current Understanding

State your understanding of how the system works to elicit responses and clarify your own understanding

It Takes a Little Bit of Confidence

When you find it hard to keep asking questions, remember two things:

Being Good At Extracting Information is A Superpower

Improving how you ask questions is a useful life skill that is worth practicing

Be Willing to Interrupt

Do not waste your time and energy or the other person’s if their explanation is too long and unhelpful

Do Not Accept Answers That Do Not Answer Your Question

Keep asking questions to get the answers you want:

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